Day 2 of CSOs Week 2025: Unpacking “Money, Power, and Agency” 💰⚖️🗣️
Day two spotlighted a bold and timely conversation led by Viveka Carlestam from Sida/Swedish Embassy, focusing on the critical interplay between funding, influence, and local agency in development cooperation.
📌 The session delved deep into the OECD/DAC Recommendations on Enabling Civil Society, highlighting how local CSOs are actively leveraging these policy frameworks while demanding accountability from OECD member states, shifting the narrative from aid recipients to empowered change-makers.
🎙️ Following the presentation, a thought-provoking podcast dialogue brought together key voices from the civic space, including THRDC National Coordinator, Adv. Onesmo Olengurumwa, who shared insights on:
•The structural power imbalances in donor-recipient relationships;
•Opportunities for direct funding to local CSOs;
•Strategies for strengthening civic agency and challenging the status quo.
💬 The conversation affirmed that local civil society is not on the sidelines — we are central to sustainable development, democratic governance, and social justice. Money must follow power, and power must uplift local agency.
#CSOsWeek2025 #PathwayToProgress