Civic space is primarily about the exercise of people’s freedoms and rights in the public sphere. It is the exercise of freedoms and human rights that sustain and expand civic space. A vibrant civic space is what makes democracy work within a society and ensures a democratic and accountable state. Hence, the extent of the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, association, and religion or belief, is what defines the quality of civic space within a given society.
Following previous working papers on business and human rights and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this Working Paper of FORUM-ASIA seeks to highlight the experiences and perspectives on civic space from local and global contexts. Such understanding and appreciation of multiple contexts of civic space will help us to develop strategies to strengthen and revitalise civic space at the national, regional and global levels.
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