Igniting Hope: The Inaugural Ottawa Civic Space Summit
avril 21, 2026 @ 8:00 am - avril 23, 2026 @ 4:30 pm EDT
Brought together by Resilient Societies and Cooperation Canada—founding partners committed to protecting civic space.
A Global Call to Protect What Makes Democracy Work
Across the world, civic space is under attack—from digital surveillance and legal repression to the silencing of activists and shrinking public participation. Yet from the margins to the mainstream, people are rising to defend the freedoms that make possible democracy, human rights, and justice.
When civic space is protected, communities thrive. It enables people to come together—through community associations, farmers’ groups and cooperatives, human rights organizations, networks of health and education professionals, climate champions and countless others working for a better world. The freedoms to gather, speak up, and organize are not abstract ideals—they are what make it possible to improve lives, deliver essential services, defend rights, and build a more just and sustainable future.
The Ottawa Civic Space Summit is a new global platform to resist repression, reclaim civic power, and reimagine a more inclusive democratic future. This bold gathering will bring together civil society leaders, civic space activists, governments, donors, media, academics, and private sector allies to ignite hope and drive change.
Summit Objectives
Defend civic space as a cornerstone of democracy, rights, justice and sustainable development.
Catalyze global momentum and political will to invest in and protect civic freedoms as foundational for social progress across all dimensions of sustainable development.
Reclaim civic space by strengthening collective resistance to its repression and fostering collaboration.
Foster partnerships among governments, civil society, media, academia, and the private sector to counter the global rollback of civic space. Elevate the leadership, voices, and agency of youth, women, Indigenous peoples, refugees and displaced people, racialized communities, LGBTQI+ persons, and other marginalized groups.
Reimagine civic space to chart inclusive futures grounded in learning, creativity, and collective action. Advance transformative research, innovative tools, and coordinated strategies that respond to past and present challenges—while inspiring renewed vision, resilience, and inclusive civic renewal.
What’s at Stake—and What We’ll Explore
The Ottawa Civic Space Summit will explore how civic space enables progress across all sectors—from gender equality, climate action, and racial justice to education, health, economic prosperity, and humanitarian response. In a world facing growing crises and polarization, civic space remains essential to our collective ability to organize, respond, and reimagine.
Discussions will examine the threats we face today—from digital surveillance and legal repression to disinformation and declining public trust—and the global forces behind them.
Together, we’ll spotlight solutions: stronger solidarity across borders, inclusive movements, and bold approaches to safeguarding civic space in multilateral systems, fragile contexts, and emerging democracies alike.
Through this lens, participants will engage with urgent questions:
- How do we resist the shrinking of civic space across sectors and geographies?
- How can donors, governments, and communities better fund and protect civic actors—including those in humanitarian and conflict-affected contexts?
- What role does civic space play in shaping inclusive economies and democratic renewal?
- How can we centre intersectionality—across race, gender, age, and Indigenous rights—in efforts to reclaim civic power?
These conversations will unfold through creative and participatory formats designed to foster deep reflection, cross-cultural exchange, connection, and collective commitment.
Informed by the latest research and grounded in frontline experience, the summit will bring together global voices and visionary leaders to share ideas, build alliances, and explore concrete pathways to strengthen civic space around the world.
Join Us
Whether you’re a civic leader, community organizer. donor, policymaker, researcher, journalist, artist or ally—this summit is your space to connect, strategize, and shape what comes next. Let’s ignite hope and co-create the future of civic space—together.