Projects

The project aimed to enhance the capacity of civil society organizations at local level to influence the government budget and expenditure process, with particular emphasis on the social sector. The initiative took place in a governance environment where there is no tradition of using the budget as a means of holding the government accountable, at national or local levels, even in the Parliament.

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.

The objective of the project was to increase the participation of youth in the democratic processes in Pakistan. The project was relevant as it started two years before the national election, which was expected to be the first time that a civilian government would hand over power to another civilian government through the ballot box. The project was also relevant to the need to strengthen the democratic awareness and understanding of the youth in Pakistan: youth form the majority of the population and in surveys less than a third thought that democracy was the best form of government.

The project sought to strengthen the capacities of civil society to play an active role in shaping public policy and drafting laws. Its intended outcome was for civil society to become an active, informed and key partner in public policy and law making, so as to be able to react instantly on key public policy areas. The grantee capitalized on the government’s willingness for a more engaged and constructive civil society in policy development as well as the need for civil society organizations to have more information.

The project’s objective was to increase the role of youth in public affairs and policy development in 20 locations in Pakistan.

The project aimed to improve the understanding and capacity of 150 civil society organizations (CSOs) to mobilize youth, women and minority groups so that they could participate in democratic processes at the grassroots level in 25 districts. Its intended outcomes were: improved understanding among civil society on democracy and advocacy skills for good governance; and increased participation of youth, women and minorities and their organizations in democratic processes. The design was ambitious in geographic scope and in the number of CSO participants, especially for the level of funding.

The objective of the project was to reduce gender disparity and gender-based violence in eight flood affected districts of Pakistan.

The project aimed to protect and promote women´s rights using the arts to communicate messages and to raise awareness of the challenges women are facing in protecting and promoting their rights, in spite of the existence of the Law on Violence Against Women (Law 779). The strategy of the project was built around two components: capacity building and awareness raising measures including theatre production and artistic expression; and preventive actions to solve key problems linked to the implementation of Law 779.

The Strengthening Governance and Democratization Processes in Kenya and the East and Central Africa Region project sought to strengthen the capacity of governance and grassroots organizations and enhance the participation of citizens to promote a democratic culture in Kenya and East and Central Africa.

The project’s objective was to strengthen the capacities of selected local Mukim communities in the Aceh province of Indonesia. A Mukim is a subdivision of a subdistrict and comprise of a number of villages. The aim of the project was to develop, advocate for and implement an alternative model of natural resource governance that promotes the participation and protects the rights of local communities, fosters environmental sustainability, and advances the interests of vulnerable and marginalized populations.