communication

The project aimed to bring together a diverse group of civil society organizations in Egypt and to work towards building a consensus among them on the principles and contents of a “democratic agenda”. It also sought to strengthen the knowledge base of those civil society groups committed to building a democratic society and state, while also enhancing public awareness of the need for, and character of, democracy. Instead of identifying a number of critical beneficiary and/or stakeholder groups and working with them throughout, the grantee worked with groups (Parliamentarians; Political Parties; Political and Social Movements; Trade Unions and Professional Syndicates; and, Youth Organizations, other civil society groups and the media) separately through one-off activities. The project then failed to adopt an approach to enable it to work systematically to bring these same groups together around a common agenda.

The project identified institutional educational weaknesses and proposed pragmatic approaches to address them. Overall the project was a success. The following elements contributed to the quality of the strategy: an appropriate response to the complex political and social context in the country drawn from the NGO‟s long time experience; a sound assessment of the political context based on long term partnership with education ministries in Bosnia and a good understanding of the targeted audience needs, based on the grantee’s experience of certifying teachers and their involvement in official curricula content design taught in all public schools.