The laureates

Can you introduce yourself ? 

My name is Asma Darwish, and I am a human rights advocate from Bahrain who has been living in France as a political refugee since 2015.

I live in Tours and work as an entrepreneur in the field of human rights communications, helping NGOs develop their campaigns, use advocacy tools, and give their causes an international reach. I currently work as a campaign manager at an organization called CIVICUS, which is an alliance of civil society organizations from around the world. This organization has more than 15,000 partner members.

Can you tell me more about your project and your association ?

I am committed in a project in CIVICUS, called "We Rise Initiativewhich I co-pilot.

This project brings together and connects CIVICUS member civil society organizations to collectively discuss and work—through workshops—on the development of advocacy tools, awareness-raising campaigns, and training programs.

These tools will be used to design tailored local campaigns—using a community-based approach to address each specific issue—under the umbrella of the CIVICUS global campaign. The goal is to use these local campaigns to create a broader civic space where freedom of association is protected and promoted.

How did the Marianne initiative help you bring your project to life? Which activities were most helpful to you during the program?

When I joined the Marianne Initiative, the projects I wanted to develop weren’t entirely concrete. My main goal was to expand my network, build relationships, and deepen my understanding of the human rights ecosystem in France. The Initiative Marianne gave me the opportunity to participate in meetings and engaging discussions with numerous stakeholders in France (political actors, human rights organizations, or civil society organizations), on whom I can now rely to strengthen my work on human rights issues.

I also had the opportunity to speak at various conferences and roundtables, which was truly wonderful. Before, I didn’t dare speak at these conferences or roundtables in French, and I was greatly encouraged to do so by the organizers as part of the Initiative Marianne, which I really appreciated.

Did you stay in touch with other laureates ?

Since the program ended, I haven’t kept in touch with the participants very regularly. Throughout the program, we worked together and shared a lot: sharing the same space with people from different countries and cultures inevitably presented some challenges at first, but we eventually overcame them. We each shared our stories, exchanged experiences and expertise, and learned a great deal from one another. Communication wasn’t always easy, but for me, that’s not a bad thing—in fact, being able to handle difficult situations or communication challenges is essential.

Would you like to add anything else ? 

I hope that the work we’ve done and the initiatives we’ve begun to develop over the past six months won’t come to an end when the program concludes. I hope that the projects each of us has undertaken can be continued, and that the concerns and requests we’ve raised will continue to be addressed.

I hope that the collaboration and networking opportunities, as well as the chance to speak at such conferences and in such settings, will continue. I would be more than willing to continue working within the framework of the Marianne initiative, with all stakeholders—whether it be the association, the ministries we have worked with, or civil society organizations.