LESSON
Lesson Learned: Deepening Democratization Processes Through Youth Leadership in Myanmar
One of the by-products of the project was the positive impact on partner organizations working at grassroots level. Although partners were chosen on the basis of their strengths and were treated within the project as equal partners, it was recognized that they did not necessarily have staff who were trained and experienced. The project therefore encouraged younger members of staff to sign up as fellows, and facilitated some fellows later joining as staff.
Project Partner
ActionAid International in Myanmar
Project Description
The project aimed to identify new youth fellows, train them in leadership and concepts of democracy and governance, and prepare them to lead development projects in their communities. The strategy to do this was through "placements" with local grassroots organizations. The 130 trained youth fellows were supported through the fellowship network, including meetings at local and state levels and by identifying 400 youth volunteers through community "reflect circles" that the fellows facilitated. Together, the fellows and volunteers led and established a large number of development projects within the communities, ranging from pig rearing to the building of early education centres.
The model is ideally suited to both produce the expected outcomes and also lay the groundwork for potential future representation at national level. The project far exceeded its own expectations, reaching more than 100,000 people through project activities. However, planned training of journalists and the development of a website proved not to be possible in the political climate in Myanmar and were replaced by the production of a series of newsletters for the fellows and for broader dissemination.
Report
Evaluation Date
September 2010
Theme
Country