SpaceUG

SPACEUG is a civic space platform hosted by Rural Smiles Foundation to support safe reporting, civic space monitoring, social connection, and participatory civic action. It is designed for human rights defenders, journalists, civil society actors, community organisers, women leaders, youth groups, activists, digital rights actors, vulnerable communities, and local support networks working to protect rights, organise safely, document concerns, and participate in public life. SPACEUG exists because civic space actors often face threats, intimidation, harassment, violence, digital attacks, unlawful restrictions, surveillance risks, and barriers to participation. In many cases, incidents remain undocumented, affected actors do not know where to seek support, and communities lack safe channels to raise concerns, share knowledge, or contribute to decisions that affect them.      

Through its Social Module, Threat Reporting and Monitoring Module, and Participatory Module, SPACEUG helps turn isolated incidents into visible patterns, supports timely referral, strengthens collaboration, and creates safer pathways for inclusive civic participation. The development of SPACEUG was supported by the CIVICUS Crisis Response Fund under the scope of the Flexible Support Mechanism, a six-year programme led by civil society organisations. The programme is hosted by Oxfam Novib together with implementing partners Protection International, CIVICUS, and Urgent Action Fund Latin America and the Caribbean. This support enabled Rural Smiles Foundation to strengthen SPACEUG as a collaborative civic ecosystem where civil society organisations, grassroots movements, journalists, legal advocates, and community leaders can connect, share knowledge, and strengthen collective efforts to defend democratic values and civic freedoms.      

SPACEUG is built around a simple idea: civic space resilience requires safe reporting, trusted documentation, community connection, and meaningful participation working together.      

Together, these modules make SPACEUG more than a reporting platform. They create a civic ecosystem where people can connect, document risks, access support, share knowledge, and participate more safely in public life.      

The Threat Reporting and Monitoring Module was fully funded by Hivos through Digital Defenders Partnership, strengthening SPACEUG’s capacity for secure incident reporting, civic space monitoring, documentation, triage, and referral. With support from NetHope, Rural Smiles Foundation is integrating responsible AI features into the Threat Reporting and Monitoring Module to support civic space analysis, identify emerging risk patterns, and improve timely response while maintaining confidentiality, safety, and responsible data handling.      

The SPACEUG Threat Reporting and Monitoring Module provides a secure channel for reporting incidents affecting civic space, human rights work, community organising, journalism, public participation, and digital safety. It is designed to help individuals and organisations document concerns, seek support pathways, and strengthen collective understanding of civic space risks. Users can report threats, intimidation, harassment, violence, unlawful restrictions, digital attacks, surveillance concerns, event disruption, restrictions on civil society activity, attacks on journalists, threats against human rights defenders, and other incidents affecting the ability of people and communities to organise, speak, associate, assemble, report, and participate safely. Reports submitted through SPACEUG support documentation, review, triage, referral, and civic space monitoring. Where appropriate, reported concerns may help identify emerging patterns, inform response pathways, and strengthen collaboration with relevant support actors while protecting the dignity, safety, and confidentiality of those affected.      

Submit a confidential civic space report      

If you are facing or have witnessed a civic space threat, digital attack, intimidation, harassment, unlawful restriction, or other safety concern, you can submit a report through the SPACEUG Threat Reporting and Monitoring Module.