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Lessons

LESSON

Lesson Learned: Promoting the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance

The project empowered individuals more than institutions. Much of this empowerment occurred in the context of international travel and meetings financed by the project (including CIDA funding). It is likely that impacts would have been greater had there been more funds available to finance in-country activities.
Project Partner
Institute for Democracy in South Africa
Project Description
At the time the project began, the process of ratifying the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance, adopted by the African Union in January 2007, was moribund and there was no international project activity to invigorate it. The objective of the project was to strengthen civil society actors to build a constituency for the signing and ratification of the Charter. At the time the project was proposed, 15 ratifications were needed to bring the Charter into force, two countries (Ethiopia and Mauritania) had ratified the Charter and twenty-five had signed it, thus indicating their intention to ratify. Assessing the impact of the project was not easy. The intended direct beneficiaries were members of the African democracy community, whose network and ability to advocate for the Charter were strengthened. It is not possible, based on the timetable of ratifications and project activities, to convincingly demonstrate that the project greatly accelerated the coming into force of the Charter. Only three countries in which activities were implemented actually ratified the Charter. The project objective was not ratification itself but rather strengthening the advocacy community and facilitating ratification yet achieving ratification in target countries was an implicit objective of the project Ultimately, the sustainability of the project activity will also be a function of political will. The project was born of policy elites, implemented by policy elites, delivered results of direct relevance only to policy elites, yet promises substantial benefits to all the people of Africa, who will benefit from democracy.
Evaluation Date
June 2012
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Promoting the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance

A thorough inventory of the websites of the six participating national NGOs was disappointing. Only one referred to the project, and then only in a brief summary identifying UNDEF as the funder. More worrisome, none of the websites made reference to the African Charter at all. This suggests that the empowerment that undoubtedly occurred was more an empowerment of individuals than an empowerment of institutions. It also underscores the point that most (not all) African democracy NGOs are focused on national issues.
Project Partner
Institute for Democracy in South Africa
Project Description
At the time the project began, the process of ratifying the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance, adopted by the African Union in January 2007, was moribund and there was no international project activity to invigorate it. The objective of the project was to strengthen civil society actors to build a constituency for the signing and ratification of the Charter. At the time the project was proposed, 15 ratifications were needed to bring the Charter into force, two countries (Ethiopia and Mauritania) had ratified the Charter and twenty-five had signed it, thus indicating their intention to ratify. Assessing the impact of the project was not easy. The intended direct beneficiaries were members of the African democracy community, whose network and ability to advocate for the Charter were strengthened. It is not possible, based on the timetable of ratifications and project activities, to convincingly demonstrate that the project greatly accelerated the coming into force of the Charter. Only three countries in which activities were implemented actually ratified the Charter. The project objective was not ratification itself but rather strengthening the advocacy community and facilitating ratification yet achieving ratification in target countries was an implicit objective of the project Ultimately, the sustainability of the project activity will also be a function of political will. The project was born of policy elites, implemented by policy elites, delivered results of direct relevance only to policy elites, yet promises substantial benefits to all the people of Africa, who will benefit from democracy.
Evaluation Date
June 2012
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Promoting the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance

A thorough inventory of the websites of six participating national NGOs was disappointing. Only one referred to the project, and then only in a brief summary identifying UNDEF as the funder. More worrisome, none of the websites made reference to the African Charter at all. This suggests that the empowerment that undoubtedly occurred was more an empowerment of individuals than an empowerment of institutions. It also underscores the point that most (not all) African democracy NGOs are focused on national issues.
Project Partner
Institute for Democracy in South Africa
Project Description
At the time the project began, the process of ratifying the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance, adopted by the African Union in January 2007, was moribund and there was no international project activity to invigorate it. The objective of the project was to strengthen civil society actors to build a constituency for the signing and ratification of the Charter. At the time the project was proposed, 15 ratifications were needed to bring the Charter into force, two countries (Ethiopia and Mauritania) had ratified the Charter and twenty-five had signed it, thus indicating their intention to ratify. Assessing the impact of the project was not easy. The intended direct beneficiaries were members of the African democracy community, whose network and ability to advocate for the Charter were strengthened. It is not possible, based on the timetable of ratifications and project activities, to convincingly demonstrate that the project greatly accelerated the coming into force of the Charter. Only three countries in which activities were implemented actually ratified the Charter. The project objective was not ratification itself but rather strengthening the advocacy community and facilitating ratification yet achieving ratification in target countries was an implicit objective of the project Ultimately, the sustainability of the project activity will also be a function of political will. The project was born of policy elites, implemented by policy elites, delivered results of direct relevance only to policy elites, yet promises substantial benefits to all the people of Africa, who will benefit from democracy.
Evaluation Date
June 2012
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Education and Training of Youth for Democracy in Burkina Faso

There was evidence that the project implicitly contributed to the reestablishment of a social contract between authorities and citizens, enabling young leaders and many institutional actors - such as political representatives and local authorities - to exchange views and opinions.
Project Partner
Réseau Afrique Jeunesse
Project Description
The project aimed to mobilize youth to participate in the presidential election, by reinforcing citizens’ and voters’ knowledge. The beneficiaries were young leaders of women’s and men’s associations from across Burkina Faso, aged 18 – 25, who were involved in and committed to civil society specific activities for the youth. Activities focused on education, training and sensitization and, subsequently, on the development of a group of young leaders that can relay information and training knowledge to members of youth organisations and to the youth of their villages. The project was firmly rooted in the socio-political and cultural context of Burkina Faso. The lack of participation of young citizens in successive elections is intrinsically linked with the lack of education, in particular citizens’ and voters’ education. In the context of a still male-dominated country, the identification of beneficiaries comprising both young men and women was also appropriate to address the political participation of women. The project was also coherent in that it covered the pre-electoral, electoral and post electoral periods.
Evaluation Date
June 2012
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Education and Training of Youth for Democracy in Burkina Faso

The project raised global awareness and increased knowledge amongst the young leaders on the necessity of making use of their citizens’ and voting rights.
Project Partner
Réseau Afrique Jeunesse
Project Description
The project aimed to mobilize youth to participate in the presidential election, by reinforcing citizens’ and voters’ knowledge. The beneficiaries were young leaders of women’s and men’s associations from across Burkina Faso, aged 18 – 25, who were involved in and committed to civil society specific activities for the youth. Activities focused on education, training and sensitization and, subsequently, on the development of a group of young leaders that can relay information and training knowledge to members of youth organisations and to the youth of their villages. The project was firmly rooted in the socio-political and cultural context of Burkina Faso. The lack of participation of young citizens in successive elections is intrinsically linked with the lack of education, in particular citizens’ and voters’ education. In the context of a still male-dominated country, the identification of beneficiaries comprising both young men and women was also appropriate to address the political participation of women. The project was also coherent in that it covered the pre-electoral, electoral and post electoral periods.
Evaluation Date
June 2012
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Education and Training of Youth for Democracy in Burkina Faso

This project demonstrated to the authorities the importance of giving real consideration to youth. The 500 young leaders accredited by the Electoral Commission as local observers on the Election Day were significant of the changes in the overall approach.
Project Partner
Réseau Afrique Jeunesse
Project Description
The project aimed to mobilize youth to participate in the presidential election, by reinforcing citizens’ and voters’ knowledge. The beneficiaries were young leaders of women’s and men’s associations from across Burkina Faso, aged 18 – 25, who were involved in and committed to civil society specific activities for the youth. Activities focused on education, training and sensitization and, subsequently, on the development of a group of young leaders that can relay information and training knowledge to members of youth organisations and to the youth of their villages. The project was firmly rooted in the socio-political and cultural context of Burkina Faso. The lack of participation of young citizens in successive elections is intrinsically linked with the lack of education, in particular citizens’ and voters’ education. In the context of a still male-dominated country, the identification of beneficiaries comprising both young men and women was also appropriate to address the political participation of women. The project was also coherent in that it covered the pre-electoral, electoral and post electoral periods.
Evaluation Date
June 2012
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Education and Training of Youth for Democracy in Burkina Faso

The project focused on developing young leaders’ knowledge by means of a large quantity of sensitization activities and trainings. It is uncertain that those activities responded to genuine needs, due to the lack of benchmarks regarding the reasons for the non-participation of the youth in electoral processes.
Project Partner
Réseau Afrique Jeunesse
Project Description
The project aimed to mobilize youth to participate in the presidential election, by reinforcing citizens’ and voters’ knowledge. The beneficiaries were young leaders of women’s and men’s associations from across Burkina Faso, aged 18 – 25, who were involved in and committed to civil society specific activities for the youth. Activities focused on education, training and sensitization and, subsequently, on the development of a group of young leaders that can relay information and training knowledge to members of youth organisations and to the youth of their villages. The project was firmly rooted in the socio-political and cultural context of Burkina Faso. The lack of participation of young citizens in successive elections is intrinsically linked with the lack of education, in particular citizens’ and voters’ education. In the context of a still male-dominated country, the identification of beneficiaries comprising both young men and women was also appropriate to address the political participation of women. The project was also coherent in that it covered the pre-electoral, electoral and post electoral periods.
Evaluation Date
June 2012
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Education and Training of Youth for Democracy in Burkina Faso

The project design failed to consider the reality of youth associations in Burkina Faso and to include an element aimed at strengthening the young leaders’ capacity. A civil society organisation is often reliant on only one leader and the most of those organisations lack organizational and operational capacities.
Project Partner
Réseau Afrique Jeunesse
Project Description
The project aimed to mobilize youth to participate in the presidential election, by reinforcing citizens’ and voters’ knowledge. The beneficiaries were young leaders of women’s and men’s associations from across Burkina Faso, aged 18 – 25, who were involved in and committed to civil society specific activities for the youth. Activities focused on education, training and sensitization and, subsequently, on the development of a group of young leaders that can relay information and training knowledge to members of youth organisations and to the youth of their villages. The project was firmly rooted in the socio-political and cultural context of Burkina Faso. The lack of participation of young citizens in successive elections is intrinsically linked with the lack of education, in particular citizens’ and voters’ education. In the context of a still male-dominated country, the identification of beneficiaries comprising both young men and women was also appropriate to address the political participation of women. The project was also coherent in that it covered the pre-electoral, electoral and post electoral periods.
Evaluation Date
June 2012
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Education and Training of Youth for Democracy in Burkina Faso

The project lacked a comprehensive advocacy strategy. It did not provide any measure of support for those young leaders in Burkina Faso to relay the message towards association members and towards the youth in villages.
Project Partner
Réseau Afrique Jeunesse
Project Description
The project aimed to mobilize youth to participate in the presidential election, by reinforcing citizens’ and voters’ knowledge. The beneficiaries were young leaders of women’s and men’s associations from across Burkina Faso, aged 18 – 25, who were involved in and committed to civil society specific activities for the youth. Activities focused on education, training and sensitization and, subsequently, on the development of a group of young leaders that can relay information and training knowledge to members of youth organisations and to the youth of their villages. The project was firmly rooted in the socio-political and cultural context of Burkina Faso. The lack of participation of young citizens in successive elections is intrinsically linked with the lack of education, in particular citizens’ and voters’ education. In the context of a still male-dominated country, the identification of beneficiaries comprising both young men and women was also appropriate to address the political participation of women. The project was also coherent in that it covered the pre-electoral, electoral and post electoral periods.
Evaluation Date
June 2012
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Education and Training of Youth for Democracy in Burkina Faso

Although the project did focus on identifying and mobilizing young leaders across Burkina Faso and on implementing numerous trainings and sensitizing activities, it did not set up a monitoring and reporting strategy to assess progress achieved and to motivate and mobilize young leaders to relay the training contents to other youth. In hindsight, it appears that there would have been scope for the grantee to apply for a larger project budget, which could have helped to reinforce these monitoring and evaluation aspects.
Project Partner
Réseau Afrique Jeunesse
Project Description
The project aimed to mobilize youth to participate in the presidential election, by reinforcing citizens’ and voters’ knowledge. The beneficiaries were young leaders of women’s and men’s associations from across Burkina Faso, aged 18 – 25, who were involved in and committed to civil society specific activities for the youth. Activities focused on education, training and sensitization and, subsequently, on the development of a group of young leaders that can relay information and training knowledge to members of youth organisations and to the youth of their villages. The project was firmly rooted in the socio-political and cultural context of Burkina Faso. The lack of participation of young citizens in successive elections is intrinsically linked with the lack of education, in particular citizens’ and voters’ education. In the context of a still male-dominated country, the identification of beneficiaries comprising both young men and women was also appropriate to address the political participation of women. The project was also coherent in that it covered the pre-electoral, electoral and post electoral periods.
Evaluation Date
June 2012
Country