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Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS)

Type:

International Trading Organization
Formation:

2005
Co-Founders:

Slobodan Djinovic, Srdja Popovic
Location:

Belgrade, Serbia

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The Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS) is a left-of-center international activist training organization based in Belgrade, Serbia that provides information and training targeted towards activists via its workshops, books, videos, and courses. Its “workshops and consultations” offer modules to train nonviolent movements. Such modules include strategies and tactics, branding, fundraising, and the “role of a movement in case of a coup.” 1 2

The organization, which states its aim is to “engage with students as much as with activists,” has developed university courses and held guest lectures at universities across the United States and Europe. It has worked alongside universities such as Harvard University, New York University (NYU), and Tufts University. 3

The Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Civil Society Engagement Program in Georgia, a five-year program that started on November 1, 2021. The program is worth $17 million and is implemented by the East-West Management Institute in partnership with CANVAS and various other organizations. 4

Background

The Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS) is a left-of-center international activist training organization based in Belgrade, Serbia. CANVAS has a focus on providing activists with education on nonviolent conflict resolution. 1

CANVAS provides information and training targeted at activists via its workshops, books, videos, and courses. Its website states that its “trainers” teach courses at educational institutions around the world. 1

The organization’s “workshops and consultations” offer modules to train nonviolent movements. Such modules include strategies and tactics, branding, fundraising, and the “role of a movement in case of a coup.” 2

According to its website, CANVAS has been active in 52 countries across the world and has successfully trained 16,048 activists. 5

The organization has offices in Washington, D.C.; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Male, Maldives; Tbilisi, Georgia; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Belgrade, Serbia. 1

Work in Education

CANVAS, which states its aim is to “engage with students as much as with activists,” has developed university courses and held guest lectures at universities across the United States and Europe. It has worked alongside U.S. universities such as Harvard University, New York University (NYU), and Tufts University. 3

According to its website, CANVAS has worked in cooperation with Colorado College since 2006 and has its own “CANVAS” block in the college’s Department of Political Science. The organization also developed a “Strategic Nonviolent Action” course with the University of Essex in 2014, has had a course called “Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies” at Grinnell College, and designed a course called “Waging Non-Violent Conflict: Organizing for Social Change” at New York University, which was adopted in 2021. 3

Activities in the Republic of Georgia

On October 2, 2023, the government of the Republic of Georgia accused the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) of sponsoring a workshop that the Georgian State Security Service claimed intended to “coach civilian activists and representatives of non-profit groups – one large group in particular – who will play a crucial role in an attempt to bring down the government by force.” 6

The accusations referred to a training workshop held by the Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies on September 25, 2023, that was organized by the East-West Management Institute, a left-leaning nonprofit international aid and advocacy organization located in New York City that is partially funded by several notable left-leaning grantmaking groups. The organization was founded in 1988 and focuses on issues in former Soviet states in central and eastern Europe. The East-West Management Institute is sponsored by USAID. 6 7

In 2018, the right-leaning watchdog Judicial Watch obtained documents revealing that USAID under the Obama administration had directed taxpayer dollars to the East-West Management Institute to fund activities in Albania that Judicial Watch alleged would give the country’s socialist government greater control of the Albanian judiciary. 8

The Georgian State Security Service claimed that the workshop held by CANVAS was specifically created to prepare for a revolution. 6

The United States Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia, stated in a Facebook post that the allegations were false and “fundamentally mischaracterize the goals of our assistance to Georgia.” The embassy also stated that “USAID has collaborated with CANVAS for more than two years,” and the partnership is focused on delivering “training to mothers advocating for better cancer treatments for children, and to people advocating for the rights of elderly citizens in their communities.” 9

CANVAS also responded to the allegations, stating they were “fabricated and absurd” and were “entirely unrelated to CANVAS’s work in the country.” CANVAS also stated that “over the past two years” the organization had “been implementing a USAID program in cooperation with the East-West Management Institute.” 10

The Training Course for Activists in the Arts and Culture Sector was advertised to run from September 26 until September 29, 2023, and would teach participants about “nonviolent methods of civic activism, self-organization, and mobilization of supporters.” It would hold “theoretical discussions” and give “practical assignments,” which included “drafting action plans for their own campaigns.” Those who attended the training course would receive “consultation and mentorship from experts to successfully implement their initiatives.” 10 11

People

Srdja Popovic is a co-founder of the Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies. Prior to co-founding CANVAS, Popovic also co-founded Otpor!, meaning “Resistance!,” a Serbian student activist movement founded in 1998 to protest against then Slobodan Milosevic, the authoritarian leader of the country at the time. 12 13

Otpor! organized protests and university takeovers, and by the year 2000, approximately 70,000 people had joined the movement. When it came to the general election on September 24, 2000, 86 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds participated, and the majority of people voting for the first time voted against Milosevic. Although Milosevic refused to step down, Otpor! was ultimately successful in its goal on October 5, 2000, when protesters took over the Serbian parliament. Popovic served a term on the National Assembly of Serbia after Milosevic’s removal from power. 12 13 14 15 16 17

Foreign Policy named Popovic as one of the “Top 100 Global Thinkers” of 2011, as “his group (Otpor!) inspired the Arab Spring protesters directly and indirectly.” The Arab Spring was a series of uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa in the Spring of 2011. Countries that experienced demonstrations included Syria, Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Bahrain. 18 19 20

Popovic is also a co-founder of the Democratic Futures Project, a left-of-center political advocacy organization that partners with other organizations around the world to conduct research on the state of democratic practices and human rights in other countries. The organization is funded by the Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia. 12 21 22

Popovic was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 and was listed in 2014 as a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum, a business league that primarily organizes annual meetings of international business and political leaders in Davos, Switzerland under the direction of its founder and chairman of the board of trustees, University of Geneva business professor Klaus Schwab. 18 23

Popovic has been a Visiting Researcher at the University of Virginia since 2021 and wrote the book Blueprint for Revolution. 12

Funding

The Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies is funded by U.S. Agency for International Development through its Civil Society Engagement Program in Georgia, a five-year program that started on November 1, 2021. The program is worth $17 million and is implemented by the East-West Management Institute in partnership with CANVAS, the Zinc Network, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, European Community Foundation Initiative, Center for Civil Society Studies at Johns Hopkins University, Center for Training and Consultancy, Global Compact Network Georgia, and Network of Centers for Civic Engagement. The program is scheduled to be completed on October 31, 2026. 4

References

  1. “Who We Are.” Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://canvasopedia.org/who-we-are/.
  2. “Schedule Training or Consultations.” Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://canvasopedia.org/schedule-training-or-consultations/.
  3. “University Programs.” Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://canvasopedia.org/university-programs/.
  4. “USAID Civil Society Engagement Program | USAID Civil Society Engagement Program.” USAID Civil Society Engagement Program. July 11, 2024. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://ewmi-activism.org/about-us/.
  5. “Home.” Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://canvasopedia.org/
  6. Lomsadze, Giorgi. “Georgia claims US contributes funds to coup preparations.” Eurasianet. October 3, 2023. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://eurasianet.org/georgia-claims-us-contributes-funds-to-coup-preparations
  7. “About EWMI.” East West Management Institute. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://ewmi.org/index.php/about-ewmi.
  8. Singman, Brooke. “Obama State Dept used taxpayer dollars to fund George Soros group’s political activities in Albania, watchdog group says.” Fox News. April 4, 2018. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/obama-state-dept-used-taxpayer-dollars-to-fund-george-soros-groups-political-activities-in-albania-watchdog-group-says.
  9. Tbilisi, U.S. Embassy. “Statement Regarding Georgian Government Allegations.” Facebook. October 2, 2023. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://www.facebook.com/usingeo/posts/pfbid0svi2n5HM61adqnKu6DbAhYyXULpNuwB3EvmN9a5VJrKVyxcoBwGepS3iCFvQUYFql.
  10. “CANVAS Response to Georgian State Security Service Allegations.” Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies. October 2, 2023. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://canvasopedia.org/2023/10/02/canvas-response-to-georgian-state-security-service-allegations/.
  11. “Training Course for Activists in the Arts and Culture Sector.” USAID Civil Society Engagement Program . September 27, 2024. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://ewmi-activism.org/%E1%83%A1%E1%83%90%E1%83%A1%E1%83%AC%E1%83%90%E1%83%95%E1%83%9A%E1%83%9D-%E1%83%99%E1%83%A3%E1%83%A0%E1%83%A1%E1%83%98-%E1%83%A1%E1%83%90%E1%83%98%E1%83%9C%E1%83%98%E1%83%AA%E1%83%98%E1%83%90%E1%83%A2/.
  12. “Governance.” Accessed December 3, 2024. https://www.democraticfuturesproject.com/governance.
  13. Smith, Helena. “Otpor: rage of innocents.” The Guardian. May 30, 2000. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2000/may/30/highereducation.theguardian.
  14. “The history of Serbia’s youth protests illustrates the importance of learning and adaptation in protest tactics.” EUROPP. May 30, 2013. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2013/05/30/serbia-student-protests-otpor/.
  15. “EXIT 2000 – NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS FOR DEMOCRATIC AND FAIR ELECTIONS.” Center for Democracy Foundation. Accessed December 3, 2024. http://www.centaronline.org/postavljen/60/izlazeng.pdf.
  16. O, “Maggie. “Milosevic can’t count on army.” The Guardian. September 26, 2000. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/sep/26/balkans.
  17. Steele, Jonathan. “From the archive, 6 October 2000: Yugoslavia’s hated regime crumbles.” The Guardian. October 6, 2014. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/06/yugoslavia-milosevic-revolution-2000.
  18. “Srdja Popovic.” Harvard Kennedy School. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://www.hks.harvard.edu/about/srdja-popovic.
  19. Parks, Cara. “The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers: The Revolutionaries.” Foreign Policy. November 28, 2011. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/11/28/the-fp-top-100-global-thinkers-the-revolutionaries/.
  20. “Arab Spring.” History.com. January 10, 2018. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/arab-spring.
  21. “About.” Democratic Futures Project. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://www.democraticfuturesproject.com/.
  22. “Projects.” Democratic Futures Project. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://www.democraticfuturesproject.com/projects.
  23. “Leadership and Governance.” World Economic Forum. Accessed December 3, 2024. https://www.weforum.org/about/leadership-and-governance/
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