WYDE Freedoms and the defense of civil liberties
Updated: Feb 23, 2026 Reading time: 2 minutes Share: Share an articleFreedom of association and peaceful assembly are essential components of any democracy. However, for thousands of young activists in Latin America, exercising these rights has become a high-risk activity.
The closure of civic space, political persecution, and the criminalization of social organizations have forced many to continue their work from exile, facing new forms of vulnerability and threat. It is in this context that the WYDE Freedoms project, promoted by People in Need, has been developed.
For more than 30 years, People in Need has been working tirelessly to promote human rights, education, and support for people suffering from social exclusion in various regions of the world, including Latin America.
As part of these efforts, WYDE Freedoms seeks to prepare, protect, and empower young civil society actors who defend fundamental freedoms, with a special emphasis on freedom of association and assembly. The program works with young people throughout Latin America through microfunding, training processes, organizational strengthening, and international advocacy spaces.
Strengthening youth resilience
For Yunova Acosta, a Nicaraguan activist exiled in Costa Rica and participant in the program, the experience has been significant in a context marked by repression. “We come from a country where civic space has been completely closed off and where organizing, especially as a young person, means persecution, imprisonment, and risks that even affect our families,” she says.
Although exile offers some protection from direct repression, she warns that threats linked to insecurity, precariousness, and transnational risks persist. In this regard, she emphasizes that WYDE Freedoms “strengthens our resilience and provides us with tools, support, and networks to continue defending freedom of association and assembly, even outside our countries.”
Blanco, who works to promote education for Nicaraguan exiles, emphasizes that the support received translates into greater strategic clarity and better tools to protect and project the work of civil society.
WYDE Freedoms is committed to building secure networks, generating documented information, and strengthening international cooperation as central elements to sustaining activism in contexts of exile.
For those participating in the project, recognizing and supporting organized youth not only contributes to their protection, but is also essential for rebuilding civic space and defending democracy and human rights in Latin America.
