Building on the spirit of collaboration and global exchange of ideas, the meeting featured diverse voices and insights from across our Partner network.

We had the honor of hosting the following Program Partners at this year’s consortium meeting:

  • BCME - Baltic Centre for Media Excellence (Latvia) - Agnese Ēķe-Cēsniece,

  • CRI - Civic Resilience Initiative (Lithuania) - Urtė Andriukaitytė,

  • DIGIVIA (Czechia) - Radka Bystřická,

  • MAKAIA (Colombia) - Carlos González,

The group looked back at the progress and impact of the Program in 2025, reviewing achievements, identifying challenges and drawing lessons from completed projects, all with the shared goal of strengthening the partnership.

Meeting Agenda and Key Activity

Throughout the first day, the participants exchanged experiences from their countries, discussing civic activism in contexts affected by increasing polarization with a particular focus on the Balkans, while also bringing in perspectives from other regions.

The agenda also guided the group into conversations about organizational resilience. The Partners explored the difficulties their organizations currently face and shared approaches, methods and good practices that have supported them in recent years. This theme extended into a group analysis of what it means to cultivate resilient communities of practice and how engagement strategies and shared learning can contribute to stronger and more connected networks.

On the second day, the conversation moved towards the role of technology, particularly artificial intelligence, in social change. The Partners presented their own experiences, explored use cases and learned about TechSoup’s new initiative, AI for Social Change, run by TechSoup with support from Google.org, which offered a practical lens on how AI tools can support activism and digital empowerment.

The group then turned to a broader strategic discussion about the evolving development and funding landscape, considering what drives growth in the current context, where partners see gaps and needs in their regions and what unique value the partnership can offer in response.

The meeting concluded with a collaborative session dedicated to shaping future action steps which aimed to translate the discussions into concrete directions for the development of both the partnership and the Digital Activism Program.

Programmatic reflections, our mission, and goals

In reflecting on what makes our Program partnership truly unique, it becomes clear that it’s the fusion of deep tech expertise with CSO (civil society organization) experience that creates something greater than the sum of its parts. Our collaboration is aligned in values, global in reach, and built on a high level of trust, all of which are essential when tackling pressing social challenges. We bring together proven track records, complementary capabilities, and a shared commitment to relevance and social impact. This partnership acts as a kind of “hive mind”, where CSOs help CSOs, bridging technology and human rights, offering a vital “window” where civil society can turn to tech for solutions grounded in ethics and equity.

With this foundation, we ask ourselves: what change do we want to make? We envision a world where a strong civil society underpins vibrant democracy, even in a digital ecosystem. Our goal is to empower CSOs, enhancing their toolboxes and digital capabilities so they can amplify their impact in both immediate and long-term contexts. We strive to strengthen and preserve the value of CSOs, to uplift communities, and to ensure these organizations remain resilient forces for good - upholding democracy and building stronger, connected societies.

🔗 To find out more about the Digital Activism Program, head to this article: LINK

💚 Get to know all our Partners: LINK

📸 Background photo by Natalia Castro