Reflections from
Bao Han Tran Le

I still remember my first interview as I joined AN in 2019. I was visiting home, taking the call by propping up my laptop on a low chair and giving my answers while sitting on the floor because my retired parents thought that desks were no longer necessities. I was about to move to Berlin, and I was so excited to find an opportunity to contribute to something meaningful, an organization whose mission was to support civil society organizations worldwide to better work for and with the people who are most impacted. 

Back then, Accountable Now was hosted by the International Civil Society Centre and had a physical office. My commute was long, but the job was so interesting. Through my work with the Global Standard for CSO Accountability Partnership, I learned about how standards could be used to support organizations to strengthen their work, how the same standard could also be used as a tool to strengthen civic space, and what accountability looks like when organizations are practicing it (and how “good” could look different everywhere). Over time, I also got to collaborate with amazing organizations and specialists to put together tools, resources that support civil society accountability through different lenses and areas of focus (like climate, MEAL, gender, feedback, and so many more).

Flash forward to 2026, this is now my 6th year at AN, and so much has changed. For AN internally, we are now a globally distributed team, and while I’m still based in Berlin, I get to work with colleagues based all over the world – from Abuja, Nairobi, Leiden to New York. For our programming, we have expanded the way we worked with members, began partnerships in earnest with philanthropies, and continued to be the enabler within the sector that equip actors with the right tool and examine the ways organizations can improve on their practices.

As we transition into a new moment, it’s more important than ever to broker partnership and continue to work in solidarity. It’s harder than ever to do civil society work and the funding environment is extremely challenging. Yet – in this harrowing context, organizations are constantly innovating and finding ways to get the work done through ever more collaborative means to ensure that the fight for a more equal, peaceful, rights based, and healthy planet continues. The amazing work of our Members and partners demonstrate this: 

• The Vuka! Coalition (hosted by CIVICUS) brings together actors from across the sector to fight against attacks and increase resilience
• Joining Forces brings together child-focused organizations (many of whom are our current and past members) to end violence against children and secure their rights
• the Global Standard for CSO Accountability continues to bring together accountability networks from across the globe to strengthen what good looks like for the sector. Plus, it’s been recognized by the OECD DAC as an approach that can strengthen sector wide accountability. 

So as we look ahead, let’s lean into the spirit of collaboration, of solidarity and of continuous learning to make sure that the next decades can build on the last.