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Lessons

LESSON

Lesson Learned: Involving women and youth CSOs in strengthening democratic debate and public news media around elections in Afghanistan

The project budget was not consistent with the project’s intended outcomes. To achieve those higher level results, much more focus needed to be given to the civil society elements of the project design and to the content of the media products. The budget had a heavy emphasis on the development of media products. Only 10 percent was allocated for the more programmatic elements of building a civil society in Afghanistan - journalist network, mentoring, training and workshops.
Project Partner
Development Humanitarian Services Afghanistan / The Killid Group
Project Description
Involving women and youth CSOs in strengthening democratic debate and public news media around elections in Afghanistan sought to strengthen the voice of civil society and foster sustainable democratic practices within Afghanistan by generating a deeper public debate among women and youth groups around the 2014 presidential electoral process. The project lost relevance however in implementation. Only a few activities were done in the pre-electoral period and only a portion of the intended CSO-journalist elements were done. In addition, the predominate use of Pashto in the round tables and reporting, narrowed its relevance to the two-thirds of the country that use Dari.
Evaluation Date
March 2015
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Involving women and youth CSOs in strengthening democratic debate and public news media around elections in Afghanistan

The grantee used primarily its own reporters and staff to implement the project so any experience and knowledge gained under the project would remain with them. The grantee continues to use some of the civil society groups or information or as participants in some of its programming.
Project Partner
Development Humanitarian Services Afghanistan / The Killid Group
Project Description
Involving women and youth CSOs in strengthening democratic debate and public news media around elections in Afghanistan sought to strengthen the voice of civil society and foster sustainable democratic practices within Afghanistan by generating a deeper public debate among women and youth groups around the 2014 presidential electoral process. The project lost relevance however in implementation. Only a few activities were done in the pre-electoral period and only a portion of the intended CSO-journalist elements were done. In addition, the predominate use of Pashto in the round tables and reporting, narrowed its relevance to the two-thirds of the country that use Dari.
Evaluation Date
March 2015
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Involving women and youth CSOs in strengthening democratic debate and public news media around elections in Afghanistan

Public service announcements and other civic education materials should be grounded in the Afghan national context. Focus on constructive information and target the campaign to achieve specific results to help listeners understand the situation, know what they need to do, and manage their post-electoral expectations. It should be clear that elections are only one part of the democratization process and cannot generate change by themselves.
Project Partner
Development Humanitarian Services Afghanistan / The Killid Group
Project Description
Involving women and youth CSOs in strengthening democratic debate and public news media around elections in Afghanistan sought to strengthen the voice of civil society and foster sustainable democratic practices within Afghanistan by generating a deeper public debate among women and youth groups around the 2014 presidential electoral process. The project lost relevance however in implementation. Only a few activities were done in the pre-electoral period and only a portion of the intended CSO-journalist elements were done. In addition, the predominate use of Pashto in the round tables and reporting, narrowed its relevance to the two-thirds of the country that use Dari.
Evaluation Date
March 2015
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Involving women and youth CSOs in strengthening democratic debate and public news media around elections in Afghanistan

The grantee intended to engage with local civil society organizations and its radio network to develop a new system of reporting that would be informed by youth and women’s voice and monitoring efforts, and produced public awareness messages to increase their targeted groups’ understanding of the Afghan democratic context. This was extremely relevant to the needs of the Afghan electoral and democratization processes. Although women and youth have gained significant rights in the democratic system, they are still marginalized by tradition and culture.
Project Partner
Development Humanitarian Services Afghanistan / The Killid Group
Project Description
Involving women and youth CSOs in strengthening democratic debate and public news media around elections in Afghanistan sought to strengthen the voice of civil society and foster sustainable democratic practices within Afghanistan by generating a deeper public debate among women and youth groups around the 2014 presidential electoral process. The project lost relevance however in implementation. Only a few activities were done in the pre-electoral period and only a portion of the intended CSO-journalist elements were done. In addition, the predominate use of Pashto in the round tables and reporting, narrowed its relevance to the two-thirds of the country that use Dari.
Evaluation Date
March 2015
Theme
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Advancing the rights of women in the West Bank periphery, Palestine

The project’s focus was unusual as it specifically focused on urban planning as a tool for the empowerment of women within their communities and the labour market in Palestine. This innovative approach to equipping women with skills and understanding that gave them a comparative advantage – particularly in forums where they and the voices of women in general are traditionally under-represented such as local government bodies – was highly relevant.
Project Partner
International Peace and Cooperation Centre
Project Description
The objective of the project was to promote social change and empower women in the West Bank to increase their participation within local governance, specifically in urban and environmental planning at the level of local councils. The project also aimed to increase public awareness and support for women’s participation in local governance and urban and environmental planning. The project was implemented in the north, middle and south of the West Bank, focusing on zones where the Israeli authorities have control of land use. Upskilling local councils through the training of women - both elected and aspiring to election - was particularly relevant as it filled a specific and significant need to developing community governance in the most challenging areas of the West Bank.
Evaluation Date
February 2015
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Promoting the representation of Malagasy Women in Political and Public Affairs

The project would have benefited from an agreed action plan among all stakeholders both in the capital and regions and including international donors such as UNDP. Given the political instability in the country at the time the project was developed, a clearer vision of the risks more clarity in planning would have helped the project become more embedded and to lead to a real process of change.
Project Partner
Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa
Project Description
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.
Evaluation Date
February 2015
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Advancing the rights of women in the West Bank periphery, Palestine

The project engaged the two West Bank universities that have urban planning programmes, so that the concept and practice of women’s representation and participation in this field can be mainstreamed into the education of future urban planners, architects and engineers. The project also built strong ties with relevant Ministries as well as with UNHABITAT, so that the methodology and outcomes were embedded into work with possible future partners.
Project Partner
International Peace and Cooperation Centre
Project Description
The objective of the project was to promote social change and empower women in the West Bank to increase their participation within local governance, specifically in urban and environmental planning at the level of local councils. The project also aimed to increase public awareness and support for women’s participation in local governance and urban and environmental planning. The project was implemented in the north, middle and south of the West Bank, focusing on zones where the Israeli authorities have control of land use. Upskilling local councils through the training of women - both elected and aspiring to election - was particularly relevant as it filled a specific and significant need to developing community governance in the most challenging areas of the West Bank.
Evaluation Date
February 2015
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Promoting the representation of Malagasy Women in Political and Public Affairs

The project’s impact on the public opinion in Madagascar was more fragmented, since media coverage was not very targeted and the journalists themselves displayed a lack of capacity and knowledge in terms of gender issues. It would be necessary to review the content of messages aimed, in order to present women’s participation and the inclusion of gender issues in politics not as a divisive act but rather as a social project aimed at increasing equality, enhancing the well-being of citizens, and above all applying the rule of law. These messages should be pushed by journalists who were trained in this area and should focus on the added value of women’s experiences and even more simply on their necessary contribution to the democratic debate.
Project Partner
Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa
Project Description
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.
Evaluation Date
February 2015
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Advancing the rights of women in the West Bank periphery, Palestine

There will need to be more effort to engage men in understanding both the importance of urban planning and the need to involve women in urban planning processes.  While some of the women believed that the best way to do this is to offer training to the men too, this would reduce the women’s comparative advantage. A better way to proceed may be to consider a focus on youth in the community who are more open to the concept of gender equity and who will be the local councillors of the future.
Project Partner
International Peace and Cooperation Centre
Project Description
The objective of the project was to promote social change and empower women in the West Bank to increase their participation within local governance, specifically in urban and environmental planning at the level of local councils. The project also aimed to increase public awareness and support for women’s participation in local governance and urban and environmental planning. The project was implemented in the north, middle and south of the West Bank, focusing on zones where the Israeli authorities have control of land use. Upskilling local councils through the training of women - both elected and aspiring to election - was particularly relevant as it filled a specific and significant need to developing community governance in the most challenging areas of the West Bank.
Evaluation Date
February 2015
Country
LESSON

Lesson Learned: Promoting the representation of Malagasy Women in Political and Public Affairs

The creation of a women's caucus in the National Assembly to promote the systematic mainstreaming of gender aspects in legislative proposals made gender issues more visible in Parliament. The participatory approach to identifying women’s needs was effective for mobilizing women across political party divisions.
Project Partner
Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa
Project Description
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.
Evaluation Date
February 2015
Country