Lessons

The project’s objective was to support the involvement of youth in public policy debates. The project activities included training and organizational support for local civil society projects. It aimed to help civil society organisations and youth to identify problems and propose solutions to decision makers, develop effective leadership and advocacy skills to articulate their positions. It also hoped to establish a sustainable regional network of policy advocates to share information, best practices and lessons learned. Weaknesses in the grantee’s initial problem analysis and a lack of hands-on support undermined the project’s effectiveness. Training on leadership and advocacy skills could have been delivered by experienced civil society members instead of professional educators. It would have also been appropriate to include and seek involvement from political decision-makers to ultimately obtain support for the project’s objective and outcomes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.