Action Aid Denmark/Arab Regional Initiative

Action Aid Denmark/Arab Regional Initiative

Review of Results, Outcomes and Approach 2012-16

Review done by Marieta Fitzgerald, external consultant

Amman, April 2017

Table of contents

Executive Summary

Selected outcomes:

Key recommendations and lessons learnt

1. Context

2. Methodology

2.1. Limitations and Challenges:

3. Program Description

3.1. Youth Engagement in Democratic Governance

3.2. Women’s Rights

3.3. Resilience

4. Identified Outcomes and Evidence

4.1 Resilience

4.2. Youth Engagement in Democratic Governance

4.3. Women’s Rights

4.4. Program Synergy

5. Conclusion and recommendations

5.1. Key Outcomes

5.2. Recommendations

Executive Summary

ActionAid Arab Regional Initiative (ARI) with support from the Danish Arab Partnership Programmehas worked with over 40 partners and more than 20,000 young people in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia. Over the last four years (2012-2016), ARI’s work has indirectly impacted an estimated 112,000 additional young men and women, reflecting the confidence young people have in the ARI ‘s approach, and demonstratingits unique ability to mobilize and engage young people as leaders within their own communities. ARI’s approach is designed to effectively support youth through four key pillars of engagement within our overall Human Rights Based Approach: 1) individual empowerment, 2) improved access to information and knowledge, 3) policy dialogue with key actors, and, 4) mobilization and organization for youth-led action. As such, ARI has aimed to foster sustainable change by ensuring young activists are equipped with the tools and knowledge to be active citizens, as well as encouraging, empowering and leading their peers to do the same.

These pathways to empowerment, mobilization and overall inclusion of otherwise silenced voices have increased the visibility and engagement of youth, particularly those who are marginalized and vulnerable in the region. ARI has learnt it is important to take a two-pronged approach to youth empowerment and engagement by equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and tools to: 1) to formulate their vision for change in a safe space and organize, mobilize to raise issues which are not being adequately addressed through the formal structures, and, 2) Claim and engage in formal spaces with stakeholders to influence decisions which impact on their lives and their communities.

ActionAid ARI’s engagement with young people over the last 4 years has gained the recognition and appreciation from the Government of Jordan and has resulted in the recent signing of a five-year MOU (May 2017) for strategic engagement with the Ministry of Youth, to support the ministry in their 194 youth centers across Jordan. This milestone provides the opportunity for ARI to scale up its approach of working with young people to become active agents of change through empowering young people and supporting their engagement in civic and political spaces across the country.

Selected outcomes:

Safe spaces: 3.500 youth (60% females) using the youth-led community centers (core group of 882 frequent users) and 6.640 engaged through Global Youth Hub in Amman(core group of 800).

The provision of safe spaces through the community centers and youth hub are critical for young people to develop their capacities and networks to engage in political and social affairs. A concrete example of that is the new youth movement “Shaghaf” which grew out of the youth hub network and managed to mobilize 4.500 youth after the 2016 parliamentary election to push for reform as well as monitoring and holding politicians accountable to the promises made during the election. The purpose of these safe spaces is also to create an environment of tolerance, trust and social cohesion between host communities and Syrian refugees and to better integrate marginalized youth into society. This has been done through training, joint community based development and entrepreneurship initiatives such as integration of people with impaired visions into the community, establishments of a book-café, public library, co-working spaces and sport zones as well as conducting regular theatre/story teller events and community debates, etc.

Empowerment:6.800 young people have strengthened their basic capacities as active and democratic citizens through specialized training provided by Global Platform

Training included leadership, HRBA, campaigning, election observations, activism, human rights and democracy and were provided by Global Platform Jordan and its partners Lebanon, Tunisia and Egypt. 99% of training participants involved in post-training evaluations[1] indicated a high level of satisfaction with the training delivery and content (score of at least 4 out of 5 on a progressive scale). Even more importantly, youth participants have gone on to actively utilize knowledge and skills gained through training to form their own forums for discussion and action, become leaders in their communities, and analyze social issues to raise real concerns and issues to local officials, thereby increasing their political participation.Training participants highlighted training as the building block for their future programming and achievements. In several cases[2], partners indicated that trainings on participatory analysis led directly to the identification of issues within communities, which formed the basis for youth-led initiatives.

Training – and more specifically Training of Trainers- was also directly linked to the development of future youth leaders who led initiatives with youth groups within their communities, became ambassadors for organizations[3], and even ran for public office. This was the case in Egypt and in Lebanon, where past participants of Global Platform trainings in leadership, campaigning and HRBA moved on to run for civil servant positions in local development units and even Mayor[4]. Although causality is difficult to demonstrate, partner staff attributed these youth’s ability and motivation to stand for office to their involvement with the projects supported by ARI, and highlighted their participation in trainings with GP as the point of entry into political discourse.

Civic engagement.15,600 young people have been engaged in civic action reaching a total of 112,000 through events and campaigns, including 84 campaigns on 54 issues which have led to concrete changes in 12 prioritized policy issues.

Civic engagement covered campaigns, public events, meetings with Local Development Units (LDUs), community needs analyses, or other local government processes such as town hall meetings, monitoring election promises, and lobbying for improved public services. This has resulted in changes in 12 prioritized issues, which include: improved street lighting, road infrastructure, waste management, and availability of potable drinking water in their local communities, protection of re-creative city areas such as parks and coastline of Beirut, etc. Through partners in Tunisia, ARI has managed to influence and engage youth in the planning process for national educational reforms and opposing the promulgation of a new law on economic reconciliation which contradicted with democratic, constitutional principles.

Political participation.123.854 people reached through awareness campaigns leading up to the 2016 parliamentary elections and election monitoring report produced by youth

In close cooperation with the Ministry of Parliamentary and Political Affairs (MOPPA), ARI established a network of 29 accredited youth election observers which monitored the Parliamentary Election in Jordan and produced a report with cases and recommendations to MOPPA and the Independent Election Commission. ARI also facilitated 8 radio-talk shows with voices of the youth creating debate around the election and reaching 113,354 listeners. Based on this successful cooperation, ARI have been approached again by MOPPA to support youth information and involvement in the current decentralization process and forthcoming local elections.

Local governance.Through memberships of youth shadow councils, 148 young men and women are directly involved in planning at local governance level

Based on a successful pilot initiative with a “youth shadow council”, which was later replicated in 10 locations by the Jordanian partner, ARI has also integrated this concept into the local governance approach. So far, partnerships have been established with Local Development Units in Zarqa and Russaifa municipalities where the Youth Shadow Councils involve 148 youth (52% females). Importantly, past successes in advocating for changes with the municipal authorities have resulted in mass support from the community and generated enormous interest in being a part of the Shadow Youth Councils, the Zarqa Shadow Youth Council for example has received 900+ applications[5] over 2016.

Key recommendations and lessons learnt

Institutional relations. Build off the governmental partnerships and relationships (e.g. strong relationships with Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs) to more regularly dialogue with policy makers and those in decision-making roles to advocate and lobby for the role of young men and women in social and political processes. Special emphasis on cooperation with Ministry of Youth to support government initiated 194 youth centers to replicate and scale up the model of youth empowerment and engagement developed under the DAPP programme as well as support national campaigns to engage young people.

Community centers.Continue to work towards youth led centers- rather than centers where young people are engaged on project based activities. There is a need to define a clear strategy for the community center model to be better able to measure the impact of the safe spaces and capacity development on youth engagement in formal and informal spaces and to formalize the learning by developing guidelines on how decision makers can engage young people in formal political spaces and how young people can better engage in formal spaces.Ensure the inclusion of relevant cultural/sports events at community centers to attract young people while at the same time ensuring the balance with meaningful engagement for change interventions.

Research done by youth. Building on from the training of young people in community participatory analysis – mentor and coach young people in undertaking Participatory Action Research using the ActionAid Research Signature to provide an evidence base for engagement in formal spaces and for young people to be better able to lobby for change.

Peer to peer learning. Build on the successful peer to peer learning with women’s groups across the region (Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia and Egypt) and expand this to local partners and youth groups working on civic and political participation in Jordan and Tunisia.

Organisational Development. Based on the significant added value of the Organizational Development (OD) trainings provided in the past, consider relevance and feasibility of phasing such trainings back in, to strengthen local people and their organizations in terms of skills, knowledge, tools and systems

M&E. Strengthen the monitoring and evaluation system to more accurately measure the cumulative impact of youth led actions as a result of interventions. Joint follow up (i.e. through action tracks) with GP is highly recommended to ensure learning outcomes are useful for both ARI and GP. Invest in full-time M&E staff to conduct regular quality assurance, accountability and M&E processes and share findings with program team.

Flexible funding. Continued flexible funding to support youth led initiatives to allow for genuine youth led initiatives to be undertaken. As part of this, undertake reflection circles among young to document their experience and needs as change agents and a feasibility study outlining barriers and opportunities for establishing an independent, physical space for youth activists.

Partnerships and alliances. Build stronger alliances with CSOs to be able to engage youths for actions related to social change.Use strong practices already in place to document a clear, localized partnership strategy including guidelines for partnership work and key criteria to be used for: selecting, monitoring, continuing (for strategic partners), and closing out partnerships (clear exit strategies):

1.Context

The Middle East and North Africa is a complex region in the midst of profound social, economic, security and political change. The Arab Spring raised hopes across the region for democratic re-birth and its impact must be acknowledged. Although it may not have led to a revolutionary rise of participatory democracy, it has certainly led to significant change in the region, which now finds itself in a governance crisis in which democracy, authoritarianism, state failure, the rise of non-state actors play significant parts.

In this ongoing struggle, the 200 million young people in the region have the power to be active agents of change. Despite declining perceptions of the Arab Spring’s success amongst this young population- only 36% of whom feel that the Arab world is better off post-Spring as compared to 72% in 2012- there remains hope for positive change. Unfortunately, perceptions are persistently confirmed by cultural, social, economic and political exclusion of youth. In fact, in 2016 53% of youth prioritized stability over emerging democracy, whereas in 2012, 92% of youth prioritized democracy over all other characteristics[6].

Youth in Democratic Governance

Political exclusion of youth in the MENA region presents a formidable barrier to overcome, but not an impossible one. Youth continue to show a high level of engagement across the region through campaigning, lobbying, and advocating for ways in which young people’s opinions and ideas can influence policy and decision-making. Youth engaged in these processes are critically aware of their rights as citizens, and have the potential to push forward concrete change and claim their space within political processes with the right support and progressive leaders on their side. Youth who are not yet engaged have considerable obstacles to inclusion as well, including low levels of confidence, an educational background primarily based on rote pedagogy and the strong hold of existing political parties.

Improved participation of youth in political processes could also heavily influence their inclusion in economic and social realms. Currently, the region has the highest percentage of youth unemployment (30.6%) in the world, with an average gap of 24 percentage points between young men and women[7], who are disproportionately affected by cultural and traditional norms[8] that perpetuate patriarchal societies and government.Rather than utilizing this massive force of potential, governments across the region primarily view youth as a burden to be pacified, but otherwise ignored. As such, youth in the Arab region currently lack the means, the space, and the opportunity to shape their own narratives and develop as active citizens.

Women’s Rights

As mentioned above, women and girls face additional vulnerability and exclusion due to the strong role culture and tradition play in shaping gender norms within the Middle East. Discriminatory laws and social practices within the region put women and girls at high-risk and unable to access their human rights, making it all the more difficult for women to engage as active citizens. Societal norms relegate women to subordinate status, hindering progress in the political, educational, social and economic spheres. The lack of women’s participation in these areas impacts not only women themselves, but also the society as a whole as their limited participation perpetuates poverty and slows progress towards health, education and economic goals.

Politically, the region has made some concrete steps towards increased gender equality, with many countries adopting quotas for women’s seats in candidate lists, local councils and parliament. Despite these reforms, women are still the unequivocal minority in the political sphere, which is evident in laws that restrict their access to human rights and the lack of women representatives in legal justice systems. Socially, women continue to face high levels of discrimination, as the patriarchal norms across the region strip them of their agency from a young age, from barriers to entering and staying in school, to finding work, making friends and developing life skills[9]. Women and girls often face increased challenges to mobility as well, which restricts them from accessing opportunities outside their immediate community. Economically, the Middle East loses 26% of potential profits[10] each year due to the exclusion of women from the work force, and every MENA economy has at least one restriction regarding women’s participation in one or more sector. Asides from the legal barriers, cultural norms prioritize men’s economic activity, leaving little room for women outside of a domestic setting, thereby normalizing the systematic exclusion of women and girls. Without overcoming these obstacles to women’s enjoyment of their rights, progress will continue to be hindered.

Resilience

The above barriers to the inclusion of women and youth in political, economical and social processes are further exasperated for refugee populations living across the region. For those living in dire conditions with limited access to income, every day offers a new struggle to access basic human rights like food, shelter, water and healthcare. Jordan and Lebanon, which host over 650,000 and 1.4 million Syrian refugees respectively[11], already suffered from perennially weak economies, instability (particularly Lebanon) in terms of governance, and weak infrastructure to cope with the population influx witnessed over the last five years. Refugees and vulnerable host community members alike are hard pressed to cope with the high living costs, limited service provision, and restricted access to livelihoods (both due to legal restrictions and high national unemployment rates). Social tensions within communities in both countries further the challenges faced by refugees in particular, resulting in limited civic participation and high levels of frustrations within young populations, who feel they have limited future prospects. Acknowledging these barriers to wellbeing, it is critical to support the most vulnerable with support in a way that empowers refugees and host community members alike to take an active stance in overcoming the challenges they face.