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MEET Alumni and Civil Society Leaders Partner for Advocacy Efforts
By Alisa Hall, Beyster Institute Staff
Five new advocacy coalitions composed of civil society and business leaders have been selected to participate in the newly launched Democracy through Advocacy Networks program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). MEPI has committed over one million dollars in 2008 to support the work of these coalitions on critical issues including freedom of information, good governance, combating corruption, environmental awareness and women’s empowerment. The Beyster Institute will provide program management and financial oversight, as well as technical support in the areas of coalition building, strategic planning and monitoring and evaluation.
The goals of the program are to strengthen regional reform networks and advocacy efforts, to increase opportunities for peer learning, to establish mechanisms for sharing and disseminating information, and, ultimately, to promote reforms that have a tangible impact on the policy environment in the Middle East and North Africa.
The Freedom of Information coalition, composed of organizations in Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain and Tunisia, will launch an Arab Freedom of Information Network to advocate for the adoption of legislation that guarantees all citizens the right of access to public information. This legislation is essential for transparent and accountable government and meaningful civic engagement in public life. Over the course of the year, the coalition will publish a series of national surveys examining access to information in Morocco, Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain. The coalition will hold a steering committee meeting in the beginning of July to discuss the structure of the Network and to finalize national and regional advocacy strategies.
The Arab Initiative for an Equitable Public Budget will promote good governance by introducing participatory budgeting practices in Jordan, Yemen and Bahrain. Participatory budgeting is a process that promotes democracy, accountability and transparency by improving citizen access to information and participation in the budget process. Lead by Partners-Jordan for Civic Collaboration, in partnership with the Human Rights Information and Training Centre in Yemen and the Bahrain Human Rights Society, this initiative will engage governments, businesses and civil society through a series of events and training programs emphasizing budget literacy and advocacy. Partners-Jordan will host a regional training-of-trainers for coalition members on participatory approaches to fiscal budget preparation at the Dead Sea, Jordan in late July.
Three environmental NGOs will tackle the issue of proper disposal and recycling of household batteries in Lebanon, Jordan and Tunisia through the Recycling for a Better Environment Initiative. Hazardous disposal of household batteries is a major problem in the Middle East and North Africa due to the absence of proper regulations on disposal procedures and a lack of public awareness. The initiative aims to raise awareness among primary and intermediate school students and their families on the dangers of hazardous disposal of household batteries. The project will also promote sorting and recycling of these batteries in line with accepted environmental best practices. The coalition will reach out to 150 schools through child-friendly awareness events and training programs. The project will culminate in a region-wide battery recycling competition between participating schools.
Members of the Combating Corruption advocacy coalition will focus their efforts on promoting the active participation of individuals and civil society groups in the prevention of and fight against corruption in line with Article 13 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. The primary goal of this initiative is to raise public awareness regarding the causes of corruption and the harmful effects on human rights and economic growth posed by corrupt practices. Program activities will be implemented in Yemen and Egypt and will include trainings for university students on corruption fighting strategies, an anti-corruption hotline and newsletter, and corruption awareness workshops for journalists, jurists, legislators and educators.
The fifth advocacy coalition will concentrate on empowering women in the workplace through the creation and publication of a user-friendly booklet that explains the provisions of relevant labor laws and human resource policies in a simple and straightforward manner. The booklet will cover women’s rights in the workplace in Lebanon, Yemen, Morocco, Egypt and Kuwait and will target working women between the ages of 18 and 35 as well as their employers. The project will be led by the Lebanese League of Women in Business, in partnership with the Yemen Family Care Association, the Morocco-based Association Femmes Chefs d’Entreprises, A.W.T.A.D in Egypt, and a private sector representative from Kuwait.
©2008 The Beyster Institute and its authors and their entities. All rights reserved.
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