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Civic Education - Selected Country Highlights
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Civic Education
Selected Country Highlights: Civic Education
In Guatemala, ADF provided civic education technical assistance, training and umbrella grants to strengthen the capacity of Guatemalan NGOs to carry out civic education programs throughout Guatemala and promote citizen participation in democratic processes. Over 12,000 people participated in the project’s training activities. The activities carried out by the NGOs encouraged informed voting among citizens; expanded NGO service capacity; promoted NGO cooperation, and fostered joint efforts and activities among the NGOs. Individual NGO activities included training (workshops, seminars, and discussions); public fora; and voter education.
In Haiti, ADF conducted civic education directly as well as supported civic education conducted by Haitian CSOs. In 1998, ADF developed and broadcast a series of weekly radio programs called Ann Pale/Ann Koute (Let's Listen/Let's Talk). These regularly scheduled radio programs focused on a number of themes. They were run each Friday on Haiti-Inter, a widely listened to radio station on both AM and FM that reaches most of Haiti 's territory. Thirteen weekly radio programs were aired on topics ranging from the value of organizing in civil society organizations to women's issues.
Also in Haiti, ADF developed channels for effective citizen participation in policy creation at the local and national levels through regional and national dialogues, and advocacy training. A series of organized dialogues throughout Haiti brought together over 1,400 representatives of civil society organizations in constructive, policy-oriented debate with public officials. These processes enabled Haitian CSOs to carry out public information and civic education campaigns with a unifying focus on opportunities for citizen participation in a democratic framework with the associated citizen rights and responsibilities.
In Iraq, ADF provided training, technical assistance and grants to increase the capacity of CSOs to undertake civic education activities through the USAID-funded ICSP project. ICSP’s assistance for civic education strengthens and expands the work of Iraqi CSOs in promoting understanding of citizens’ rights and responsibilities and the role of citizen participation in decision-making processes and holding government accountable. ICSP assistance enabled CSOs to become more effective organizations in mobilizing civil society participation in the public policy processes at provincial and national levels, facilitating reconciliation between ethnic groups and advocating political and policy reforms.
- CSOs mobilized citizen participation in Iraq’s elections and the drafting of the 2005 Constitution. ICSP is a leading force in assisting a growing mass of Iraqi CSOs throughout the country to advocate for a strong enabling environment for Iraqi civil society and in drafting of a new NGO law recently submitted to the Ministry of Civil Society for consideration.
- Over 1,000 Iraqi CSOs have increased their ability to conduct civic education through participation in 428 workshops and 562 technical assistance sessions.
- CSOs have implemented 335 civic education program activities directly reaching approximately 20,000 people while their mass media civic education campaigns reach hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.
- Education and conflict mitigation activities by ICSP-supported CSOs have lent stability to tense situations throughout the country and especially in Kirkuk and Mosul.
- In Najaf, a major step toward better coordination among local CSO’s was taken when representatives of 40 organizations gathered, in the presence of members of the Governorate Council, to lay the foundations of the CSO Coordination Office in Najaf. Lively discussions showed gaps in understanding the concept of civil society amongst participants and steps are underway to educate all parties on the role of civil society.
- Our Constitution TV Talk Show The ICSP-sponsored 32-episode "Our Constitution" talk show on al-Iraqiya TV proved to be a major program milestone, galvanizing nation-building in Iraq and bringing unfettered constitutional debate to most every Iraqi household.
- Elect for Iraq TV Talk Show Building on the success of "Our Constitution," each of the “Elect for Iraq” episodes offered 90 minutes of often dramatic exchanges between office seekers and voter representatives across the political spectrum and the electorate and selected by CSOs.