Community activism

The project aimed to support elected members of selected village councils in Haryana and Uttarakhand States - especially women - , to fulfill their roles: planning and implementing village public works and their maintenance; local social and welfare activities; and contributing to community harmony and social justice. The findings from the baseline survey were considered for inclusion in the project plans to ensure that the reasons preventing women village council members executing their functions were addressed. The integration of both elected council members and Self-Help Group members into a single target group enhanced the project's focus on social and developmental community issues. The project achieved its long-term objective to increase the participation of women in local decision-making processes. Elected council members confirmed that they understood their rights and obligations to contribute to the improvement of local democracy. Anecdotal evidence suggests that women were empowered and that they have begun to intervene openly and more frequently during village council meetings.

The project aimed to strengthen electoral processes by focusing on election monitoring by independent civil society organizations. The project established a regional expert group on elections monitoring, carried out training sessions and provided election monitoring services. In Tunisia, the group established – the Arab Working Group on Elections Monitoring - carried out a limited number of trainings in the four countries, and engaged in elections monitoring in Tunisia. Because of some political challenges, not all of the activities planned in Bahrain, Sudan, and Jordan, were undertaken. In general, training and monitoring focused more on the quantity than the quality of monitoring, a strategy that can be defended but may pose problems for longer terms sustainability.

The project aimed to enhance the legitimacy of the judicial system in order to reinforce democratic processes in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Specifically, the project was designed to improve the legal knowledge and sense of responsibility on the part of civil society actors by raising awareness of human rights among citizens and by improving trust between citizens and judicial institutions, as well as better liaison between judicial actors and civil society. The beneficiaries included the population of two municipalities in suburban Kinshasa, as well as families of military and police personnel housed in camps in the area; police officers, prosecutors and judges; and a group of trained NGO resource persons. The project was based on a sound strategy, which identified explicitly the institutional weaknesses that were to be addressed, and proposed realistic steps to address them. The training sessions for NGO resource persons and the seminars bringing together civil society, police and members of the judiciary were implemented to a particularly high standard, as they were both innovative in their field, and carried out with appropriate levels of skills and monitoring.

The project aimed to enhance the legitimacy of the judicial system in order to reinforce democratic processes in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Specifically, the project was designed to improve the legal knowledge and sense of responsibility on the part of civil society actors by raising awareness of human rights among citizens and by improving trust between citizens and judicial institutions, as well as better liaison between judicial actors and civil society. The beneficiaries included the population of two municipalities in suburban Kinshasa, as well as families of military and police personnel housed in camps in the area; police officers, prosecutors and judges; and a group of trained NGO resource persons. The project was based on a sound strategy, which identified explicitly the institutional weaknesses that were to be addressed, and proposed realistic steps to address them. The training sessions for NGO resource persons and the seminars bringing together civil society, police and members of the judiciary were implemented to a particularly high standard, as they were both innovative in their field, and carried out with appropriate levels of skills and monitoring.

The objective of the project was to promote democratic culture at all levels in society irrespective of social status, political, religious, ethnic or regional allegiance. Activities included awareness-raising of rural populations on the concept of democracy; training of local elites on participatory democracy, human rights and citizenship; information, education and communication to promote participation in the 2010 presidential elections and in local elections; and debates in secondary and high schools on democratic values and principles. While the grantee responded to a priority need in Togo for the development of a democratic culture, significant weaknesses in design and implementation limited the project’s relevance. Important stakeholders such as the judicial and law-enforcement sectors were not addressed by the project’s actions and there were months-long periods when very few activities were implemented.

The objective of the project was to promote democratic culture at all levels in society irrespective of social status, political, religious, ethnic or regional allegiance. Activities included awareness-raising of rural populations on the concept of democracy; training of local elites on participatory democracy, human rights and citizenship; information, education and communication to promote participation in the 2010 presidential elections and in local elections; and debates in secondary and high schools on democratic values and principles. While the grantee responded to a priority need in Togo for the development of a democratic culture, significant weaknesses in design and implementation limited the project’s relevance. Important stakeholders such as the judicial and law-enforcement sectors were not addressed by the project’s actions and there were months-long periods when very few activities were implemented.

The objective of the project was to promote democratic culture at all levels in society irrespective of social status, political, religious, ethnic or regional allegiance. Activities included awareness-raising of rural populations on the concept of democracy; training of local elites on participatory democracy, human rights and citizenship; information, education and communication to promote participation in the 2010 presidential elections and in local elections; and debates in secondary and high schools on democratic values and principles. While the grantee responded to a priority need in Togo for the development of a democratic culture, significant weaknesses in design and implementation limited the project’s relevance. Important stakeholders such as the judicial and law-enforcement sectors were not addressed by the project’s actions and there were months-long periods when very few activities were implemented.

The objective of the project was to promote democratic culture at all levels in society irrespective of social status, political, religious, ethnic or regional allegiance. Activities included awareness-raising of rural populations on the concept of democracy; training of local elites on participatory democracy, human rights and citizenship; information, education and communication to promote participation in the 2010 presidential elections and in local elections; and debates in secondary and high schools on democratic values and principles. While the grantee responded to a priority need in Togo for the development of a democratic culture, significant weaknesses in design and implementation limited the project’s relevance. Important stakeholders such as the judicial and law-enforcement sectors were not addressed by the project’s actions and there were months-long periods when very few activities were implemented.

The objective of the project was to promote democratic culture at all levels in society irrespective of social status, political, religious, ethnic or regional allegiance. Activities included awareness-raising of rural populations on the concept of democracy; training of local elites on participatory democracy, human rights and citizenship; information, education and communication to promote participation in the 2010 presidential elections and in local elections; and debates in secondary and high schools on democratic values and principles. While the grantee responded to a priority need in Togo for the development of a democratic culture, significant weaknesses in design and implementation limited the project’s relevance. Important stakeholders such as the judicial and law-enforcement sectors were not addressed by the project’s actions and there were months-long periods when very few activities were implemented.

The objective of the project was to promote democratic culture at all levels in society irrespective of social status, political, religious, ethnic or regional allegiance. Activities included awareness-raising of rural populations on the concept of democracy; training of local elites on participatory democracy, human rights and citizenship; information, education and communication to promote participation in the 2010 presidential elections and in local elections; and debates in secondary and high schools on democratic values and principles. While the grantee responded to a priority need in Togo for the development of a democratic culture, significant weaknesses in design and implementation limited the project’s relevance. Important stakeholders such as the judicial and law-enforcement sectors were not addressed by the project’s actions and there were months-long periods when very few activities were implemented.