As we reflect on our work in 2025, we’re reminded that strengthening accountability often begins with participation – creating spaces where communities can speak, engage, question, and shape the systems around them.

Across our network, teams worked alongside citizens, artists, judicial... actors, youth leaders, and community organizers to advance civic participation, strengthen digital accountability, counter disinformation, and expand opportunities for more inclusive engagement in public life.

From participatory budgeting assemblies in Mexico, to judicial dialogues on surveillance and civic space in Nigeria, to community-led media literacy initiatives in Mali, and digital democracy programming in Pakistan – these efforts reflect the many ways accountability is practiced and protected across contexts.

As we release our annual reports, we’re proud to share some of the ways our teams continued building trust, participation, and collective action in challenging environments.

👓 Read more in our annual reports: https://lnkd.in/gmMkDeWq

#AnnualReport #accountability | Accountability Lab Mexico | Accountability Lab Nigeria | Accountability Lab Mali | Accountability Lab Pakistan

💡 When traditional pathways to participation fall short, young people find new ways to be heard.

Join us for a virtual showcase featuring spoken word, music, and creative acts of protest and participation from around the world, followed by a panel on how young people are increasingly ...turning to music, spoken word, art, and storytelling as alternative pathways for civic engagement.

On our panel are creative change makers Amanda Chenai Makombe (Zimbabwe), Nishchhal Kharal (Nepal), Rafid Ariyan (Bangladesh), and Leiden Gomis (Mexico).

🗓️ Wednesday 20 May, 9am ET /1pm UTC
🔗 Register here: https://bit.ly/3P9L59h

🗳️ In the run up to Nepal’s most “youthful” elections in June, Accountability Lab Nepal answered the question “how do we funnel young people’s appetite for institutional change and proven movement building skills into existing processes?”

As part of the Youth-Led Election ...Monitoring initiative, the Lab designed an approach with space enough for young people to observe and experience the electoral process firsthand, but also flexibility for it to be directed by the young people involved.

The initiative engaged 15 Nepali youth (aged 20-34) as observers and frontline civic activists. They captured refreshing metrics such as evolving rumours, concerns, and evolving public narratives, while tracking the election event through the lens of underemphasised indicators such as green elections, inclusion, and intergenerational narrative on emerging youth candidates. Their tech savvy also tracked and captured conversation around electoral candidates online – uncovering cases of misinformation and digital attacks by bots.

Through this initiative, the Lab also supported domestic election observer organizations by strengthening their mandate, expertise, and networks to conduct observation activities during the election period.

This is just some of what emerged from intentionally centering youth leadership and not tokenistic involvement.

👓 Read the full piece in the The Diplomat Nepal:

Nepali Youths in the Frontline of Electoral Governance - The Diplomat Nepal

Kathmandu: The Nepali Youths catalyzed the movement and have transitioned to the governance reform process in Nepal. The question now remains if their

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What happens when the city you live in does not see you as part of it?

We’re excited to share that Accountability Lab Mexico is premiering its documentary Del Papel al Territorio (From Paper to Territory) on YouTube today. 🎬

In Mexico City, access to housing, public services,... and even decision-making spaces is often shaped more by postal code than by people’s needs. Thousands of families living in self-built settlements continue to face barriers to information, services, and meaningful participation.

This documentary tells the story of Yuguelito, a community of more than 2,000 people in Iztapalapa that transformed an abandoned space into a self-organized neighborhood. Their experience with Mexico City’s Participatory Budget process reveals the gap between participation as it is designed and participation as it is actually lived.

Through this work, Accountability Lab Mexico supports communities in navigating public systems, strengthening accountability, and bridging the gap between citizens and institutions so governance can work for everyone.

Del Papel al Territorio is a powerful reminder that accessible and transparent participation is not just a policy issue, it is a matter of justice, especially for communities living on the urban periphery.

🎥 Watch their story and join the conversation: https://bit.ly/4wy7DRV