participation

The project was motivated by women’s low political representation in Egypt. Despite women's active participation as voters and change-makers during the Arab Spring, their representation in Parliament deteriorated following abolition of the quota from around 12% in 2010 to 2% of the 2011/2012 parliament. The project built on the recommendations and results of as previous (2009-11) UNDEF-funded project. A significant proportion of women who received training as part of the project ran for political office, and a significant proportion of these succeeded, demonstrating concrete project impact. While many other factors were at work, based on figures analyzed that training made at least some direct contribution to female success during the 2015 elections. Combining party and individual candidates, the UNDEF project financed the training of 16% of the successful 56 party list candidates and 21% of the 19 successful independent candidates.

The project’s goal was to increase the recognition of traditional authorities and women of the Indigenous Communities of northern Alta Verapaz and their participation in decision-making processes and administration of justice. The grantee targeted groups who have historically lacked opportunity to participate in the decision-making at the local and national level, including leaders from the 33 indigenous communities officially recognized by the municipalities of Chisec and Raxruhá in northern Alta Verapaz, and the Maya women´s groups belonging to the Association of Organized Q´eqchi’ (AQT) in Chisec. The overall objective of the project was to promote the recognition of indigenous groups. In practice, the project established conditions for inclusive urban and rural development council systems, encouraging indigenous peoples and women in particular, to voice their concerns and get involved in decision making processes. This approach filled a gap in the existing consultation mechanisms and conveyed the needs of communities to the authorities in charge of the design of local development projects.

The global objective of the project was to promote inclusive democracy as a key component for the country to emerge from political crisis and to set the ground for stable governance. It targeted two groups; the participants in formal politics which included women candidates and elected representatives, institutions and political parties and more general, the wider public. Specifically, the project aimed to increase the priority of gender issues and the number of women representatives in policy-making. It also aimed to raise awareness and acceptance women participating as candidates and voters in public and political affairs. The grantee’s intervention strategy relied on using existing Malagasy women’s associations and networks in order to push for the fulfilment of commitments made under international and regional instruments ratified by Madagascar, in particular a Protocol of the Southern African Development Community which had a parity goal of 50 per cent in elected positions. In a context marked by recurrent political crises, the project contributed in a relevant way to address the socio-political burdens that prevent women from participating as citizens and decision-makers.

The project aimed to provide socially and economically impoverished women in India with the ability to participate in the democratic process and to strengthen their capacity to make decisions at individual, family and community levels. In addition to Computerized Vocational and Educational Training (CVET), which qualified beneficiaries for a wider range of employment opportunities and thus widen for them the scope of possibilities to achieve financial independence, Life Enrichment Education (LEE) activities, which comprised of video lectures and animated group discussions, complemented the women trainee’s entrepreneurial skills with democratic values and civic awareness, in order to transform them post-graduation into empowered participants of their local communities.

The aim of the project was to promote the development of a more inclusive and equal society through promoting the free flow of information to the general public so that individuals, civil servants and civil society groups acting at the local level can hold their government to account, advocate for their rights and entitlements more effectively and influence policy-making processes. Specifically the project set out to foster local activism on freedom of information and to use access to information and transparency tools to strengthen participation within municipal governments across Brazil. The project strategy was built around four specific components: a strengthened and effective network of local activists working on access to information; increased public understanding of the importance of freedom of information and how to use the concept to encourage transparency and accountability; increased public demand for governments’ responsiveness to information requests at the local level; legislative and policy reform initiatives to promote transparency at the local level. The project was highly relevant since the Access to Public Information Act had recently come into effect. This Act required each municipality to draft regulations ensuring its proper enforcement. Yet surveys had indicated a lack of interest and knowledge in many municipalities about enforcing this law.

The aim of the project was to promote the development of a more inclusive and equal society through promoting the free flow of information to the general public so that individuals, civil servants and civil society groups acting at the local level can hold their government to account, advocate for their rights and entitlements more effectively and influence policy-making processes. Specifically the project set out to foster local activism on freedom of information and to use access to information and transparency tools to strengthen participation within municipal governments across Brazil. The project strategy was built around four specific components: a strengthened and effective network of local activists working on access to information; increased public understanding of the importance of freedom of information and how to use the concept to encourage transparency and accountability; increased public demand for governments’ responsiveness to information requests at the local level; legislative and policy reform initiatives to promote transparency at the local level. The project was highly relevant since the Access to Public Information Act had recently come into effect. This Act required each municipality to draft regulations ensuring its proper enforcement. Yet surveys had indicated a lack of interest and knowledge in many municipalities about enforcing this law.

The objective of the project was to improve the social and political participation of youth. In order to do this the grantee created and strengthened youth organizations to develop local programmes for the democratic participation of youth in two municipalities. The project also aimed to strengthen existing Municipal Youth Commissions and Municipal Youth Networks, and to support the drafting and approval of their municipal youth policies. The project also intended to help the municipal youth organizations and regional youth networks to obtain authorization to promote youth participation in social initiatives. The project brought the issue of youth rights and political advocacy to the fore with a gender-equity and social-inclusion approach. This approach addressed the needs of the beneficiary population, empowered youth organizations and networks and improved the quality of young people’s social and political participation at the local level. The participatory drafting of public agendas and policies in the two municipalities of has furthered social and political action among youth.

The project’s objective was to promote democratic governance by supporting and encouraging the creation of Citizen Participation Cells (CPC), as a facilitation mechanism among grassroots communities and local authorities, in order to address the low level of accountability of local authorities towards citizens. The project was implemented in 35 municipalities located in four departments of Benin. The grantee’s strategy focused on empowering citizens by fundamentally strengthening the grassroots communities. This was highly relevant in view of the profile of the beneficiary groups, vulnerable rural communities for the most part, which rarely had a voice in public affairs and had limited access to channels of influence. Supporting the practical skills of CPC members as well as municipal officials working at the local level allowed participation in local governance to take place more effectively and in a collaborative way.

The project’s objective was to promote democratic governance by supporting and encouraging the creation of Citizen Participation Cells (CPC), as a facilitation mechanism among grassroots communities and local authorities, in order to address the low level of accountability of local authorities towards citizens. The project was implemented in 35 municipalities located in four departments of Benin. The grantee’s strategy focused on empowering citizens by fundamentally strengthening the grassroots communities. This was highly relevant in view of the profile of the beneficiary groups, vulnerable rural communities for the most part, which rarely had a voice in public affairs and had limited access to channels of influence. Supporting the practical skills of CPC members as well as municipal officials working at the local level allowed participation in local governance to take place more effectively and in a collaborative way.

The project’s objective was to promote democratic governance by supporting and encouraging the creation of Citizen Participation Cells (CPC), as a facilitation mechanism among grassroots communities and local authorities, in order to address the low level of accountability of local authorities towards citizens. The project was implemented in 35 municipalities located in four departments of Benin. The grantee’s strategy focused on empowering citizens by fundamentally strengthening the grassroots communities. This was highly relevant in view of the profile of the beneficiary groups, vulnerable rural communities for the most part, which rarely had a voice in public affairs and had limited access to channels of influence. Supporting the practical skills of CPC members as well as municipal officials working at the local level allowed participation in local governance to take place more effectively and in a collaborative way.