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Lessons

LESSON

Lesson Learned: Engaging Civil Society in a Democratic Election Process in Sudan, Bahrain, Tunisia and Jordan

There was no evidence that the project sought to coordinate with other donor-led initiatives in the democracy field. Such coordination would have to be initiated by the grantee. In the current context, Arab countries are enjoying a surplus of offered democracy support aid for community activism.
Project Partner
Al Kawakibi Democracy Transition Centre
Project Description
The project aimed to strengthen electoral processes by focusing on election monitoring by independent civil society organizations. The project established a regional expert group on elections monitoring, carried out training sessions and provided election monitoring services. In Tunisia, the group established – the Arab Working Group on Elections Monitoring - carried out a limited number of trainings in the four countries, and engaged in elections monitoring in Tunisia. Because of some political challenges, not all of the activities planned in Bahrain, Sudan, and Jordan, were undertaken. In general, training and monitoring focused more on the quantity than the quality of monitoring, a strategy that can be defended but may pose problems for longer terms sustainability.
Evaluation Date
March 2011
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Student Civic Action: Engaging and Empowering Emerging Leaders in Universities in Jordan

The project incorporated sustainability into its design as it taught the students how to do things for themselves, and then gave them the opportunity to put those skills to use. The links it developed between some of the youth and the CSOs was strong with some of the youth still working with the same CSOs.
Project Partner
World Learning
Project Description
The project sought to strengthen university students and youth Civil Society Organization (CSO) leaders for active and democratic citizenship and community development. It aimed to do this by: improving their capacity and raising their awareness of participation in democratic processes and community development; increasing emerging leader (EL) representation in existing political and civil society institutions; and developing and strengthening existing networks to build alliances of youth-led and youth-directed CSOs for more effective programming and sustained participation. The project also intended to increase the awareness of CSO and local leaders on the value of youth involvement. The project reached youth across Jordan and from very different socio-economic conditions and the activities reflected the needs and interests of its participants and their locality. Addressing both the supply and demand side of the youth issue seemed to be effective. Participating youth seemed empowered by their training and the use of sub-grants to CSOs opened the door for youth participation.
Evaluation Date
March 2011
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Student Civic Action: Engaging and Empowering Emerging Leaders in Universities in Jordan

The sub-grant component was an effective incentive and increased the project’ s reach and impact, and the percentage of funds allocated for this could be increased in future projects. Equal importance should be provided to small CSOs and CBOs as sub-grantees, as this small amount of funding can make a significant difference in the marginalized areas where they work.
Project Partner
World Learning
Project Description
The project sought to strengthen university students and youth Civil Society Organization (CSO) leaders for active and democratic citizenship and community development. It aimed to do this by: improving their capacity and raising their awareness of participation in democratic processes and community development; increasing emerging leader (EL) representation in existing political and civil society institutions; and developing and strengthening existing networks to build alliances of youth-led and youth-directed CSOs for more effective programming and sustained participation. The project also intended to increase the awareness of CSO and local leaders on the value of youth involvement. The project reached youth across Jordan and from very different socio-economic conditions and the activities reflected the needs and interests of its participants and their locality. Addressing both the supply and demand side of the youth issue seemed to be effective. Participating youth seemed empowered by their training and the use of sub-grants to CSOs opened the door for youth participation.
Evaluation Date
March 2011
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Student Civic Action: Engaging and Empowering Emerging Leaders in Universities in Jordan

Featured lesson) One example of the impact on leadership was a trainee who had worked in the Child Care Society in her rural home town of North Badia. As part of the project she identified illiteracy as a major issue and developed a literacy training programme for women. Being able to translate an idea into a practical programme was an empowering experience for stay-at-home women. It also had a multiplier effect since participants started encouraging other women to attend.
Project Partner
World Learning
Project Description
The project sought to strengthen university students and youth Civil Society Organization (CSO) leaders for active and democratic citizenship and community development. It aimed to do this by: improving their capacity and raising their awareness of participation in democratic processes and community development; increasing emerging leader (EL) representation in existing political and civil society institutions; and developing and strengthening existing networks to build alliances of youth-led and youth-directed CSOs for more effective programming and sustained participation. The project also intended to increase the awareness of CSO and local leaders on the value of youth involvement. The project reached youth across Jordan and from very different socio-economic conditions and the activities reflected the needs and interests of its participants and their locality. Addressing both the supply and demand side of the youth issue seemed to be effective. Participating youth seemed empowered by their training and the use of sub-grants to CSOs opened the door for youth participation.
Evaluation Date
March 2011
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Student Civic Action: Engaging and Empowering Emerging Leaders in Universities in Jordan

The training was practical and taught youth how to make things happen-- starting with how to identify the problem, collect information, make recommendations and prepare an action plan to address the problems. It taught them communication skills so they could get their plans across and seek support from the community and government offices. This was coupled with hands-on experience for some youth created through the internships, sub-grants and volunteer activities. Combined, this gave the youth the tools needed to tackle problems and lead others.

Project Partner
World Learning
Project Description
The project sought to strengthen university students and youth Civil Society Organization (CSO) leaders for active and democratic citizenship and community development. It aimed to do this by: improving their capacity and raising their awareness of participation in democratic processes and community development; increasing emerging leader (EL) representation in existing political and civil society institutions; and developing and strengthening existing networks to build alliances of youth-led and youth-directed CSOs for more effective programming and sustained participation. The project also intended to increase the awareness of CSO and local leaders on the value of youth involvement. The project reached youth across Jordan and from very different socio-economic conditions and the activities reflected the needs and interests of its participants and their locality. Addressing both the supply and demand side of the youth issue seemed to be effective. Participating youth seemed empowered by their training and the use of sub-grants to CSOs opened the door for youth participation.
Evaluation Date
March 2011
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Student Civic Action: Engaging and Empowering Emerging Leaders in Universities in Jordan

The grantee adapted well to circumstances. When it found out that it would take months to work out an agreement with the universities with which it had initially intended to collaborate, it tapped into institutions where it already had relationships. One of these was the All Jordan Youth Foundation, where many of the project activities and trainings were subsequently held.
Project Partner
World Learning
Project Description
The project sought to strengthen university students and youth Civil Society Organization (CSO) leaders for active and democratic citizenship and community development. It aimed to do this by: improving their capacity and raising their awareness of participation in democratic processes and community development; increasing emerging leader (EL) representation in existing political and civil society institutions; and developing and strengthening existing networks to build alliances of youth-led and youth-directed CSOs for more effective programming and sustained participation. The project also intended to increase the awareness of CSO and local leaders on the value of youth involvement. The project reached youth across Jordan and from very different socio-economic conditions and the activities reflected the needs and interests of its participants and their locality. Addressing both the supply and demand side of the youth issue seemed to be effective. Participating youth seemed empowered by their training and the use of sub-grants to CSOs opened the door for youth participation.
Evaluation Date
March 2011
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Student Civic Action: Engaging and Empowering Emerging Leaders in Universities in Jordan

The project made less of an impact on the development of the national youth strategy in Jordan. It did hold workshops on the new strategy and submitted a list of recommendations to national representatives but the participants felt that these were not considered. The National Youth Commission Chairman who was responsible for the strategy explained that the it would be the result of a two-year consultative process with youth, civil society and others done in coordination with UNDP
Project Partner
World Learning
Project Description
The project sought to strengthen university students and youth Civil Society Organization (CSO) leaders for active and democratic citizenship and community development. It aimed to do this by: improving their capacity and raising their awareness of participation in democratic processes and community development; increasing emerging leader (EL) representation in existing political and civil society institutions; and developing and strengthening existing networks to build alliances of youth-led and youth-directed CSOs for more effective programming and sustained participation. The project also intended to increase the awareness of CSO and local leaders on the value of youth involvement. The project reached youth across Jordan and from very different socio-economic conditions and the activities reflected the needs and interests of its participants and their locality. Addressing both the supply and demand side of the youth issue seemed to be effective. Participating youth seemed empowered by their training and the use of sub-grants to CSOs opened the door for youth participation.
Evaluation Date
March 2011
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Student Civic Action: Engaging and Empowering Emerging Leaders in Universities in Jordan

The project did a good baseline survey before its workshops and collected disaggregated data, but the follow up survey asked a different set of questions. Although the follow up survey indicated that youth were using their training, it did not allow for comparisons against the baseline data. This could have quantified the degree of change in these individuals.
Project Partner
World Learning
Project Description
The project sought to strengthen university students and youth Civil Society Organization (CSO) leaders for active and democratic citizenship and community development. It aimed to do this by: improving their capacity and raising their awareness of participation in democratic processes and community development; increasing emerging leader (EL) representation in existing political and civil society institutions; and developing and strengthening existing networks to build alliances of youth-led and youth-directed CSOs for more effective programming and sustained participation. The project also intended to increase the awareness of CSO and local leaders on the value of youth involvement. The project reached youth across Jordan and from very different socio-economic conditions and the activities reflected the needs and interests of its participants and their locality. Addressing both the supply and demand side of the youth issue seemed to be effective. Participating youth seemed empowered by their training and the use of sub-grants to CSOs opened the door for youth participation.
Evaluation Date
March 2011
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Democratic Dialogue through Media in Sierra Leone

The project strategy was two-pronged: on the one hand it enhanced the skills of journalists in researching and producing human rights stories - the “supply side” - and on the other hand, work was done with civil society organizations, journalism students and the broader public to raise awareness about the role that media can play in the promotion and protection of human rights - the “demand side”.
Project Partner
Journalists for Human Rights
Project Description
The project aimed to build capacity of local media in Sierra Leone to facilitate a national dialogue among civil society, government and citizens. It targeted primary beneficiaries that included: journalists from radio and print media who were awarded fellowships and trained in investigative journalism through production and publishing human right stories; NGO grantees; and local communities targeted through forums and workshops to increase public knowledge on the role of the media in human rights protection and promotion. The project responded to a need for improved democratic dialogue, and correctly identified the need for enhanced democratic debate as a precondition for entrenching democratic values and policies in post-war Sierra Leone. It also correctly identified the media as a key player, both as a space to “host” that debate and as a provider of substantive information. However the project's relevance was reduced by its failure formally to engage with editors/publishers and with relevant high-level institutional actors. The project document lacked a complete analysis of the stakeholders, their respective needs and the various messages that should be addressed to them. Nevertheless, the project contributed to establishing a critical mass of journalists aware of human rights reporting and of the challenges of balanced political reporting.
Evaluation Date
March 2011
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Democratic Dialogue through Media in Sierra Leone

The grantee attempted sustainability by setting up a structure named Human Rights Reporters Network. However this structure proved short-lived, mainly because its members did not have the capacity or will to maintain it. The current strategy, consisting in working with existing media-related association is more likely to be sustainable.
Project Partner
Journalists for Human Rights
Project Description
The project aimed to build capacity of local media in Sierra Leone to facilitate a national dialogue among civil society, government and citizens. It targeted primary beneficiaries that included: journalists from radio and print media who were awarded fellowships and trained in investigative journalism through production and publishing human right stories; NGO grantees; and local communities targeted through forums and workshops to increase public knowledge on the role of the media in human rights protection and promotion. The project responded to a need for improved democratic dialogue, and correctly identified the need for enhanced democratic debate as a precondition for entrenching democratic values and policies in post-war Sierra Leone. It also correctly identified the media as a key player, both as a space to “host” that debate and as a provider of substantive information. However the project's relevance was reduced by its failure formally to engage with editors/publishers and with relevant high-level institutional actors. The project document lacked a complete analysis of the stakeholders, their respective needs and the various messages that should be addressed to them. Nevertheless, the project contributed to establishing a critical mass of journalists aware of human rights reporting and of the challenges of balanced political reporting.
Evaluation Date
March 2011
Theme
Country