Friends and enemies of the president

It is difficult to characterize Nicaraguan civil society today in general terms. There are a myriad of independent organizations, NGOs and social movements. However, because of reduced funding and changed government policies, civil society organizations face difficulties in developing their work in a safe and confident environment.Some CSOs are struggling to survive, while others have chosen to align themselves with the government or to avoid talking about topics related to citizen participation to ensure funding collaboration from the government and the opportunity to work in peace. On the other hand, we see protests appearing on critical issues like building of the new canal.Our role in Kepa Nicaragua is to support local civil society participants to influence development policy processes through partnerships and capacity building. Our partnerships are linked to strengthening civil society and Kepa’s key policy themes: development cooperation, global economic policies and climate justice.We also co-operate with many Finnish CSOs who are present in the country or in Central America. Read more about the latest developments in Nicaraguan civil society, Kepa’s work and find out who else is operating in the country from our newest civil society reflection paper:Reflections on Nicaraguan civil society (pdf)Kepa Nicaragua