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Lessons

LESSON

Lesson Learned: Human rights and democracy campaign

The project did not consider why legal and administrative documentation had not already been made available in languages other than French. Targeted lobbying would have been appropriate to highlight the necessity of translating legal and administrative documents into the different national languages and to facilitate their use by locally elected officials and rural communities.
Project Partner
Association pour la Recherche et l'Education pour le Développement en
Project Description
Aiming to contribute to the emergence of responsible and aware citizens in four of Senegal’s regions, the project provided information on human rights and democracy in the country’s most common languages - Wolof and Pulaar. The project also aimed to ensure citizens access to legal and administrative texts through local document libraries; and trained local resource persons to be involved in the establishment of democracy and human rights monitoring centres. The project responded to clearly existing information gaps and its relevance was enhanced by the fact that it sought to build the capacity of local officials and leaders to implement decentralization policies and other decision-making processes. It is a matter of concern, however, that the project did not include any lobbying component targeting the government itself, to address the language issue at policy level, which was the principal root cause for lack of relevant legal and administrative documentation.
Evaluation Date
October 2011
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Human rights and democracy campaign

Promotion of the use of different national languages could have enhanced democratization, decentralization and development, to better implement Senegal’s international human rights commitments.
Project Partner
Association pour la Recherche et l'Education pour le Développement en
Project Description
Aiming to contribute to the emergence of responsible and aware citizens in four of Senegal’s regions, the project provided information on human rights and democracy in the country’s most common languages - Wolof and Pulaar. The project also aimed to ensure citizens access to legal and administrative texts through local document libraries; and trained local resource persons to be involved in the establishment of democracy and human rights monitoring centres. The project responded to clearly existing information gaps and its relevance was enhanced by the fact that it sought to build the capacity of local officials and leaders to implement decentralization policies and other decision-making processes. It is a matter of concern, however, that the project did not include any lobbying component targeting the government itself, to address the language issue at policy level, which was the principal root cause for lack of relevant legal and administrative documentation.
Evaluation Date
October 2011
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Human rights and democracy campaign

Some partnership agreements lacked detail. Cooperation on the development of the manuals and the implementation of the initial training session was undermined by misunderstandings. These stemmed in part from the failure of the agreement between the partners to set out clearly their tasks and responsibilities.
Project Partner
Association pour la Recherche et l'Education pour le Développement en
Project Description
Aiming to contribute to the emergence of responsible and aware citizens in four of Senegal’s regions, the project provided information on human rights and democracy in the country’s most common languages - Wolof and Pulaar. The project also aimed to ensure citizens access to legal and administrative texts through local document libraries; and trained local resource persons to be involved in the establishment of democracy and human rights monitoring centres. The project responded to clearly existing information gaps and its relevance was enhanced by the fact that it sought to build the capacity of local officials and leaders to implement decentralization policies and other decision-making processes. It is a matter of concern, however, that the project did not include any lobbying component targeting the government itself, to address the language issue at policy level, which was the principal root cause for lack of relevant legal and administrative documentation.
Evaluation Date
October 2011
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Human rights and democracy campaign

The activity of drafting handbooks on issues including human rights, decentralization, and conflict management was a key prerequisite to the training, which took five instead of two months.
Project Partner
Association pour la Recherche et l'Education pour le Développement en
Project Description
Aiming to contribute to the emergence of responsible and aware citizens in four of Senegal’s regions, the project provided information on human rights and democracy in the country’s most common languages - Wolof and Pulaar. The project also aimed to ensure citizens access to legal and administrative texts through local document libraries; and trained local resource persons to be involved in the establishment of democracy and human rights monitoring centres. The project responded to clearly existing information gaps and its relevance was enhanced by the fact that it sought to build the capacity of local officials and leaders to implement decentralization policies and other decision-making processes. It is a matter of concern, however, that the project did not include any lobbying component targeting the government itself, to address the language issue at policy level, which was the principal root cause for lack of relevant legal and administrative documentation.
Evaluation Date
October 2011
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Human rights and democracy campaign

Democracy and human rights monitoring centres were not established, because they were considered highly political by local officials. It was probably overambitious on the part of the project to seek the establishment of formal structures to monitor governance. A more detailed analysis, carried out by researchers or organizations with specialist expertise in local governance issues, would probably have led to a better understanding of the power politics at stake. The grantee reacted ad hoc, and took an alternative approach requesting trained community leaders present in the field to act as focal points in the monitoring of governance.
Project Partner
Association pour la Recherche et l'Education pour le Développement en
Project Description
Aiming to contribute to the emergence of responsible and aware citizens in four of Senegal’s regions, the project provided information on human rights and democracy in the country’s most common languages - Wolof and Pulaar. The project also aimed to ensure citizens access to legal and administrative texts through local document libraries; and trained local resource persons to be involved in the establishment of democracy and human rights monitoring centres. The project responded to clearly existing information gaps and its relevance was enhanced by the fact that it sought to build the capacity of local officials and leaders to implement decentralization policies and other decision-making processes. It is a matter of concern, however, that the project did not include any lobbying component targeting the government itself, to address the language issue at policy level, which was the principal root cause for lack of relevant legal and administrative documentation.
Evaluation Date
October 2011
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Action Program for the involvement of religious leaders and community opinion leaders in promoting democracy and sustaining peace in Togo

Planned activities were mostly undertaken and the training and some published materials were of good quality. The vague strategy and the lack of professionalism of those responsible for its implementation have ultimately made the project less effective than it could have been.
Project Partner
Association Internationale des Educateurs pour la Paix du Monde
Project Description
The project aimed to contribute to the establishment of a climate of peace in Togo in advance of the 2010 elections. The project strategy was to involve religious leaders in support of the promotion of democracy and sustainable peace in Togo. In addition the project aimed to strengthen institutional support to community organizations, giving priority to community and religious leaders, and among them especially women and youth. The project document identified the poor state of human rights and the recurrence of electoral violence. Factors that reduced the relevance of the project were the limited involvement of main religious faiths other than protestant, the reduced audience of these churches, and the failure to address human rights violations actually committed in Togo.
Evaluation Date
October 2011
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Action Program for the involvement of religious leaders and community opinion leaders in promoting democracy and sustaining peace in Togo

In terms of familiarization with human rights and democracy, the project may have had a positive impact among the community and religious leaders who participated in the training sessions in Togo. It was, however, impossible to identify specific impacts of the project activities on the wider target groups of parish and community members. The same applies to women leaders: those who participated in training may have benefitted in terms of knowledge, but the project managers could not identify specific changes in women's participation in public affairs that could have been attributable to the project.
Project Partner
Association Internationale des Educateurs pour la Paix du Monde
Project Description
The project aimed to contribute to the establishment of a climate of peace in Togo in advance of the 2010 elections. The project strategy was to involve religious leaders in support of the promotion of democracy and sustainable peace in Togo. In addition the project aimed to strengthen institutional support to community organizations, giving priority to community and religious leaders, and among them especially women and youth. The project document identified the poor state of human rights and the recurrence of electoral violence. Factors that reduced the relevance of the project were the limited involvement of main religious faiths other than protestant, the reduced audience of these churches, and the failure to address human rights violations actually committed in Togo.
Evaluation Date
October 2011
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Action Program for the involvement of religious leaders and community opinion leaders in promoting democracy and sustaining peace in Togo

The results of the project in Togo were significantly less than planned for in the budget. It is clear that the project enabled the grantee to rent and furnish premises and to pay its staff for 24 months. In addition, the vast majority linked their participation in the existence of financial compensation. The project did therefore not meet the criterion of sustainability.
Project Partner
Association Internationale des Educateurs pour la Paix du Monde
Project Description
The project aimed to contribute to the establishment of a climate of peace in Togo in advance of the 2010 elections. The project strategy was to involve religious leaders in support of the promotion of democracy and sustainable peace in Togo. In addition the project aimed to strengthen institutional support to community organizations, giving priority to community and religious leaders, and among them especially women and youth. The project document identified the poor state of human rights and the recurrence of electoral violence. Factors that reduced the relevance of the project were the limited involvement of main religious faiths other than protestant, the reduced audience of these churches, and the failure to address human rights violations actually committed in Togo.
Evaluation Date
October 2011
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Action Program for the involvement of religious leaders and community opinion leaders in promoting democracy and sustaining peace in Togo

The grantee should have established structures to ensure that weaknesses and difficulties encountered will be avoided in the future. In particular the organization should ensure that financial controls check payments for administrative appropriateness and also in terms of their relevance to project objectives. In addition, project strategy and design should be coordinated with other non-governmental organizations working on human rights and democracy.
Project Partner
Association Internationale des Educateurs pour la Paix du Monde
Project Description
The project aimed to contribute to the establishment of a climate of peace in Togo in advance of the 2010 elections. The project strategy was to involve religious leaders in support of the promotion of democracy and sustainable peace in Togo. In addition the project aimed to strengthen institutional support to community organizations, giving priority to community and religious leaders, and among them especially women and youth. The project document identified the poor state of human rights and the recurrence of electoral violence. Factors that reduced the relevance of the project were the limited involvement of main religious faiths other than protestant, the reduced audience of these churches, and the failure to address human rights violations actually committed in Togo.
Evaluation Date
October 2011
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Strengthening women’s empowerment in municipal government

The overall situation regarding women’s rights in Malaysia was largely unchanged by the project. However, if the project had not occurred, it is likely that the space to discuss Muslim women’s rights would have closed further as grantee activities kept these issues in the public arena. It also seems likely that this project provided a safe space for women to discuss their problems and to find strength in collective voice. The project also gave some of the women’s groups, pro-reform media and interested Members of Parliament (MPs) the language and justifications they could use to support Muslim Family Law reform when that issue arose.

Project Partner
International Women’s Development Agency
Project Description
The project objective overall was on empowering women in eight Pacific Islands. Initially the project was to concentrate on Fiji, but after a number of specific challenges including floods, political instability and the termination of elected councilors in Fiji and the country’s suspension from the Commonwealth, the project had to be redesigned. The focus shifted from elected representatives at municipal level to women working at management and service-delivery levels in local government. The project also moved to become more regional, involving women in local government across the Pacific Islands. The project included gender awareness training, Training of Trainers (ToT) for women working in local government, the creation of a Women in Local Government network and website, multimedia outreach to the community to promote understanding of local government and the crucial role women play in service delivery, and a research and publication component. Although redesign was forced onto project holders by the political climate, it turned out that the local government approach and the regional nature of the project were its major strengths.
Evaluation Date
October 2011
Country