training

Within the broader context of advancing good governance at local level, the project objective was to enhance the involvement of civil society in local governance through: local assembly monitoring; policy analysis and policy dialogues with public officials; and advocacy campaigns. The grantee sought to promote two-way communications between local officials and citizens in 14 selected municipalities and to support the strengthening of the capacities of locally-based CSOs to monitor the performance of municipal assemblies and municipal government in order to improve accountability. The emphasis of the project on transparency and accountability in municipal government while also reinforcing the position and capacities of civil society at local level was entirely appropriate. The project took place in a difficult context. Yet, despite having to deal with public passivity and indifference about politics, along with a political establishment under little direct pressure to change, it did succeed in highlighting the importance of democratic processes and in engaging citizens in the public sphere. It also made some progress in pressing local government institutions to think differently about their responsibilities.

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 succeeded in meeting its targets in its final phase, including the development of 20 proposals and petitions by young migrant workers and CSOs working with them, concerning desired improvements in working and living conditions. Of these, eight described practical initiatives or small projects. Each of the eight was awarded a small grant to implement the plans proposed. While some students gained valuable experience, many of those involved lacked the commitment to taking an active role in support of the young migrant workers. Further, the role assigned to the students in “assisting young migrant workers using social media” was vague, and they lacked guidance on what to do and how to do it. In addition, the students, as well as the academic coordinators and the CSO representatives interviewed, all commented on the wide social gap between students and the young workers, which made communication difficult.

The project’s objective was to reinforce the political participation of former slaves, by promoting the equality of rights between former slaves (Harratines) and former masters (Bydhanes) in order to maintain inter-community peace in the region of Hoch El Gharbi, desert areas located in the South-East of Mauritania. The project was implemented in 40 villages including 120 Adwabas (isolated areas populated by former slaves), and focused on Harratines’ literacy, civic education, community capacity building and inter-community dialogue between them and the Bydhanes. Various factors that remained unaddressed limited the project’s relevance: including attitudes towards slavery and lack of engagement from authorities on this issue. In addition the Harratines do not have the operational and institutional capacity to represent their own interests in the political arena.

The project sought to empower youth and increase their civic participation and the building of a more democratic society through the development of their media skills. Its intended outcomes were to: 1) increase civic and media literacy among regional youth; and, 2) increase the participation of youth in information creation, production and distribution. Its activities intended to 1) increase the capacity of 300 youth in media and journalism through workshops, mentoring and peer teaching; 2) use media as a tool for empowerment by combining social media with professional journalism to strengthen the voice of participating youth; and, 3) connect the youth through a young reporters’ network to organize joint projects and serve as role models.

The project sought to empower youth and increase their civic participation and the building of a more democratic society through the development of their media skills. Its intended outcomes were to: 1) increase civic and media literacy among regional youth; and, 2) increase the participation of youth in information creation, production and distribution. Its activities intended to 1) increase the capacity of 300 youth in media and journalism through workshops, mentoring and peer teaching; 2) use media as a tool for empowerment by combining social media with professional journalism to strengthen the voice of participating youth; and, 3) connect the youth through a young reporters’ network to organize joint projects and serve as role models.

The objective of the project was to reinforce the capacities of Arab citizen journalists and bloggers in relation to the promotion and protection of human rights. The project was relevant as a human rights education activity, to the extent it responded to the fact that the targeted bloggers and journalists were not always familiar with the human rights principles and the international procedures for the protection of human rights. The project activities led to the acquisition of new skills by the participants which contributed to changes in the way they have carried out their blogging and journalistic work after the training sessions. It is of course not clear that the participants’ work has influenced the wider public. However, comments posted by readers suggest that some of the participants were able to encourage tolerant attitudes among their readers, for example in relation to gender equality or in debates about democracy.

The grantee sought to improve the fundamental conditions for democracy in El Salvador by helping municipal governments enforce the Law on the Access to Public Information. The project strategy focused on strengthening the capacities of public and private stakeholders to publicize, implement and enhance citizen oversight of enforcement of the law. The project successfully contributed to improving the cultural and institutional conditions required for transparency and the participation of citizens in democratic institutions. At the same time there was an increase in the knowledge of citizens about the importance of the right to public information and of citizen oversight. It is worth stressing the relevance and good design of the proposed methodology which was based on training multipliers and carrying out an in-depth analysis of the needs of the actors involved.

The project sought to enhance government transparency at provincial level in Iraq by training civil society organizations in monitoring and accountability. This approach was particularly relevant in the Iraqi political context, where provincial legislatures’ (Governorates Councils) capacities are weak. Although impact was difficult to measure for the evaluation team, and much work remains to be done in order to meet overall objectives, the short-term achievements of the project were considerable. The project illustrated how civil society monitoring of provincial authorities in Iraq effectively can enhance government accountability – if both civil society and authorities are willing to make the effort.

The project sought to enhance government transparency at provincial level in Iraq by training civil society organizations in monitoring and accountability. This approach was particularly relevant in the Iraqi political context, where provincial legislatures’ (Governorates Councils) capacities are weak. Although impact was difficult to measure for the evaluation team, and much work remains to be done in order to meet overall objectives, the short-term achievements of the project were considerable. The project illustrated how civil society monitoring of provincial authorities in Iraq effectively can enhance government accountability – if both civil society and authorities are willing to make the effort.