Lessons

The project had two primary audiences: Roma women’s NGOs and young Roma women activists. There were three additional audiences: local government officials; young people, Roma and non-Roma; and, officials of Roma political parties. This focus sought to address in a practical way the weakness of Roma civil society organizations, and particularly those led by, and working for, Roma women, in undertaking advocacy on behalf of their own people. The grantee accomplished a great deal with the small amount of funds provided. It built on the strategic plan developed for 2008-2010, and its earlier project “Implementation of CEDAW for Romani Women”, as well as follow-up initiatives (2005-2008). Through an extremely careful allocation of funds to different areas of activity, the organization was able to undertake a long list of activities and, thus, achieve its own objective. Yet, from an external perspective, it is apparent that there were insufficient funds for some activities, where follow-up was badly needed.

The objective of the project was to reinforce local governance by helping to strengthen democratic practices among the indigenous and Afro-descendant populations of Ecuador. The project’s key components comprised of training for young leaders from the indigenous and Afro-descendant communities in leadership techniques and political influence; activities to raise the awareness and visibility of the target audience; institutional strengthening of the partner organisations and the creation of opportunities for political dialogue. Ecuador introduced a new constitution in 2008, which focused on improving the living conditions of vulnerable and marginalized communities and groups, fighting poverty and the promotion of sustainable human development. The decision to focus the project on young leaders, including a fair representation of young women, who had not previously had the chance to learn about and practice their civic responsibility, also proved to be relevant to the political context of renewal in the country.

The project’s objective was to enhance the quality of rural women’s political participation by raising their awareness of fundamental rights; the advantages of democracy and the importance of participation. The grantee aimed to mobilize and motivate rural women to actively participate in political life, and to organize them to take collective efforts on their own behalf.  Activities were targeted at both women and men in 680 communities in Sindh Province, Pakistan, and included data collection, participatory meetings, extensive media campaigns and social gatherings to stimulate community discussion, and the organization of local groups to promote and protect women’s rights. The project was relevant, given the fact that democratic participation in Pakistan, especially of women, was low. Underlying causes included the male-dominated social system, low awareness of fundamental freedoms and democratic rights, and a general lack of confidence in democratic processes.

The project aimed to enhance dialogue between poor citizens across the Southern Africa region and policy-makers at local level. It also aimed to enhance the responsiveness and accountability of government institutions. To do this the project established Radio Listener Clubs (RLCs) and the produced interactive radio programming to bring citizens’ voices to the attention of a wider audience, and to bridge the gap between local decision-makers and poor rural and urban communities. Despite problems the project succeeded in producing and broadcasting a substantial set of programmes by both the community rural and urban radio stations. In at least three of the participating countries, the project increased awareness and knowledge of development issues and encouraged dialogue within communities to determine priorities for advocacy with local government. In Zambia the Project contributed in some way to increased engagement between the poor and local decision-makers in the rural target areas.

The project aimed to create conditions for more active civic engagement among poor rural citizens. It also aimed to strengthen the capacities of local government to be more accountable and effective in rural provinces in Bangladesh. Project activities were undertaken pre- and post-elections. In line with Bangladesh’s National Rural Development Policy and the constitutional mandate, the project made a deliberate effort to reach out to socially disadvantaged communities. The project’s baseline survey confirmed that the target area's rural population was hardly involved in local decision-making processes and that little was known about the roles and responsibilities of their locally elected representatives, the Union Parishad (UP) members. Capacity building and communication activities prompted UPs to activate public consultation mechanisms such as standing committees and topical community meetings. Poor citizens were brought into direct contact with their UP members. The project greatly facilitated access to and use of local resources and services corresponding to the needs of the rural poor and the marginalized.

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.

The project aimed strengthened the capacity of the Somali media to implement principles and practices of democracy and respect for human rights by providing professional training to Somali journalists across the country, focusing on ethics and good journalistic practices, and holding workshops on good governance and human rights. The use of training sessions and workshops was appropriate to address the issue of journalists’ skills development. Creation of a media centre was also useful in helping journalists to do their work. However, the project's planned activities were not sufficient to address all its objectives. The number of participating journalists was on target, as was the ratio of women participants (30%). This is a very significant achievement, considering the prevalence of armed violence and high levels of political instability in many parts of Somalia during the project period. Significantly, the project benefited about half of Somalia’s journalists. On the other hand, the failure to address other stakeholders - government, editors, and publishers - reduced the likelihood of positive changes. However, the very fact that the project took place has to be seen as an achievement in its own right.

The project aimed to prepare Iraqi women for full and equal participation in the democratic process, by equipping them with knowledge of their rights and by providing a practical set of skills to empower them use this knowledge politically. The grantee worked with existing NGOs that were members the Iraq Civic Action Network. Activities included Training of Trainers for NGO participants; internships for young women who were placed with the NGOs; knowledge-sharing workshops and civic forums organized by the trainees to reach out to a wider public, including decision makers and media; and the reinvigoration of a National Committee for the Political Participation of Iraqi Women.

Empowering people through citizens’ journalism in Albania sought to strengthen the outreach of CSOs representing socially vulnerable groups to the community through citizen journalism by 1) equipping CSOs with public communication skills, 2) establishing a community radio station and a web portal at Tirana University, and 3) training students to report on socially relevant topics. The project was unable to establish the on-air radio but continued some training components at the University of Tirana. Activities were also extended to the University of Elbasan which had an existing campus radio station and a dean interested in community radio and citizen journalism. The project created an internet portal called “YouRadio” that it based in the IRIOM project office where it could record and upload its programming. It also branched out to broadcast each programme on a national FM radio station run by Ora, through paid airtime at a regular time each week. Towards the end of the project, it also found the private Marlin Barleti University in Tirana interested in establishing a campus radio station and provided the project equipment to its communications department.

The project focused on the role of the media as a source of information for women at grassroots level, and as an influencing agent on government and institutional processes, promoting women’s voices and issues in the media. Additionally, the project aimed to build the capacity of advocacy groups to work with the media on behalf of women and other marginalized groups. The project succeeded in bringing women’s issues into the national debate ahead of the political reform process in Kenya. Most prominent was the monthly publication of the online newsletter Kenyan Woman which effectively framed women’s issues to more than 3 million subscribers. Kenyan Woman caught the attention of senior politicians, brought women’s stories to the attention of Kenya’s Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, and influenced mainstream media to increase their focus on women’s issues.