impact

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 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.

The project aimed to contribute to the establishment of a climate of peace in Togo in advance of the 2010 elections. The project strategy was to involve religious leaders in support of the promotion of democracy and sustainable peace in Togo. In addition the project aimed to strengthen institutional support to community organizations, giving priority to community and religious leaders, and among them especially women and youth. The project document identified the poor state of human rights and the recurrence of electoral violence. Factors that reduced the relevance of the project were the limited involvement of main religious faiths other than protestant, the reduced audience of these churches, and the failure to address human rights violations actually committed in Togo.

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’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.

Aiming to improve the living conditions of vulnerable populations in marginalized areas and to put self-promotion processes in motion, the project’s goal was to enable these beneficiaries to take charge of their own affairs and to know and demand their rights. The grantee created permanent community centres and promoted community development through specific micro projects to mobilize and train teams of volunteers, and to strengthen the community centres’ capacity to organize and dialogue with local decision-making bodies. The beneficiaries greatly appreciated the project’s assistance on the ground. The volunteers’ continuous presence heightened the populations’ motivation and engagement. Several factors contributed to the project’s effectiveness: country action plans suited to local realities; the formation of well-trained teams of volunteers; the strong mobilization and participation of settlers in the activities; the financing of projects proposed by the target populations to improve their living conditions; and the quality of the local support provided by the teams of volunteers.

The project aimed to address the under representation of women in decision making positions in Jamaica, particularly on the boards of private companies and public commissions. The project did this by: increasing the participation of women through training and awareness building and increasing the participation of women in leadership in community based organizations, including school boards, also through training and awareness building. It also sought to create a national conversation on the need to open spaces for women to participate in decision making. There was also a separate women’s leadership research activity undertaken in Trinidad and Tobago. Although women comprise more than 70% of university graduates in Jamaica, only 13% of parliamentarians are women and only 16% of the board positions in the private sector are filled by women. The project believed that by training 100 women it could make a strategic infusion of talented and enthusiastic women into the boardrooms, and transform their gender dynamics. The project met its main objective of increasing the number of qualified women trained and available for service on public commissions and private sector boards. Some of these women were already high profile leaders and board members, but most were entry and mid-professional women with leadership potential that still remained to be tapped.

The project’s objective was to promote a new socio-political culture in Honduras that recognizes equal participation of women in democratic governance at the local, regional and national levels. The project prioritized women in rural living in extreme poverty. The target women had very few educational opportunities and had rarely participated in politics and in decision-making. The goal of the project was: to raise awareness among citizens on the importance of full and equal women's participation in decision-making processes and equal access to justice; to strengthen the capacity of Civil Society Organisations to influence policy processes; and to institutionalize a Women’s Network at the local level. The project explicitly aimed to integrate the gender approach across all three outcomes.

The grantee aimed to strengthen public participation in local governance and policy-making by facilitating stakeholder dialogue and fostering civic engagement and activism in various towns located in the seven oblasts of Kyrgyzstan. Exchange and cooperation between Kenesh deputies, members of village/city councils, and the local population was initially almost absent in the local areas covered by the project. With a 25% higher than planned participation in the Local Action Groups (LAGs) and higher than envisaged membership the project proved highly effective in establishing an enabling environment for improved citizen participation in local decision-making processes.