Civil Society Resilience: Lessons from Central and Eastern Europe

Join Us at the Conference on Civil Society Resilience which brings together human rights defenders, movement leaders, and civil society practitioners to learn from the experiences of Central and Eastern European organizations that have adapted to the shrinking civic space in innovative ways and sustained their work.

Various sessions in the conference will explore how civil society activities can be redesigned with special attention to cooperation with movements and grassroots, coalition-building, and fundraising with the aim of strengthening democratic resilience.

Agenda

10:00 – 10:15 AM Opening Remarks — Stefania Kapronczay (HRI Non-Resident Senior Fellow). Overview of conference goals and framing for the day.

10:15 – 12:00 PM Lessons from Central and Eastern Europe: Defending Rights under Pressure. Human rights advocates from Hungary, Poland and Serbia share changing strategies for human rights advocacy in illiberal regimes, followed by a group discussion.

Online and in-person

Speakers: Katarzyna Batko-Tołuć (Poland), Rasa Nedeljkov (Serbia) and Stefania Kapronczay (Hungary)

Moderated by Sarah Knuckey

11:00 – 1 PM Lunch

1 – 3PM Small group discussions – Dilemmas and Possible Solutions. Small group discussion between U.S. based and European profe ur ssionals discussing topics of the morning and beyond. World cafe methodology with 3-4 topics at different tables with experts. Participants will have an opportunity to suggest topics for peer exchange between U.S. and Eastern European colleagues. Only in person!

Moderated by Stefania Kapronczay