We wanted to acknowledge the incredible work done by the IFEX network while facing such staggering challenges to their organisations and their lives. As we have learned, balancing health, community and work has been difficult as each country and region continues to face the unpredictable, and destabilizing impact of the pandemic.
Be Safe, Not Silent remains the call, the backdrop of our efforts, as we forge ahead with our important work. As part of this work, we decided to document the impact the pandemic was having on the network. Members have been sharing their reflections with us throughout this period describing the many difficult circumstances, experiences, and learnings they were experiencing as a result of this new reality. This documentation provides a snapshot of the moment and puts a human face on the impact of the pandemic on IFEX and, by extension, on civil society more broadly.
This initiative is called In Our Own Words: IFEX Voices from the Pandemic. By the end of the summer of 2020, we had received responses from 43 people living in 32 different countries. Over half of the responses were from women. Optimistically, we intended this to be a 2020 project, but as the pandemic persists with myriad implications on our lives, so will we, by continuing to be in touch and chronicle the impressions of our colleagues throughout the global network.
Anecdotes, impressions, challenges and opportunities….help us build the story by sending us yours.
Share your story
Are you a member of the network interested in sharing your pandemic experience with IFEX? Leave us your details, and an IFEX Regional Editor will get in touch with you.
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