MEPI Small Grants Abstracts - 2007

EGYPT

Afro-Egyptian Human Rights Organization (AEHRO): “Right to Information” – Through an innovative approach, AEHRO is using a MEPI Small Grant to uncover and publicize corporate wrongdoing that can be remedied through effective legislation. Noting a growing level of corruption in several sectors of the economy, members of the NGO bought shares of stock in Egyptian companies, enabling them to attend general assembly meetings and gain access to financial statements. In doing so, AEHRO discovered several violations, leading to citations and fines, while highlighting the importance of transparency and unbiased analysis in business. During a second phase of the project, AEHRO organized events to disseminate information on the U.N. Convention Against Corruption to media outlets and members of civil society.

Tanweer Foundation for Education and Development: “Activation of Citizenship Inside Five Governmental Elementary Schools in Minia Governorate” – In an effort to develop an educational atmosphere devoid of gender discrimination, Tanweer is working teaching principles of citizenship and children’s rights in five elementary schools. This project also aims at increasing awareness of gender equity and citizenship among students, teachers, administrators, and parents, while encouraging participation of girls in school elections and other activities. Meanwhile, educational workshops will emphasize the importance of non-discrimination in the classroom, providing children with the skills to successfully engage in civil society.
Maat Centre for Juridical and Constitutional Studies: “Community Monitoring of Parliamentarian’s Performance” – With this project the Maat Center is selecting and training 75 representatives from three Egyptian governorates to form Community Monitoring Units that meet regularly to discuss, comment, and report on the activities of their members in parliament (MPs). Project objectives include better linking constituencies their MPs, increasing the legislator’s effectiveness through the use of mechanisms that monitor and measure their performance, and improving an understanding by the general public of the MPs’ responsibilities.
ISRAEL

Ahali Center for Community Development: “Equal Opportunities for Rural Women” – With this grant, the Ahali Center is developing stronger marketing skills and employment opportunities for rural Arab women. The project consists of a series of workshops and training courses intended to help local women design and market their products, which will then be featured in a marketing fair and a catalog produced by Ahali. Project objectives include increasing the economic independence of Arab women in the region, while opening up more jobs and improving the local economy by exposing participants’ products to a wider market.

Bedouin Association for Education and Health Development: “Girls' Educational Empowerment” – This NGO is implementing an intensive, year-long project designed to reduce the percentage of school dropouts among girls in the Bedouin community in Taibeh. The project focuses on remedial learning to keep junior high school-aged girls in school, while improving their interpersonal communication skills. Project activities include after-school language and mathematics courses, as well as field trips and activities related to women’s rights, health education, and other social issues.
A Step Forward Association for the Advancement of Education in Rahat: “Higher Education Resource and Guidance Center in Rahat” – This project is addressing obstacles facing Arab Bedouin students and the gap between Jewish, Arab, and Bedouin sectors in academic achievement. To reach this objective, A Step Forward is coordinating several activities, including holding a higher education fair, leading guided tours of universities for high school students, conducting courses and workshops, and providing consulting, career guidance, and other assistance to Bedouin students.
Economic Empowerment for Women: “A Business of One’s Own - Arab Israeli Women” – With this grant, EEW is implementing a project that uses business support programs to help poor and low-income women gain financial independence and make the transformation out of poverty. The project consists of a series of activities including entrepreneurial training, technical assistance and mentoring, and the development of advanced marketing and production programs. Through these activities, women are building skills that will help them increase their income and gain greater economic independence and participation in their local economies.
Movement for Quality Government in Israel: “Empowering Arab Attorneys and Accountants to Fight Corruption in Arab Municipalities” – In an effort to improve the quality of local governance while promoting values of civic activism in a democratic society, MQG is using a MEPI Small Grant to establish a legal clinic and organize lectures, workshops, and public events. The aim of this project is to better train Arab jurists and provide them with tools to take effective legal and civil action against corruption and misconduct in local government. The legal clinic will provide a “Hot-Line,” manned by volunteers working with MQG’s professional staff, to handle cases dealing with allegations of government malfeasance in Arab municipalities.
LEBANON

Lebanese Foundation for Permanent Civil Peace: “Lebanese Magistracy Monitor” – As a follow on to a previous MEPI grant, this project is publishing and widely distributing a second book designed to raise public awareness on courageous verdicts recently handed down by Lebanese judges. The publication encourages judges and others to continue making decisions based on the law rather than from the result of outside pressures or influences. It is hoped that law professors, faculty members, and students will use the book as a judicial research reference, while members of civil society will be mobilized to publicly recognize the courageous decisions and to denounce any punitive actions wrongly taken against these judges.

Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (CESMO): “Restoring Citizens Involvement in Local Public Affairs” – This project aims at restoring faith in participatory democracy by providing information on how the general public can best influence key issues. CESMO is establishing district committees that provide training workshops on democracy building, lobbying skills, and organizational methods. The committees focus on issues that directly impact people in their daily lives, such as environmental problems, refuse collection, street lightning, public health, and education. It is hoped that through the training workshops citizens in each district will lobby their town councils and other government officials to advocate for their needs.
Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) “Youth in Action” – Through education, prevention, and intervention programs, YWCA is promoting democracy and building public awareness on the impact of violence against women. In this project, local schools elect youth representatives with demonstrated leadership potential to participate in training workshops on team building and conflict resolution skills. This select group of girls then form “Youth in Action” associations in their schools, which meet after hours to organize and develop a series of advocacy campaigns. The associations share ideas and experiences, while building a network of students committed to civic activism and community planning projects.
MOROCCO

Al Akhawyn University (AUI): “Pre-Elections Surveys” – AUI is developing and conducting a survey in four Moroccan cities to assess opinions toward political institutions and economic and social conditions in the country. The results from the survey will help inform observers – both domestically and abroad – of ordinary Moroccans’ attitudes towards key political actors, parties, and government issues. AUI will analyze and widely distribute the results, including through a symposium on “Public Opinion and Governance in Morocco,” as a means of strengthening institutional capacity of democratic institutions.

Association Action Jeunesse (2AJ): “Youth Election Promoting Program (SAWT)” – This project aims to increase political participation among Moroccan youth in the district of Cité ONCF in Casablanca and in 10 secondary schools. Trainers from the National Institute for Youth and Democracy in Rabat lead programs for young members of 2AJ and from local political parties to help them better understand and teach others about the importance of democracy and the electoral process. To reach a wider audience, members of 2AJ stage popular musical festivals, sports tournaments, and other youth-oriented events, during which information on democracy is provided to students and their parents.
Association Tanmia.ma: “Cyber Media and Moroccan Youth” – Tanmia.ma is contributing to the development of pluralistic media in Morocco by creating youth “pod-casting” clubs that meet regularly to discuss issues of importance and then produce multimedia content for the Internet. The project intends to mobilize youth groups through the development of a community-based media platform, which plays host to audio and video programming with a distinctly Moroccan identity, including the use of local dialects and values that appeal to young Moroccans. By offering roundtables and virtual discussion forums, Tanmia.ma seeks to stimulate dialogue, debate, and information sharing among the next generation of civil society actors.
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
Cultural Center of Narsan (NRSAN): “Building Youth Capacity in Democracy & Citizenship” – NRSAN is promoting democratic practices and women’s political participation by empowering civil society activists to run workshops, training sessions, advocacy efforts, and public awareness campaigns within the Yatta area and 30 surrounding villages in Hebron. Through this project, local leaders are being taught how to promote their own reform efforts. The trainees and NRSAN then implement activities, including educational campaigns and radio and TV programs, designed to have a positive impact on their communities.
International Peace and Cooperation Center (IPCC): “Raising Jerusalemite Awareness on Urban Rights” – IPCC is promoting public awareness within Palestinian communities on issues related to housing rights in an effort to overcome administrative obstacles and more effectively deal with urban planning challenges. By holding public meetings and publishing manuals that address proper and legal paths toward securing civil liberties, IPCC hopes to help solve collective problems facing many people in East Jerusalem. In particular, this project focuses on areas near the Old City, where house demolitions have increased during the last few years.
Juhoud for Community and Rural Development: “Promoting National Volunteer Coordination” – This project aims at establishing an effective nationwide coordination unit to stimulate interest in and increase accessibility to volunteerism. Once formed, the “volunteer coordination unit” will lead a recruiting campaign, advertise volunteer positions for organizations, and provide literature and other resources as a means for women and youth to become more involved in reform activities at the local level. With this grant, Juhoud is also organizing a national conference on volunteer work in the West Bank.
Near East Foundation (NEF): “Women + Jobs + Banks = Better Economy” – In an effort to increase cash flow to local economies by generating self-sustaining jobs, this project is creating a network of mobile bankers and training them to better understand issues of credit, loans, and other banking procedures. The participants, who are primarily women, will promote bank loans to clients in rural areas and facilitate the loan application process between clients and banks. NEF also is developing and providing participants with a guidebook on applying for loans, while financially supporting them as they begin their work as mobile bankers.
Society Voice Foundation (SVF): “Enhance Women’s Leadership and Civic Democratic Participation: Campaigning to Stop Honor Killings” – This project plans to empower 150 young Palestinians – primarily women with media, public relations, and journalism backgrounds – to lobby for legislation criminalizing “honor killings” and all forms of violence against women. After conducting an analysis of current legislation on honor killing crimes, in which women and young girls are sacrificed by their family members, SVF will lead workshops and training sessions to develop advocacy skills among project participants. A steering committee will then be formed to recommend amendments to existing legislation or advocate for a new draft law.
TUNISIA

DEFI SARL Media: “Tunisian-American Dialogue” – This project features a series of roundtable discussions bringing together government officials, private-sector representatives, journalists, and other key actors to share views on pressing issues of the day. Through these targeted debates – on topics ranging from “Forging a Free Trade Agreement between Tunisia and the United States” to the “Role of Media in Combating Extremism” – DEFI Media and its local partner, the press group Dar Assabah, produce and distribute supplements in two leading Tunisian newspapers, which increases public awareness on these issues. In this way, some 60,000 readers gain access to information they might not otherwise receive.

Peregrine Leadership Institute: “Building the Peregrine - Tunisian National School of Administration Partnership” – Through a series of student and instructor visits to Tunisia and the state of Wyoming, where the Peregrine Leadership Institute is located, this project is developing leadership skills and promoting Western approaches to public-sector governance. While in Tunisia, Peregrine instructors conduct seminars, workshops, and training sessions while promoting democratic principles and facilitating educational reform through exposure to Western public sector practices. In turn, students from the Tunisian National School of Administration gain skills in leadership and governance while visiting the United States.
University of Wyoming: “Building the University of Wyoming – Tunisia Educational Partnership” – The University of Wyoming (UW) is conducting a series of person-to-person exchanges designed to enhance educational and professional ties between Tunisia and the United States. Through this program, teachers, administrators, and other educational experts travel to both countries, expanding their educational and professional connections, while promoting key democratic practices and providing increasing access of Tunisian students to English language opportunities and a better understanding of American culture.
REGIONAL SMALL GRANT

Al Kawakibi Democracy Transition Center (KADEM) – “Civic Mobilization in the Arab Region” – KADEM, which pools the experience and expertise of more than 100 NGOs from across the region, is using a second MEPI grant to continues building a new generation of civic activists with skills in communications, democracy building, transitional justice, and non-violent change. Since 2006, KADEM has launched its operations, developed strategies and materials, and created the Kawakibi Chair for Democracy Transition Studies, the first of its kind in the Arab world. Based at the University of Marrakech, and in conjunction with four other Arab universities and several prominent NGOs, the Chair is developing curriculum and training that will lead to a Masters Program in Democratic Transition.




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