Project

Promoting political participation of marginalized populations in Ecuador

Grantee: IFES

The objective of the project was to reinforce local governance by helping to strengthen democratic practices among the indigenous and Afro-descendant populations of Ecuador. The project’s key components comprised of training for young leaders from the indigenous and Afro-descendant communities in leadership techniques and political influence; activities to raise the awareness and visibility of the target audience; institutional strengthening of the partner organisations and the creation of opportunities for political dialogue. Ecuador introduced a new constitution in 2008, which focused on improving the living conditions of vulnerable and marginalized communities and groups, fighting poverty and the promotion of sustainable human development. The decision to focus the project on young leaders, including a fair representation of young women, who had not previously had the chance to learn about and practice their civic responsibility, also proved to be relevant to the political context of renewal in the country.

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Lessons from Project

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Although the project succeeded in achieving male-female parity during the training, the participation of women and young women in political life in Ecuador should be further strengthened. This is a key requirement for the indigenous movement, which has shown a willingness to develop specific training programmes for women on local participation, the practice of civic responsibility, and access to socio-economic and political rights.

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To ensure the continuity and consolidation of skills gained from the training, the project’s School for Leadership and Political Influence should be institutionalised by formalising the agreements that were made temporarily with local universities.

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If a project is managed remotely and implemented by an organisation that is not present in the country, there should be a capacity assessment to ensure that there is sufficient support provided to local partners both in terms of day to day monitoring and evaluation but also in terms of long term institution building.

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The target groups reported positive benefits from the project in terms of professional development and have succeeded in integrating the tools and approaches used in the project to make their political actions more effective.

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The project helped to strengthen the democratisation process among indigenous and Afro-descendant groups in Ecuador. This was in keeping with the partner organisations’ strategic options and institutional path, and was not limited to this specific intervention. The project’s support has proven very significant for the grantee’s partners in terms of the implementation of their strategies and the strengthening of the capacities of their managers.

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Following the project many young leaders and managers of grassroots organisations who were trained are now participating actively in local and provincial government bodies. These participants have disseminated the training and awareness-raising material to other members of the indigenous and African-descendant movements.

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The training content and methodology was designed in close collaboration with the beneficiaries. This approach resulted in the training being relevant and effective.

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