Workshop Report: Closing Space for Civil Society and Media in East Africa

Forging a Collaborative Response

PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 23, 2018

The East Africa region is vibrant with civic activity driven by diverse civil society formations. However, the region has not been spared from the closing civic space phenomenon that increasingly restricts people’s rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, of association and of expression in many countries across the globe.

In February 2018, ICNL convened civil society organizations and media practitioners from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania working on human rights, democratic development, transparency, digital media, women and youth empowerment, legal aid, litigation and other issues of public interest in Nairobi to address the shrinking space for civil society and media. This report summarizes the workshop’s discussions and key recommendations for how media and civil society organizations can reclaim and expand civic space.