Anabel Cruz is originally from Uruguay and has three decades of experience in civil society promotion, research and training in various countries in Latin America, and in the regional and global context. She has been working for the respect of Human Rights and strengthening of democracy for a long time: she is the Founder Director of the Institute for Communication and Development (ICD) in Uruguay and has been a consultant and evaluator for international organizations, a trainer and facilitator and a visiting lecturer at universities in several countries. She has published several books on the topics of citizen participation, transparency and accountability, and her articles have appeared in journals and magazines in Latin America, the United States and Europe. Anabel has a long working experience with local, national, regional and global CSO networks and platforms. For more than 20 years she has worked extensively in mapping civil society initiatives and promoting transparency and accountability of civil society and other stakeholders, leading international research and coordinating the efforts of organizations to implement common standards, models for accountability mechanisms, compliance programs as well as spaces for reflection, exchange of information and training. Anabel is a referent in Latin America and the Caribbean for the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR); she has been the Board Chair of CIVICUS, the World Alliance for Citizen Participation in two different periods (2007-2010 and 2016-2019). She led the creation in 2009, and is since then the co-coordinator of Rendir Cuentas, a Regional Civil Society Accountability Initiative, currently gathering active CSO members and partners in 12 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Anabel is the Civil Society Co-chair of the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee.