leadership

The project aims to foster civic participation of young people in Ukraine by training them to become responsible and pro-active citizens. The central activity of the project is a non-formal civic education training program in four stages that will train teenagers to become "Junior Agents of Change" in four pilot cities. Trained Junior Agents of Change will implement development projects aiming for the transformation of their social environment and the development of their communities.

The project’s objective was to increase participation of women in decision making to develop sustainable, decentralized, bottom-up planning processes in Ghana. The grantee institutionalized Women’s Group Advocacy (WOMGA) Platforms to engage and dialogue with local government authorities in decision making processes on public service delivery. At the heart of the project strategy was the mobilization and empowerment of 150 women, who were trained and deployed to monitor policy implementation at the district level using a Gender Monitoring and Tracking Tool, and to champion the participation of women in local planning and implementation processes. The project’s intervention logic was sound and had clarity and coherence. Institutionalizing the WOMGA Platforms facilitated regular engagement with local government authorities, and hence effectively contributed to the overall development goal of increasing women’s participation in decision-making process on public service delivery. Local officials commended the high level of preparation they had to undertake for the public sessions the project held, during which they faced thorough questioning by the WOMGA members and the community.

The project aimed to obtain measurable improvements in Ghana’s constitutional and governance mechanisms by providing technical input and advocacy platforms for civil society actors to research and build a constituency for constitutional and legal reform in key governance areas. The project related closely to the grantee’s mission, i.e. the promotion of democracy, good governance and the development of a liberal economic environment. The grantee’s intervention was relevant in its focus on efforts to take practical action to address priorities in democratic development, and in ensuring that the priority concerns of Ghanaian civil society, as well as the interests of ordinary citizens - through a national public opinion survey that the grantee organized - were heard. The strategy adopted by the project was judged to be appropriate and its reports to the Constitutional Review Commission and the proposals which they contained were seen as highly relevant to its deliberations.

The objective of the project was to enhance citizens’ access and involvement in local governance in 50 communities in Kinshasa and Maniema Provinces. According to the grantee’s analysis elections were a time of apparent democracy, because neither the administration nor elected officials were actually accountable to citizens for their actions. Therefore, the project aimed to raise awareness among grassroots communities about the importance of participating in local governance; to involve grassroots communities in identifying information, training and support needs for participatory governance; and to document and learn from local experience in relation to participatory governance. The project’s relevance, however, was limited as its scale of action was too small to enhance democratic culture at the level of entire communities, as suggested by the grantee; and it failed to highlight the need for women’s participation in governance.

The objective of the project was to enhance citizens’ access and involvement in local governance in 50 communities in Kinshasa and Maniema Provinces. According to the grantee’s analysis elections were a time of apparent democracy, because neither the administration nor elected officials were actually accountable to citizens for their actions. Therefore, the project aimed to raise awareness among grassroots communities about the importance of participating in local governance; to involve grassroots communities in identifying information, training and support needs for participatory governance; and to document and learn from local experience in relation to participatory governance. The project’s relevance, however, was limited as its scale of action was too small to enhance democratic culture at the level of entire communities, as suggested by the grantee; and it failed to highlight the need for women’s participation in governance.

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.

The project tackled the issue of women’s political participation from a broader, more inclusive perspective, moving beyond the national level to analyze developments in the provinces and municipalities. This approach responded to the unmet needs and challenges of the Argentine context, and led to greater equality in real terms and improved women’s participation in society and politics at the local level. The project strategy focused on consolidating and advancing a new view and understanding of the essential role of women leaders in social and policy-making bodies in Argentina. It pursued two main objectives: (a) to promote women’s leadership in civil society by identifying and sharing relevant experiences in leadership-building with this group at the local level; and (b) to provide tools for improving women leaders’ ability to promote the issues on their agenda through advocacy with national and local government agencies.  At the technical and institutional levels, the project yielded results that will support the continuity and replication of its initiatives.

The project objective was to strengthen the citizenship and democratic skills of women. With virtually no access to civic information and limited opportunities for women to participate in political life including access to positions that involve decision-making, especially in rural areas, the grantee aimed to raise awareness among local authorities and strategic civil society organizations in Haiti, so they would become more engaged in promoting a culture that recognizes the role of women in society, fostering in women and men alike a new perspective on their political participation. The project was implemented in twenty rural communes, notably in very remote, virtually ignored sections of Haiti, which lacked basic, educational and health services. With regards to its objective, the project was fully aligned with current government priorities, and in the context of elections, it recognized the need for women to participate fully in the electoral process, as well as in political affairs and to become aware of their civil rights and rights as citizens.