By Kumi Naidoo, CIVICUS Secretary-General

Dear e-CIVICUS subscriber,

Recently we said goodbye to David Kalete, who led on CIVICUS Programmes for most of the last four years. Under David’s leadership CIVICUS implemented several new programmes, including Civil Society Watch which seeks to extend solidarity and support when civil society organisations are threatened, sadly a growing problem in many countries. Following his dedicated service to CIVICUS, David has taken up the position of Civil Society Liaison Director at the Commonwealth Secretariat. Following a global search, it gives me great pleasure to announce the appointment of Finn Heinrich as the new Assistant Secretary General for Programmes. Since joining CIVICUS in 2000, Finn has provided excellent leadership of the CIVICUS’ Civil Society Index programme. He has also made a big contribution to other areas of CIVICUS programmatic work and to the overall development of the organisation and its network over the past years. This week I have asked Finn to share his vision of CIVICUS programmatic approach and activities for the future.

Strengthening civil society in an increasingly complex world: Thoughts on CIVICUS’ future direction
When starting a new job, it is always good to look back to the beginning. CIVICUS was founded in the early 1990s, when the context for civic activists around the world was pretty straightforward: there was widespread support for civil society and its causes from all parts of society in most corners of the world. CIVICUS was an expression of this support and enthusiasm for the new (or, in some cases, recently re-discovered) phenomenon of civil society. In its first decade, CIVICUS therefore focused its work on building the knowledge base and raising public awareness about what civil society is, can and should do and what should be done for it to thrive. To read more, visit www.civicus.org/new/content/AssistantSecretaryGeneral.htm

Back to Interesting news page