SOLIDARITY
& Resilience in Africa
Seven powerhouses. One mission. Strengthening the effectiveness of journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society to advance democratic freedoms across Sub-Saharan Africa.
"Spaces for expression, organization, and unyielding action."
The Consortium
Regional Powerhouses
CHARM is a collaboration of seven influential organizations: CIVICUS, Civil Rights Defenders, DefendDefenders, Fojo Media Institute, The Wits Centre for Journalism, Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement (RFLD), and Magamba Network.
Operating across 47 countries, the consortium tackles shrinking civic spaces, illegal surveillance, and constraints on fundamental rights. We foster robust civil society, support women human rights defenders (WHRDs), advance digital activism, and promote independent media ecosystems.
"Our multi-layered, intersectional approach is not just about survival; it's about reclaiming power, advancing democratic freedoms, and ensuring frontline defenders operate safely."
Meet the Consortium Partners
Seven organizations bringing together unparalleled expertise across civil society, media development, and human rights defense.
CIVICUS
A global alliance of civil society organisations and activists based in South Africa, with members in 175 countries. CIVICUS works to strengthen citizen action throughout the world, offering deep experience as a convener and facilitator of global consortiums.
Civil Rights Defenders
An expert human rights organisation that partners with and supports human rights defenders in some of the world’s most repressive regions. CRD specialises in creating flexible partnerships that directly respond to the needs of HRDs and CSOs on the ground.
DefendDefenders
Strengthens the work of HRDs by reducing their vulnerability to persecution through protection mechanisms and enhancing their capacity to effectively defend human rights. DD serves as the Secretariat of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network.
Fojo Media Institute
Sweden’s leading institute for media development, Fojo brings deep expertise in journalism to CHARM. It works to strengthen free, independent, and professional journalism in Sub-Saharan Africa and globally through robust capacity building and network creation.
Magamba Network
One of Africa’s leading creative and digital media organisations working at the intersection of arts, alternative media, activism, and technology. Magamba mobilises a vast network of young activists, tech developers, and content creators.
RFLD
Expanding CHARM’s reach into Francophone Africa, the Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement builds effective cooperation to promote and protect the rights of youth, minority groups, and women, ensuring their active participation in decision-making spheres.
Wits Centre for Journalism
One of the leading media professional training institutions on the continent. WCJ hosts key media gatherings like the African Investigative Journalism Conference and runs accelerator programmes for digital media start-ups across the region.
Countries Reached
HRDs Supported
Journalists Trained
Local CSOs Engaged
Voices of Change
42 powerful stories of resilience, innovation, and courage. Explore the direct impact generated by our seven consortium partners across Sub-Saharan Africa.
CIVICUS
Manna Development Agency
South Sudan
Empowered women in Kapoeta East, achieving 36% female representation on local councils and securing critical appointments to the regional Peace Response Committees.
ALOWA Civic Space
Uganda
Formed a movement of 200 local women's groups, successfully securing UNDEF funding to address fundamental freedoms of assembly, association, and expression.
CEMIRIDE Indigenous Budgeting
Kenya
Coached minority and Indigenous peoples to use advocacy tools during national budgeting processes to demand resources addressing the pandemic's impact on their communities.
Freeing Madi Jobarteh
Gambia
Led 29 CSOs to sign a joint letter to the Gambian president, resulting in the immediate withdrawal of false information charges against the prominent HRD.
Defenders & Diplomat Dialogue
Regional
Facilitated critical dialogues connecting at-risk HRDs directly with foreign diplomats to negotiate safe passages, emergency visas, and international solidarity during political crises.
Grassroots Micro-Granting
Regional
Disbursed rapid, flexible micro-grants to grassroots CSOs across 11 countries, enabling marginalized groups to bypass restrictive banking laws and sustain human rights campaigns.
Civil Rights Defenders (CRD)
Feminist Learning Exchange
Ethiopia
Organized a Feminist Exchange for Muslim women HRDs (led by Ourji Biso), sparking powerful online resistance against oppressive norms and shattering stereotypes.
Women's Environmental Forum
Uganda
Launched an eco-feminist platform to equip grassroots women defenders with feminist toolkits, enabling national advocacy against marginalization and land dispossession.
Defenders Database (DiDi)
Regional
Enabled organizations like FARUG and SMUG to securely document violations, serving as reliable historical records to hold abusers and governments accountable.
Rwanda UPR Coalition
Rwanda
United 22 NGOs and media institutions to revive dialogue with the Rwandan government, resulting in a landmark Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Justice.
Psychosocial Resilience Hub
Regional
Integrated trauma-informed care into standard protection protocols, providing dedicated mental health support to human rights defenders recovering from state-sponsored violence and severe burnout.
Flexible Emergency Frameworks
Regional
Bypassed traditional bureaucratic donor hurdles to deliver rapid, flexible emergency funding directly to unregistered grassroots movements facing sudden government crackdowns.
DefendDefenders (DD)
Escaping the M23 Crisis
DR Congo
Provided an emergency grant to a Congolese HRD facing death threats, enabling his safe relocation to Uganda and Burundi to continue securely reporting violations.
Nicholas Opiyo Release
Uganda
Organized the highly effective #standasmywitness public campaign that dramatically increased international pressure and led to the release of the detained human rights lawyer.
Burundi Special Rapporteur
Burundi
Supported exiled HRDs to amplify their voices at the African Commission, successfully lobbying states to renew the Special Rapporteur's mandate despite government resistance.
Sustaining Youth Activism
Somalia
Disbursed emergency education and living grants to young Somali activists facing threats from Al-Shabaab, ensuring their critical advocacy could continue safely.
EHAHRD-Net Mobilization
East & Horn of Africa
Leveraged its position as Secretariat of the East and Horn of Africa network to coordinate regional safe houses and complex cross-border evacuations during sudden conflicts.
Frontline Digital Audits
Regional
Conducted comprehensive digital security audits for highly targeted NGOs, deploying advanced anti-surveillance tools to protect sensitive case data from government interception.
Fojo Media Institute
Africa Facts Network Growth
Regional
Scaled the network from 12 to 59 organizations by 2025, enabling widespread collaborative research and rigorous fact-checking during critical African elections.
The Kigali Declaration
Regional
Co-created an online resource hub and trained journalists alongside AWiM and UNESCO, setting new standards to eliminate gender-based violence in and through the media.
AJEN Network
Regional
Brought together journalism educators from 16 countries, formalizing exchange agreements between universities in Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Somalia to improve curricula.
Editors' Tour for Viability
East Africa
Organized tours of Scandinavian newsrooms for high-profile African editors (e.g., Daily Maverick) to adopt transparent, gender-responsive newsroom practices.
Sustainable Journalism Partnership
Regional
Spearheaded the SJP, bringing together African and international media experts to pilot new revenue models for independent newsrooms struggling against financial starvation.
Election Disinformation Taskforce
Regional
Equipped newsrooms across election-bound countries with advanced fact-checking tools, successfully debunking state-sponsored disinformation campaigns in real-time.
Magamba Network
EU HRD Award 2025
Uganda
Aloikin Praise Opoloje, Student Engagement Lead at Open Parly UG, won the EU HRD Award for mobilizing youth and combating corruption despite arrests.
Zambia #DefLaw Campaign
Zambia
Partnered with PAX to launch a viral online campaign that successfully pressured the Zambian President to repeal the draconian Criminal Defamation of the President law.
Exposing Procurement Corruption
Kenya / Zimbabwe
Co-produced the "Let me show you" web series that used satire to uncover Covid-19 fund embezzlement, drawing huge youth engagement and awareness.
Anti-Surveillance Backpacks
Regional
Hosted a virtual hackathon that designed smart-camera prototypes for HRD backpacks, capable of detecting faces and license plates to alert activists of surveillance.
Changemakers Week Integration
Zambia
Co-hosted a landmark week in Lusaka uniting HRDs, journalists, and civic artists to merge digital security training with creative storytelling and holistic wellness practices.
Youth Accountability Campaigns
Regional
Launched youth-driven digital accountability campaigns that crowd-sourced reports of local service delivery failures, forcing immediate municipal government responses through public satire.
RFLD
Data-Driven Early Warning
Regional
Co-hosted ACHPR side events in Banjul advocating for early-warning models to detect civic space threats before they escalate into violence against activists.
REFELA-Benin Documentary
Benin
Funded a documentary highlighting women’s leadership under the Maputo Protocol, aligning grassroots storytelling with continental human rights commitments.
Benin HRD Liberation
Benin
Submitted a critical UPR report that triggered diplomatic dialogues and a formal meeting with the Ministry of Justice, leading directly to the release of a detained HRD.
Togo AU Mechanisms Training
Togo
Empowered women and youth HRDs in Togo with tools and deep knowledge to successfully interact with and influence African Union human rights mechanisms.
WAFFF Empowerment
West Africa
Operationalized the West Africa Francophone Feminist Fund, directly resourcing localized feminist movements across nations that previously lacked access to international donor pipelines.
Maputo Protocol Domestication
Regional
Led a multi-country advocacy coalition pushing for the full domestication of the Maputo Protocol, resulting in strengthened legal frameworks for women's rights in Francophone West Africa.
Wits Centre for Journalism (WCJ)
Lateu Synthia
Cameroon
Reframed the mindset of this freelance multimedia journalist into a media entrepreneur, allowing her to negotiate fair pay and build an independent creative brand.
Adelaide Jachi
Tanzania
Won Green Media Accelerator seed funding and the ICPAC Youth for Climate Action 2025 award for her compelling climate-resilience documentaries.
Kemunto Ogutu
Kenya
Gained financial sustainability and project management skills through the Media Management Workshop to launch a series of environmental and health podcasts.
Jihane Ziyan
Morocco
Leveraged digital tools from the WCJ workshop to publish an impactful investigative multimedia story on deforestation, elevating local climate dialogues.
AIJC Cross-Border Collaboration
Regional
Facilitated cross-border investigative journalism teams through the African Investigative Journalism Conference, resulting in multi-national exposes on illicit financial flows and regional corruption.
Jamlab Civic Tech Incubation
Regional
Incubated 12 new civic-tech media startups through the Jamlab accelerator, providing vital seed funding and mentorship to create independent platforms that track local government budgets.
Programme Evaluations & Reports
Deep dives into our methodologies, strategic milestones, and rigorous outcome harvesting frameworks.
End Programme Evaluation (2019-2023)
Evaluators: Katie Whipkey, Lori Cajegas, Ninon Ndayikengurukiye | Delivered to CIVICUS on behalf of CHARM
Executive Summary & Context
The Consortium for Human Rights and Media (CHARM) in Africa (2019-2023), funded by Sida, was established to promote human rights, civic freedoms, and media development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Operating against a backdrop of democratic backsliding, weaponized legislation, and escalating violence against civil society actors, the consortium utilized its seven regional powerhouses to strengthen civil society advocacy, support human rights defenders (HRDs), and protect independent media. This comprehensive outcome and process evaluation captures the key results, effectiveness, impact, and learnings of the programme to inform its strategic evolution in subsequent phases.
The evaluation utilized a rigorous methodology assessing the programme against OECD-DAC criteria, specifically focusing on Effectiveness, Impact, Efficiency, and Relevance. Over the 2019-2023 programming cycle, CHARM demonstrated remarkable reach, directly supporting over 3,399 individuals across 47 countries. This included robust capacity building and protection for 1,483 human rights defenders and 903 journalists operating in highly restrictive civic spaces.
Achievement of Programme Objectives
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Amended Laws & Policies (Objective 1)
The consortium achieved significant milestones in policy advocacy. A standout outcome was the successful mobilization led by Magamba Network and local partners via the #DefLaw campaign. This persistent digital and grassroots advocacy directly contributed to the Zambian President's decision to repeal the archaic Criminal Defamation of the President law in December 2022. This repeal represents a monumental victory for freedom of expression, significantly reducing the legal risks for journalists and citizens criticizing state actors.
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Inclusive Governance (Objective 2)
CHARM effectively advanced the inclusive participation of women and marginalized groups in governance. Through targeted sub-granting mechanisms by CIVICUS, grassroots organizations like the Manna Development Agency in South Sudan were empowered to shift local power dynamics. This intervention achieved a 36% female representation rate on local councils—surpassing state quotas—and secured the strategic appointment of women to crucial Peace Response Committees, fundamentally altering the gender dynamics of local peace-building.
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Documentation of Violations (Objective 3)
Addressing the need for secure, verifiable evidence of human rights abuses, Civil Rights Defenders (CRD) successfully rolled out the Defenders Database (DiDi). This digital infrastructure provided local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) with a highly secure, standardized tool to meticulously record abuses. DiDi has since become an invaluable historical record, empowering advocates to mount evidence-based campaigns to hold human rights violators and authoritarian regimes accountable on international stages.
Process, Efficiency, and Relevance
The evaluation noted high programmatic efficiency, particularly in HRD protection case management and flexible sub-granting. By operating as a consortium, CHARM produced a significant multiplier effect, delivering resources rapidly to the grassroots level where bureaucratic international donors often struggle to reach. The strategic added value of the consortium was most evident in its ability to create rare, intersectional spaces. By bringing together journalists, technologists, and human rights activists—groups that typically operate in silos—CHARM fostered peer learning through flagship events like the African Investigative Journalism Conference (AIJC) and the Sustainable Journalism Partnership (SJP).
The programme remained highly relevant to the deteriorating context of Sub-Saharan Africa, pivoting effectively during the COVID-19 pandemic and responding dynamically to sudden political crises (e.g., coups in West Africa and conflict in the Horn of Africa).
Strategic Recommendations
- Deepen Intersectional Collaboration: Move beyond surface-level coordination to facilitate deep, cross-sectoral collaboration between media houses and civil society organizations, permanently breaking down operational silos.
- Gender-Transformative Approaches: Evolve programmatic interventions from being merely "gender-sensitive" to "gender-transformative," actively seeking to dismantle the patriarchal structures that disproportionately endanger women human rights defenders (WHRDs).
- Unified MEL Systems: Adopt stronger, cohesive, and consortium-wide Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) systems to better track long-term, non-linear policy changes and complex advocacy outcomes.
- Localization of Power: Continue to decentralize decision-making and funding, ensuring that local partners have agency over resource allocation and strategic direction.
Consortium Progress Report (Jan - Jun 2025)
Compiled by: CHARM Coordination Team | Reporting Period: January 1, 2025 – June 30, 2025
Executive Summary & Strategic Overview
The first half of 2025 marked a period of accelerated impact and strategic consolidation for the CHARM Consortium. Navigating an increasingly hostile environment for civil society in several Sub-Saharan African states, the consortium focused on operationalizing the recommendations from the End Evaluation. This period saw significant advancements across all four core objectives: bolstering advocacy to protect civic space, enhancing public trust in independent media, strengthening intersectional coalitions, and building the resilience and tenacity of frontline human rights defenders.
During this reporting period, the consortium successfully leveraged its combined regional weight to influence high-level policy, disburse life-saving emergency protections, and incubate innovative civic technology solutions that combat both state surveillance and widespread digital disinformation.
Objective 1: Bolstered Advocacy
CHARM played a pivotal role in shaping continental human rights frameworks. Partners actively contributed to the African Union's operationalization of the Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls. Additionally, rigorous advocacy efforts successfully influenced the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) to draft and adopt a crucial General Comment specifically detailing the protection protocols for environmental Human Rights Defenders.
Objective 4: Resilience & Protection
In response to escalating conflicts and targeted political crackdowns, DefendDefenders (DD) and Civil Rights Defenders (CRD) disbursed rapid-response emergency grants to 46 high-risk HRDs and their families. This critical intervention provided immediate relocation assistance, secure housing, legal representation, and necessary psychosocial support, effectively preventing severe harm and allowing activists to continue their work from safe environments.
Objective 2: Media Ecosystems
Fojo Media Institute significantly scaled the Africa Facts Network, growing its membership to 59 organizations. This network conducted over 150 coordinated election fact-checks, combating state-sponsored disinformation. Concurrently, the Green Media Accelerator provided vital seed funding and mentorship to 5 innovative startups that successfully blended climate advocacy with digital media creation.
Objective 3: Intersectional Coalition Building & Innovation
A cornerstone of the 2025 strategy has been the intentional dismantling of silos between distinct activist communities. A landmark achievement in this regard was the Changemakers Week held in Lusaka, Zambia. This innovative convening brought together a diverse cohort of human rights defenders, investigative journalists, and civic artists. The curriculum uniquely integrated rigorous digital security training with storytelling workshops and holistic wellness sessions. Participants were equipped with practical tools—such as password managers and device hygiene protocols—while deeply exploring the intersection between mental health and sustainable, long-term activism.
Simultaneously, the power of intersectional solidarity was demonstrated through the Feminist Learning Exchange in Ethiopia. Led by Ourji Biso and supported by CRD, this initiative successfully gathered Muslim women HRDs who frequently face isolated, compounded discrimination. The exchange shattered internal stereotypes, fostered profound solidarity across diverse backgrounds, and sparked a coordinated online resistance campaign against oppressive patriarchal norms. As one participant noted, the space allowed them to transcend the label of "just another Muslim woman" and build an autonomous network of support.
On the digital innovation front, Magamba Network expanded its highly successful Open Parly initiative. By deploying civic tech platforms across Uganda, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe, the project enabled thousands of youth to transparently track legislative processes, engage directly with their representatives, and hold governments accountable in the digital public square. Meanwhile, at the continental level, CIVICUS and RFLD co-hosted strategic side events at the ACHPR in Banjul, aggressively advocating for the implementation of a data-driven early-warning model designed to detect and preempt emerging threats to civic space across member states.
Mid-Term Evaluation Inception Report (Sept 2025)
Date: September 8, 2025 | Subject: Outcome Harvest of the CHARM Programme
Evaluation Purpose and Scope
The Mid-Term Evaluation (MTE) Inception Report outlines the comprehensive framework designed to assess the ongoing impact and trajectory of the CHARM Programme. As the consortium navigates complex, fluid, and often restrictive political landscapes across Sub-Saharan Africa, traditional linear evaluation models are insufficient. Therefore, this MTE is structured to serve both accountability and learning purposes, providing actionable, real-time feedback to the CHARM Coordination Team, individual consortium partners, and the funding body (Sida). The evaluation will rigorously assess the programme against established OECD-DAC criteria: Relevance, Coherence, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact, and Sustainability.
Methodological Approach: Developmental Evaluation & Outcome Harvesting
The core methodology adopted by the evaluation team is Developmental Evaluation, specifically utilizing Outcome Harvesting as the primary qualitative tool. Outcome Harvesting is uniquely suited for complex environments where cause-and-effect relationships are non-linear and unpredictable. Instead of merely tracking progress against predetermined activities, this approach works backward: identifying tangible, real-world changes (outcomes) in the behavior, relationships, actions, or policies of societal actors, and then determining how CHARM's interventions contributed to those changes.
The Six-Step Outcome Harvesting Process:
- Designing the Outcome Harvest: Collaboratively defining the primary questions, identifying the most critical strategic areas of focus, and determining the intended use of the findings with the CHARM Coordination Team.
- Reviewing Documentation: Systematically analyzing existing partner reports, MEL data logs, the Defenders Database, and previous impact narratives to draft initial outcome descriptions.
- Engaging with Human Sources: Conducting deep-dive Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with grassroots HRDs, journalists, and sub-grantees to enrich and verify the drafted outcomes.
- Substantiation: Validating the collected outcome claims through independent, external expert sources to ensure objective accuracy and mitigate self-reporting bias.
- Analyzing and Interpreting: Utilizing advanced qualitative analysis software (ATLAS.ti) to perform thematic coding, making sense of the harvested outcomes and extracting broad, actionable patterns.
- Supporting Use of Findings: Facilitating utilization-focused learning sessions to ensure that the evaluation insights actively drive strategic adaptation and programme refinement.
Expert Evaluation Team
Risk Management and Ethical Protocols
Given that CHARM operates in highly sensitive and frequently hostile political environments, the evaluation framework prioritizes stringent Do-No-Harm principles. The inception report mandates a comprehensive risk mitigation strategy to protect both the evaluators and the informants. Key measures include developing robust backup stakeholder lists to circumvent sudden communication blackouts, establishing a highly flexible timeline with built-in buffer periods to accommodate political volatility, and implementing emergency communication protocols for crisis situations.
Furthermore, the evaluation emphasizes data security. All engagements with at-risk HRDs will utilize secure, encrypted communication channels, with strict anonymization protocols applied to all public-facing reports to prevent the identification of vulnerable human sources. This ethical, adaptive framework ensures that the Mid-Term Evaluation can extract profound programmatic insights without jeopardizing the safety or operational capacity of the defenders it seeks to support.