The future of protest

Summary  Doctors, the backbone of any healthcare system, are often at the forefront of advocating for change. In this podcast episode, we delve into recent and ongoing doctors’ protests and medical crisis in Kenya, and the UK. Why are doctors protesting? Are there any ethical implications for protesting and striking? What governments need to prioritize to respond to their grievances? Guests Steve Ougo, Sexual and Reproductive Justice Activist, medical student working in youth health in KenyaSridhar Venkatapuram, Senior Lecturer in Global Health and Philosophy at King’s College London. He sits on the ethics committee of the British Medical Association (BMA)

Summary From the rise of social media to the advent of Artificial Intelligence, these technologies have revolutionized how protest movements are organized and how voices are heard. Yet, with increased surveillance and stricter laws, the digital battleground is complex. This episode covers how the digital realm has opened up new frontiers for activism: what are the opportunities and challenges for the future of protest? Guests: Clement Voule, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Kumi Naidoo, prominent South African human rights and environmental justice activist. Former head of Amnesty, Greenpeace and CIVICUS

Summary Do you know what is the difference between protests and riots? In this episode, we delve into two examples of antidemocratic riots in the Brazilian Supreme Court in 2023 and the Capitol in the US in 2021, to explain how they differ from peaceful protests. As 2024 is the biggest election year so far, at least 65 countries will go to the polls, political results unsatisfaction can lead to riots. GuestsRoudabeh Kishi, the Chief Research Officer at the BDI - Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University. Leticia Cesarino, Brazilian researcher in Anthropology and author of the book ‘The world inside out: Truth and politics in the digital age’.

Summary This episode delves into the complexities of protesting in countries where drug trafficking significantly impacts governance and civil liberties, as Honduras and Ecuador. In a number of countries across Latin America, the entanglement of political instability and narcotic economies often results in precarious conditions for activists. States embroiled in battles against drug cartels face a dual challenge: maintaining public order and respecting the right to protest. Allegations of corruption at the highest levels can intensify public outcry, as seen when officials are implicated in drug and arms trafficking. So, how are citizens managing to protest amidst drug cartel state circumstances in Honduras and Ecuador? Guests Silvana Tapia, lawyer, doctor in socio-legal studies at the University of Birmingham. Her current project employs a feminist, anti-colonial, socio-legal approach. Nohelia Núñez, lawyer from Honduras who works with several women led organizations in the country as CLADEM.

Summary In this episode, we give tips to stay safe while protesting. What are some safety recommendations for before, during and after a march or protest? Can you lose your job or get expelled from your university for attending a protest? What happens when you protest in a country that restrict civic freedoms? Guests: Michael Wrase, a professor of public law and a constitutional law expert at the Berlin Social Science Center.Omhle Ntshingila, Project Coordinator at Right2Protest movement in South Africa.Recommendations: Know Your Rights: Protest guidebook & phonebook by CIVICUS. This guide covers important issues such as legal policing practices, accountability mechanisms for violations, as well as practical information on equipment and location considerations for peaceful assemblies. This guide is available in four languages: English, Spanish, French, Arabic. You can use the guide as an activist, at your organization, so spread the word!If you need someone to reach out to in case you need support, there’s the Vuka Protest Support Phonebook, you can find various types of support from nearly 30 international and regional civil society organizations that can protect and elevate the impact of your protests. Guide on ‘Organizing a protest’ by Right2Protest and Action Takers

Protests work because they disrupt the status quo and force those in power to confront uncomfortable truths. They are a direct challenge to injustice, showing that people will not be silenced or ignored. When people take to the streets, they send a clear message: change is not just desired, it's demanded. To kick off the fourth season of CIVICUS Voices, we will be sharing successful examples of how protests have been impacting society positively around the globe. Where protests have made a difference? From abortion rights in Latin America to Black Lives Matter in the US to the Tunisian Revolution, there are many success stories as a result of protest movements. Guests: Mariela Belski, Executive Director for Amnesty International Argentina and UN advisor in Argentina.Layla Saleh, Researcher Director at Demos-Tunisia Democratic Sustainability Forum. Recommendations:  Strategies for a sustainable protest by CIVICUS 

The last thing students and their parents should be worrying about is whether children will be safe while attending school, and yet school shootings and attacks are a real threat around the world.Bruno Langeani, a project manager at the Instituto Sou da Paz, helps us understand the trends and nuances of school violence in Brazil, and what can really make a change. Vuk Cvetković us a Serbian high school student who works with the “I mi se pitamo” initiative and shares his views on how rare school shootings have mobilised tens of thousands to protest more broadly in that country. 

Safe and accessible drinking water is a crucial right that sadly continues to be threatened in different ways for communities around the work. So, it’s no surprise that access to water is frequently a protest demand, from Ethiopia to the United States. We speak to Alana Potter the global coordinator of EndWaterPoverty at WaterAid to give us an international perspective.Faeza Meyer, a community organiser at the African Water Commons Collective, shares her experiences from Cape Town’s ‘Day Zero’ to now.Later we catch up on the developments around persecuted Guapinol water defenders in Honduras from lawyer Edy Tábora, who is the director of the law firm Justicia para los Pueblos (Justice for the Peoples). 

Russia’s war against Ukraine has taken centre stage in headlines and discussions over the last year, yet a variety of conflicts continue internationally, from Ethiopia to Palestine. Since this season of CIVICUS Voices looks particularly at protests, this episode looks at how to mobilise and campaign in the middle of conflict and war. We speak to Polina Kurakina from OVD-Info, an organisation tracking the rights to freedom of assembly and expression in Russia.Oleksandra Matviichuk is a highly experienced Ukrainian human rights lawyer who leads the Centre for Civil Liberties.Lastly, we hear what it is like to protest and mobilise in ongoing conflict from Nisreen Elsaim, who is a Sudanese youth climate activist.

The global cost-of-living crisis has been met with a crackdown on the rights of working people in every region of the world, and this year has seen the violations of workers rights reach record highs. We continue this season by looking at workers' rights protests and mobilisations from across the world that have brought about real change, with a special focus on migrants, who are among the most vulnerable of all workers.In this episode, we speak to Lennon Ying Dah Wong, an activist fighting for the rights of migrant workers in Taiwan, where exploitative conditions are rampant.We also talk to Eva Maria Jimenez Lamas from the Belgian trade union Confédération des Syndicats chrétiens (CSC). Eva assisted a group of undocumented domestic workers in making history when they lead their first ever strike in Brussels, Belgium.