e-CIVICUS Editorial Guidelines
CIVICUS has been distributing its electronic newsletter, e-CIVICUS, to network partners and
CIVICUS members since 1999. This free weekly electronic publication is keeping tens of
thousands of people, organisations and programmes informed of the many developments taking
place within civil society organisations around the world, the many factors that are affecting them
and the impact they are having on creating a more just, equitable and sustainable world.
e-CIVICUS is available in English, in a number of different electronic formats such as html, word,
pdf and text. It is disseminated to over 80, 000 subscribers worldwide, and is attracting +-1500,
new subscribers every month.
The overall aim of e-CIVICUS is to develop and share knowledge with the goals of raising the
profile of civil society around the world and building civil society’s reputation. e-CIVICUS hopes to
strengthen independent civil society reportage through its contribution of civil society news. eCIVICUS is published with the assistance of CIVICUS programmes, members and network
partners. The production of e-CIVICUS is overseen by the editor-in-chief. The editor produces a
weekly draft in consultation with the editorial team, e-CIVICUS readers/subscribers and the global
civil society network partners.
In order to maintain a broad coverage of global civil society issues, e-CIVICUS seeks
contributions from around the globe and across all divisions of civil society.
General requirements:
1. All contributions must be civil society focused or have a civil society angle. For instance,
a resource must be about civil society, for civil society and/or from civil society. There
are no restrictions with regard to geography or issues to be covered as long as they fulfill
the civil society mandate or requirements.
2. Text should be written in clear simple language and should be between 100-200 words.
3. All contributions should include a link to a website where the reader can receive more
information. If further information is not available on a website, you can send the
information with your submissions for posting on the CIVICUS website.
4. At the moment, contributions must be submitted in English.
5. Submissions of pictures or logos to accompany contributions are encouraged.
Section specific guidelines:
1. Guest Column
a. Guest columns are accepted from representatives of civil society writing on
topics with which they have personal and/or institutional experience. Research
columns or articles are also welcome.
b. Columns should be opinion pieces. They can be on a broad range of topics and
be focused on specific issues but should retain an interest for civil society in
general.
c.
Columns cannot be used to promote a specific organisation or its
programmes.These can be mentioned but only in the context of a broader
discussion of issues and best practices.
d. Columns should be between 750-1500 words. Note that all columns will be
posted on the CIVICUS website (www.civicus.org) as well as the CIVICUS blog
(http://civicus.civiblog.org) or any other CIVICUS programme websites.
e. Columns can appear on other websites/publications so long as copyright
restrictions do not prevent the column from appearing in e-CIVICUS or on the
CIVICUS blog or website.
f. A brief summary of the column must first be submitted to editor@civicus.org for
approval before submission of the complete column.
2. e-CIVICUS Dialogues
In this section, we publish comments we receive from readers. The skillful exchange
or interaction between e-CIVICUS subscribers develops a shared understanding as
the basis for building trust, fostering a sense of ownership, facilitating genuine
agreement and enabling creative problem solving. This section seeks to engage eCIVICUS community in dialogue. Comments and questions should be addressed to
the editors at editor@civicus.org.
3. Civil Society News
a. Contributions in this section are accepted from all sectors of civil society. They
can include news items of international importance or interesting regional and
national news.
b. Contributions must be timely. Any news item more than 7 days old at the time of
submission will not be considered.
c. e-CIVICUS tries to maintain broad regional and topical coverage. Therefore
regular submissions from the same country or on the same topic will not be
accepted. Generally, at least a month should pass between an update on a
specific topic, unless there are major developments.
4. Accountability
5. Get Involved!
6. Millennium Development Goals and Global Call To Action against Poverty
Perspectives
a. Contributions for this section must relate in some capacity to the Millennium
Development Goals, including the Global Call to Action against Poverty, and the
Millennium Declaration.
b. Contributions can include news items, resources, campaign
announcements/profiles and conferences.
5. Civil Society Activism on Global Institutions
This section seeks to highlight major new accounts regarding activism in civil society and its evermore important global role in public, economic and political life. Comments and questions can be
directed to editor@civicus.org.
6. Donor Profile
a. Donors profiled in the section can include international foundations, regional or
local grant makers, and government aid agencies.
b. Profiles should include the donor’s mission and areas of interest. In addition, the
profile should mention the types of projects and organisations the donor funds
as well as the general size and scope of funding.
c. The link for more information should be to the Donor’s website. If no website is
available, an email address or a link to a third party website with more
information may be considered.
7. Member Profile
a. Only current CIVICUS members will be profiled in this section. No contributions
are accepted.
b. If you are a CIVICUS member and have not yet submitted a profile, please email
a brief (100-200 words) description of your organisation to editor@civicus.org.
8. Book Reviews
9. Capacity Building
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
a. This section profiles capacity building resources that are available online. In
particular, contributions are sought that describe toolkits that can build the
capacity of civil society organisations.
b. Toolkits can cover a wide range of topics including non-profit management,
fundraising and specific programme/issue development.
c. Ideally, resources profiled in this section should be available online. If not, they
should be easily accessible to a large component of civil society around the
world.
Resources
a. Contributions can include books, reports, websites and other resources available
either online or in print.
b. Resources can be on a wide range of topics and issues. However, resources
should be about civil society, developed for civil society, and/or developed by
civil society. While resources can be on specific or local issues, they must
include an element of interest for a broad range of civil society, whether as an
example of best practices, lessons learned, and other knowledge sharing
benefits.
c. For resources not available electronically, the contribution must include a link to
information on how to obtain the resource.
d. While resources that are available free of charge are preferable, resources
available at a reasonable cost will also be considered.
Conferences/Events
a. Announcements regarding conferences/events organised by or for civil society
will be accepted.
b. Conferences must be submitted at least two weeks prior to the event or, if there
is a registration deadline, two weeks prior to the deadline. Conferences can be
submitted up to a year in advance.
c. Conferences are included in e-CIVICUS in order of their occurrence with some
rearrangement to ensure sufficient geographical and topical diversity in each
issue. Therefore, a conference may not be included in e-CIVICUS until several
weeks after it is submitted.
Funding Opportunities
a. Contributions in this section can include awards, scholarships, funding
programmes, fellowships and other funding opportunities.
b. Funding opportunities should be for civil society practitioners/organisations or for
projects/programmes related to civil society.
c. Funding opportunities must be submitted at least two weeks prior to any
application deadline.
Courses/Workshops
a. Announcements regarding courses/Workshops organised by, for or about civil
society, its organisations and/or its practitioners will be accepted.
b. Courses can include anything from accredited academic programmes to daylong workshops.
c. Courses must be submitted at least two weeks prior to the event or, if there is a
registration deadline, two weeks prior to the deadline. Courses can be submitted
up to a year in advance.
d. Courses are included in e-CIVICUS in order of their occurrence with some
rearrangement to ensure sufficient geographical and topical diversity in each
issue. Therefore, courses may not be included in e-CIVICUS until several weeks
after they are submitted.
Call for Papers/Submissions/Proposals/Nominations
a. Calls for papers/submissions/proposals/nominations are accepted from all civil
society organisations and partner organisations.
b. Calls must be submitted at least two weeks prior to deadlines and can be made
available on a yearly basis.
Appointments
a. Job announcements are accepted from all civil society organisations.
b. Announcements must be submitted 2 weeks prior to the closing date.
c. A link must be provided to where an applicant can find further details on applying
for the position. If no link is available, the details must be provided to CIVICUS
for posting in the classifieds section of www.civicus.org.
Sources: e-CIVICUS content depends heavily on information and resources in electronic
publications and websites. All contributions must include a link to the original source/s of
information.
Editing: The e-CIVICUS editors retain the right to edit and revise any contribution to e-CIVICUS
as they see fit without approval from the contributor, with the exception of guest columns where
the author must approve any content changes.
Acceptance: The e-CIVICUS editors retain the right to refuse to include any contribution or
accompanying image they feel does not meet these guidelines or is in any way inappropriate for
e-CIVICUS. In addition, the e-CIVICUS editorial team retains the right not to publish an otherwise
suitable contribution due to space constraints.
Deadline: e-CIVICUS is published every Friday. For inclusion in an issue, contributions must be
received by the end of business on the preceding Tuesday. For events or items with deadlines,
the contribution must be received at least 2 weeks before the event or deadline.
Submission: All submissions should be submitted electronically to editor@civicus.org by the
deadline. For guest columns, please send a query with a brief summary of your column to this
address for approval before submitting your completed column.
Cost and Compensation: All announcements and classifieds in e-CIVICUS are included free of
charge. Similarly, contributions to e-CIVICUS are not remunerated. However, all contributors will
receive recognition in e-CIVICUS using the phrase ‘Submitted by [name]' after the item. In the
case of guest columns, the author will be recognized in e-CIVICUS using ‘[Title] by [name]’. All
other recognition of authors will be included on the web page to which the contribution is linked.
e-CIVICUS Subscription: It remains a challenge to reach our target of 150, 000 subscription by
the end of 2007. At the moment we send out invitation letters to 1800 e-mail addresses inviting
subscription to e-CIVICUS on a weekly basis. The feedback we receive strengthens this
publication and requires that we recognise its diversity. If you have any questions about these
guidelines or submissions, please email editor@civicus.org. For a free subscription to eCIVICUS, please fill out the form at www.civicus.org/new/content/ecivicussubscription.htm. To
subscribe or unsubscribe your mailing address, please e-mail: subscriptions@civicus.org.
Final Draft
e-CIVICUS editorial team - 2006 - 03 - 28