DWF AWARDS GRANTS TO SEVEN CIVIC INITIATIVES
FROM FOUR AFRICAN COUNTRIES
DWF has recently concluded the Charter Project Africa seed grants awarding process for Botswana, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. The seven civic initiatives that demonstrated an ability to amplify citizen voices and undertake advocacy on the African Charter for Democracy Elections and Governance using technology were officially inducted into the initiative in December 2022.
DWF has been implementing the Charter Project Africa with consortium partners in eleven African Union member states. DWF coordinates regional dialogue and advocacy activities and supports the Democratic Governance Initiatives (DGIs) implemented in the four countries through the grants provided under the project. Since its launch in November 2021, the project has provided grants, technical resources, and know-how to civic initiatives pursuing democracy by using civic technology to amplify citizen voices in East, West and Southern Africa.
The grant selection process for Botswana and Tanzania was concluded by October 2022, with four organisations awarded grants. The organisations are Motheo o Mosha Society and The Clicking Generation from Botswana, African Child Projects and Tanzania Youth Vision Association from Tanzania. The process for South Africa and Zambia was concluded by November 2022. The three organisations awarded grants are African Youth Development Fund from South Africa, as well as Zambian Governance Foundation and Lobby and Advocacy Youth Program 2050 from Zambia.
After signing the grant agreements, virtual induction meetings for the organisations were organised, first for the Botswana and Tanzania grantees, followed by South Africa and Zambia inductions in December. This involved onboarding the organisations by unpacking the terms and conditions of the grant agreements and orientation on the program processes, covering program and financial reporting, funds requesting, communications and branding processes. DWF Charter Project Manager, Nompumelelo Runji, chaired the sessions with other team members presenting on finance, communications visibility and various aspects related to managing their grants successfully.
“It is exciting to work with the seven civic initiatives, and we congratulate everyone selected. We’re looking forward to upcoming activities with the initiatives, including the country-level and regional multi-stakeholder dialogues due to occur this year. We’ll also have bilateral monthly check-in and quarterly joint meetings with all initiatives to share experiences and lessons during the project implementation. DWF remains committed to providing continuous support to the initiatives as they implement their project,” Nompumelelo Runji.
The grant implementation induction ended with a virtual information session to introduce the organisations and initiatives to the consortium members and provide them with an overview of the kind of support available to their projects.
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About the Charter Project Africa
The Charter Project Africa is a pan-African project that focuses on the commitments contained in the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) – the African Union’s principal policy document for advancing democratic governance in African Union member states. The project promotes the use of civic technology to amplify citizens’ voices in African Union member states; Botswana Benin, Cabo Verde, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia – as well as at regional and continental level. DWF is implementing the Charter Project Africa in Southern Africa, targeting Botswana, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. The consortium comprises AfricTivistes, Code for Africa (CfA), Gorée Institute, European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) and European Partnership for Democracy (EPD). The project is made possible with the financial support of the European Union.