Project Stream: Open grants call

Empowering women living in institutional settings

Issue

Women face a number of challenges ranging from security issues and financial hardship, to social exclusion.

Project

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Malta are helping to improve the lives of women living in institutional settings in Malta. This project aims to build the capacity of women to articulate the needs and challenges they face. It will support women living in shelters who have experienced domestic violence, and female asylum seekers who live in open centres. It will establish Women Advocacy and Mobilisation Groups (WAMGs) and train the women in human rights, communication and advocacy so they can engage with policymakers for enhanced service delivery and improved access to services.

It is expected that this project will lead to an improvement in the policies, structures and services that directly impact the lives of women in institutional settings.

Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS)

The Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS) Malta, established in 1993, is part of an international network in 50 countries dedicated to providing assistance to refugees, asylum seekers and other displaced persons. JRS Malta specialises in the field of legal assistance and social work services (including healthcare and psychological support), awareness-raising in schools and spiritual care. JRS Malta has been providing services (including legal, access to medical care and psychological services) to women living in Open Centres for 15 years.

www.jrsmalta.org

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Partner organisation

Women’s Rights Foundation (WRF) Malta aims to ensure that women’s rights are protected through policy and legal reform, raise awareness and offer training to end violence against women. It provides free legal advice and initial legal representation to women who are survivors of domestic violence, sexual exploitation, human trafficking and those discriminated against due to their gender. Over the years, WRF has worked with women living in shelters as a result of domestic violence.

Strengthening the voice of older people

Issue

Forty percent of older people in South Africa live in poverty, resulting in poor health, increased likelihood of illness and disability, and difficulty in paying for basic needs like food and shelter. .

Project

HelpAge International aims to make the National Development Plan more effective in addressing the key needs of older people, by promoting the inclusion of their concerns into the design and implementation of development activities. This will be achieved by developing a strong and cohesive voice for older people across the country, bringing together key civil society organisations (CSOs) to advocate more cohesively for their improved access to services and their delivery. Strengthened collaboration between these groups at provincial, district and national levels will ensure that older people’s issues brought to the national stage reflect grassroots concerns.

It is expected that by the end of the project, CSOs will be in a better position to coordinate their work and engage constructively with government representatives to influence decisions on older people’s issues at the local and national level.

HelpAge International

HelpAge helps older people claim their rights, challenge discrimination and overcome poverty, so that they can lead dignified, secure, active and healthy lives. They work with like-minded organisations in over 65 countries across all continents. They have an office in South Africa and have worked in the country for several years with local partners on a range of issues affecting older people. HelpAge will be responsible for the overall management of the project. It will be in charge of the capacity building component of the project and will provide technical assistance to the South Africa Older Persons’ Forum (SAOPF) on documenting and delivering advocacy messages.

www.helpage.org

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Partner organisations

The South Africa Older Persons’ Forum (SAOPF) was established in 2005 by the South Africa Human Rights Commission. Its mission is to identify and articulate the concerns and needs of older persons, as voiced by them, and, in consultation with government and other key players, to ensure that these needs are addressed in legislation, services and programmes.

Making the Post-2015 agenda work for gender equality

Issue

In 2008, Southern Africa governments signed and adopted the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development, which integrates and mainstreams gender issues in the region. The Protocol is now under review.

Project

Gender Links will enable civil society organisations from eight Southern Africa countries to work with the SADC Gender Unit and governments on drafting a revised Protocol on Gender and Development, and to follow up on its implementation. This will include gathering case studies on gender equality from civil society, local and national government in the region, and using the Citizens Score Card to gather citizen perspectives on progress made by their governments towards gender equality.

It is expected that by the end of the project, a new Protocol with civil society input will have been adopted by the Southern Africa Development Community. Civil society will also have acquired the necessary tools to track progress towards achieving gender equality in line with the new Post-2015 development framework.

Gender Links, South Africa

Gender Links works with partners at local, national and regional level to: produce evidence based research on gender gaps and progress in the SADC region and use it in advocacy efforts; promote gender equality in all areas of governance; foster a gender movement through coalition building; and, build capacity of civil society to engage in processes that advance gender equality and justice. Gender links coordinates an alliance of 15 national networks, comprising 40 organisations, and nine regional networks. Organisations from the alliance based in the eight target countries will be involved in country activities such as in the delivery of workshops, collation of a matrix of indicators and case studies.

www.genderlinks.org.za

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Enhancing participatory governance

Issue

Stronger systems of participatory governance between the local community, civil society and government institutions are essential to promote participatory and responsive governance.

Project

Eastern Social Development Foundation (ESDF) are enhancing participatory governance in Sri Lanka by strengthening citizen engagement with government institutions.

The project will build the capacities of community based organisations (CBOs) in the Batticaloa District in East Sri Lanka so that they can work with their local government institutions to promote participatory and responsive governance. CBOs will strengthen their institutional structures and policies to better manage their organisations, understand the prevailing issues, and work together with service providers and government functionaries to identify solutions to community needs. This will include advocating for improved services and structural changes to rural communities, such as increased representation of women in local government committees.

By the end of the project, it is expected that stronger systems of participatory governance will have developed between the local community, civil society and government institutions.

Eastern Social Development Foundation

Eastern Social Development Foundation (ESDF) is a community based organisation located in the eastern part of Sri Lanka. They have been working with communities and government institutions to defend human rights, promote equality, good governance since 2008. ESDF is the main project implementer and is responsible for overall management of the project.

Partner organisation

Organisations Council for Peace and Co-existence (OCPC), Sri Lanka is a council made up of 19 civil society organisations in Batticaloa District. They have experience of working with government institutions especially at the local level and have previously worked with ESDF on strengthening civil society participation in governance. They have previously executed a project with funding support from USAID on promoting transparency and accountability in local government with the participation of CBOs which resulted in increased women’s participation in the activities of local authorities.

Strengthening women’s voices to advocate for women’s land rights

Issue

There exists, in African countries, a drive to continue strengthening leadership of African women, tackling patriarchy and empowering them for a secure and just Africa.

Project

Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA) are strengthening the voice of women to advocate for secure and equitable land rights in Southern Africa.

This project aims to strengthen the collective voice of women to talk about large scale land acquisitions in Southern Africa, and promote women’s access to land in Namibia, Kingdom of eSwatini and Zambia.

This will be achieved by building the capacity of women’s organisation members in these countries to undertake and publish feminist research on the effects of land acquisitions on women, and conduct advocacy campaigns with affected communities and policy makers.

Women’s experiences will be documented in their own words in the form of oral ‘herstories’ through which women will articulate the challenges, gaps, successes and strategies employed in control and access to land rights.

It is expected that by the end of the project, women will have access to important advocacy documents and research, which can be used as tools to raise awareness of and advocate for stronger land rights for women.

Akina Mama wa Afrika

Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA) is an international, Pan-African, non-governmental organisation for African women with its headquarters in Uganda. It was founded to create space for African women to organise, build links with each other and speak for themselves. AMwA has been working to build African women’s leadership capacities since its creation, acting as a training centre and an advocacy engine for the African women’s movement. The organisation aims to: influence policies that affect African women at national, regional and international levels; strengthen and promote African women’s feminist leadership; participate in the construction of a feminist epistemology by African women.

www.akinamamawaafrika.org

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Improving youth participation in public policymaking

Issue

The 2010 National Youth Policy of Ghana acknowledges the need for policies that empower young people to effectively participate in the national development agenda. A review of the National Youth Policy has been scheduled for 2016 – 2017.

Project

Youth Empowerment Synergy (YES Ghana) are improving youth participation in public policy making by training young people to advocate for an improved National Youth Policy. This project will take advantage of the upcoming review to strengthen leadership structures in youth organisations, increase youth participation in the political space, and galvanise broad-based youth research for input into policy formulation. This will be achieved by expanding the membership and building the capacity of youth organisations to engage with politicians at local and national levels.It is expected that the project will lead to the improved articulation of youth issues, perspectives and policy recommendations by the Ghanaian youth, and empower young women and men by giving them the platform to speak, be heard and engage.

“Over the next three years, we hope to benefit extensively from the experience and technical capacity of the Commonwealth Foundation and work closely with other partners to improve the profile of young people as capable actors able to contribute positively to the development of our nation”, Emmanuel Edudzie, Executive Director of Youth Empowerment Synergy.

Youth Empowerment Synergy (YES Ghana)

YES Ghana is a national youth organisation established in 2001. It works to promote a sustainable and productive future for all young people in the country. It delivers programmes in the three key areas of youth participation and active citizenship, youth employment and livelihoods generation and youth policy and governance. YES-Ghana implements these programmes by facilitating access to youth-inclusive financial services, building coalitions of youth organisations and advocating for pro-youth empowerment policies. YES-Ghana actively engages with the National Youth Authority, the main government agency responsible for youth development.

www.yesghana.org

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The Voices of Youth coalition is a national platform for youth to input into the national development agenda. It comprises over 300 youth groups reaching over 500,000 young people across Ghana. Yes Ghana acts as convenor and provides secretariat support to the coalition.

Ensuring health and safety for workers in garment industries

Issue

The garment industry plays a key role in the economies of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and there is a need to recognise increased working standards for female workers.

Project

War on Want are improving working conditions in the Bangladesh and Sri Lanka garment industries by strengthening occupational safety and health standards

Through raising awareness of OSH issues, female workers’ rights and related policy processes, garment workers – and the organisations representing them – will be able to jointly advocate for better working standards. This will include setting up a platform for regular dialogue between government representatives, garment retailers and trade unions to improve standards.

By the end of the project, garment workers would have obtained the skills and experience to continue collectively engaging in problem solving with factory owners.

War on Want, UK

War on Want has over 60 years of experience in promoting workers’ rights. The organisation works in direct partnership with grassroots organisations in several countries to address issues of poverty and inequality. It has worked in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka with partner organisations to promote workers’ rights for over ten years. Following the collapse of Rana Plaza, the organisation has developed a campaign entitled “Never again: making fashion’s factories safe” which resulted in the signature of a legally-binding agreement “Bangladesh Safety Accord” by over 150 biggest clothes companies to help prevent such disasters in the future.

www.waronwant.org

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Partner organisations

The National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) is one of Bangladesh biggest garment workers unions, representing over 45,000 workers. The vast majority of its members are young, female garment workers. The NGWF is a founding member of the Bangladesh Garment Workers Unity Council, an umbrella organisation of 21 garment worker federations. It is also a member of the arbitration committee, a body that negotiates labour law and cases of workers’ rights violations through dialogue between trade unions, government and factory owners. NGWF was involved in a successful campaign to introduce a new minimum wage for garment workers in Bangladesh, which was approved in 2010.

Free Trade Zone & General Service Employees Union (FTZ&GSEU) is the largest trade union in Sri Lanka, with 16,000 members. The FTZ&GSEU focuses on supporting female workers, who are more vulnerable to labour rights abuses. FTZ&GSEU has a long track record of actively and successfully engaging with government as well as with companies. The organisation has been a member trade union of the National Labour Advisory Committee since 2007. The Committee was established to provide for consultation and co-operation between the government, organisations of workers and employers on social and labour policies and international labour standards. It is chaired by the Minister of Labour.

Strengthening the role of civil society organisations

Issue

Over 1,800 civil society organisations (CSOs) are registered in the Maldives, all of which operate under the Associations Act. This act came into force in 2003, and needs to be updated in line with the 2008 Constitution.

Project

Transparency Maldives are strengthening the role of civil society organisations in governance and policymaking in the Maldives by advocating for the adoption of a revised Associations Act. This project aims to develop a network of CSOs to gather support for, and engage in, advocacy for the revised Associations Act to be tabled for approval in parliament. It will achieve this by building the capacity of CSOs to create networks and coalitions to strengthen their engagement with local government institutions.

It is expected that the project will ultimately contribute to an improved operating environment for CSOs in the Maldives.

Transparency Maldives

Transparency Maldives works to improve governance. It aims to be a constructive force in the Maldives by encouraging discussion on transparency, accountability, and the fight against corruption. It has experience of working in the areas of civic participation, election monitoring and engaging in advocacy with government. Transparency Maldives is a member of the global network of Transparency International with over 90 national chapters.

transparency.mv

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Monitoring the improvement of human rights

Issue

The UPR aims to improve the human rights situation in all UN Member States by assessing their human rights records. This process provides an opportunity for governments to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situation in their country.

Project

Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (EMPOWER) are working with the Coalition of Malaysian NGOs (COMANGO) to monitor the improvement of the human rights situation in Malaysia in accordance with recommendations made by the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). This project will enable non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to continuously and systematically monitor the implementation of UPR recommendations, and provide evidence-based input into the different stages of the UPR process.

It is expected that by the end of the project, NGOs in the coalition would have acquired the necessary skills and tools to both contribute to UPR recommendations and constructively engage in regular discussions on human rights issues with government officials.

EMPOWER

EMPOWER is a non-governmental organisation that promotes and supports actions that advance justice and democracy. The organisation works with women and youth to realise their potential in the areas of political participation, economic empowerment, and civil liberties. It also promotes civil society participation in national and regional human rights mechanisms.

empowermalaysia.org

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Promoting the integration of refugee communities

Issue

The South African refugee protection model is based on local integration. This policy promotes refugee integration into society and participation in social and government processes. However, refugees are not integrating effectively into society.

Project

This project recognises that while services provided to refugees by government are important and help to alleviate pressing needs, a long term improvement in the situation will require that refugees themselves are able to influence the policies that affect them. This will be achieved by building the capacity of leaders of refugee organisations to better represent and organise their communities, and for these groups to design and implement issue-based advocacy campaigns.

It is expected that the project will lead to refugee communities engaging in dialogue with the government, and building better relations with their host communities.

Lawyers for Human Rights

Lawyers for Human Rights was established in 1979 (LHR). It strives to promote awareness, protection and enforcement of legal and human rights through the creation of a human rights culture. LHR has a specialist programme that advocates, strengthens and enforces the rights of asylum seekers, refugees and other marginalised categories of migrants in South Africa. LHR also work in the areas of land reform and housing, environmental justice, strategic litigation and penal reform.

www.lhr.org.za

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