structures

The aim of the project in Guatemala was to increase the participation of Q´eqchi youth, especially women, in individual and collective decision-making and democratic processes in the municipality of Sayaxché, department of Petén. The project strategy was structured around two activities: training young people on citizens’ rights and participatory democracy; and creating organized youth spaces to foster the participation of young people in political decision-making processes. Civic awareness-raising and training sessions for young people from 23 communities belonging to five micro-regions within the municipality of Sayaxché were held. The project then attempted to institutionalise structures by creating two youth associations. These associations were expected to draft a proposal for public policy on youth at the municipal level, which would be presented to the local government for adoption. These activities contributed to the improvement of the quality of political participation of young people and to the strengthening of the process of decentralization which promotes civic participation at the local level.

The project aimed to increase the political participation of indigenous (tribal) communities and community based organizations (CBOs) in the Rangamati Hill District of Bangladesh leading to an increase in their demand for more responsive public services and policies. The project set out to do this by increasing the dialogue between formal and traditional forms of local governance. Specifically, the project’s objectives were: enhance the capacities of local government leaders, CBOs and tribal community leaders; enable better coordination between stakeholders; and, promote democratic processes to ensure pro-poor service delivery and resource allocation. Its intended outcomes were: empowered CBOs and alternative community leaders; improved participation by traditional community leaders in the formal governance system; increased women’s participation; more pro-poor gender-sensitive local services; greater trust between the different stakeholders - indigenous inhabitants, Bengalis, CBOs and local government - and regular media reporting on governance issues in the Rangamati Hill District. The project did seem to help resolve small but important issues for the communities, and helped to increase the visibility of the open budget system by promoting its use by its committees. It also seems to have increased the general level of awareness of project participants on governance issues.