Civic Education – Page 2

Critical Choices: Assessing the Effects of Education and Civic Engagement on Somali Youths’ Propensity Towards Violence (Mercy Corps, 2016)

February 12, 2019

Understanding what works to reduce violence, including violent extremism, is a key priority for many policymakers. Despite this need, to date there is very little research evaluating the effects of development programs on violence reduction. To address this knowledge gap, Mercy Corps undertook a rigorous impact evaluation of a 5-year stability-focused youth program in Somalia known as the Somali Youth Leaders Initiative (SYLI).

The research compared the impact of two components of the SYLI program on youth propensity towards political violence: formal secondary education and civic engagement activities. Using survey data from Somaliland–where the program has been implemented the longest—the authors compared attitudes and reported violent behaviors among youth in the program and outside of it. In addition, they conducted in-depth interviews with teachers, community leaders, government officials and youth.

The study found that although the provision of secondary education through the SYLI program reduced the likelihood of youth participating in violence by 16%, it increased support for political violence by 11%. However, the combination of both secondary formal education and civic engagement through the SYLI program reduced the likelihood of youth both participating in (by 13%) and supporting (by 20%) political violence.

Click here for full study.

Space to be Heard: Mobilizing the power of people to reshape civic space (Oxfam briefing note, 2018)

February 12, 2019

The space for people to speak out, organize and take action against poverty, inequality and injustice is shrinking on a global scale. People in many countries around the world face serious restrictions and repression when exercising their basic rights. This includes citizens who raise their voices against corruption and political dysfunction, organizations that save lives and provide basic services to people in need, communities that defend their sustainable livelihoods and demand a fair share of natural resources, and activists who fight for gender justice.

Defending civic space is not the responsibility of only one part of civil society – such as human rights organizations or activists. It is the diversity, breadth and vibrancy of civil society that has the potential to successfully reclaim and create civic space. Committed and coordinated actions from activists, academics, journalists, civil society organizations, progressive policy makers and other allies are needed to reverse the trend of shrinking civic space.

This paper outlines the analysis and strategic focus which inform Oxfam’s contribution to the global defence of civic space.

Click here for full paper.

Nigeria Strengthening Advocacy and Civic Engagement (USAID, 2019)

February 12, 2019

The Strengthening Advocacy and Civic Engagement (SACE) project was a five-year program funded by USAID and Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND). Implemented by Chemonics International with partner Root Change, SACE strengthened civil society’s ability to work with the government to influence the development and implementation of democratic reforms that improve transparency, accountability, and good governance at the national, state, and local levels in Nigeria.

This report provides a project introduction and an an overview of SACE’s Approach and Tools.

Click here for full report.

C4D Network at the CEC18 Civic Education Conference (Morocco, 3-7 December 2018)

December 6, 2018

The C4D Network is pleased to be part of the CEC18 Civic Education Conference, being held in Morocco from 3 – 7 December. This event is exploring how ‘civic education’ is understood and is being innovated across the MENA region as well as internationally.

‘Civic education’ and ‘C4D’ have not been linked to any significant degree to date, but in reality there is a close alignment, as highlighted in the CIVICUS definition below:

“Civic education can be broadly defined as the provision of information and learning experiences to equip and empower citizens to participate in democratic processes… Civic education is an approach that employs a range of different methods, and is frequently used in conjunction with other capacity-building and dialogue approaches to strengthen the ability of citizens and civil society groups to organize themselves, interact with others and make their voices heard by those in power.”[1]

The organisers of the conference are NACE (Networking Arab Civic Education), and further resources and insights about this field – including a database of countries and strategies – can be found on their website www.nacecommunity.org.

[1] https://www.civicus.org/documents/toolkits/PGX_B_Civic%20Education.pdf