Project
Support for Youth Involvement in Electoral Processes in Gabon
- Gabon
- January 2016
The project aimed to address needs of the Gabonese youth to participate in electoral processes. The project had three components: social mobilization – including motivating young people to participate and engage in politics; strengthening the leadership of youth – including integrating young people in the spheres of influence within their local area; and advocacy which aimed to stablish local forums for young leaders in democracy.
The project encountered some challenges including education strikes, and the refusal of some educational leaders to let young people participate. Despite the difficulties encountered, the grantee’s efforts still resulted in some remarkable results. The project was particularly successful in encouraging school and university students to speak their mind. The evaluators were also impressed by the variety of communication products, such as educational materials and publications, both in digital version in hard copy, as well as by the quality of professionally produced advertising spots and by the discussions broadcasted on television.
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- Youth engagement
- Gabon
- January 2016
The fact that the grantee’s approach and methodology included the conduct of a baseline survey, annual follow-up surveys, and the formulation of target indicators is highly commendable. However there could have been a more rigorous approach to data analysis. The grantee has collected very basic data to monitor effectiveness and impact, and failed to provide UNDEF in its reporting with a comparative analysis.
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- Youth engagement
- Gabon
- January 2016
The project should have implemented a more integrated and transparent approach so as to include all the various regional partners. This would have resulted in a more realistic estimate of costs and the required professional skills.
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- Youth engagement
- Gabon
- January 2016
The resources needed to accomplish each sub-activity were not defined in advance in a realistic way. In some cases this impacted on other budgeted activities which could not be carried out. The actual costs of the social mobilization activities were very high given the poor results.
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- Youth engagement
- Gabon
- January 2016
The project completed only half of its planned activities. While certain outputs fell short of their target, others were characterized by duplication without any benefit from the additional activity.
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- Youth engagement
- Gabon
- January 2016
The project contributed to the decision of three young people to stand as candidates during the local elections in 2013. The example of the “Rassemblement des Jeunes Patriotes Gabonais” also demonstrated that the project has stimulated young people to get involved in the electoral process to openly demand that issues such as lack of integration and poverty are addressed.