2015

1. Project of “Training Youth of Political Parties” (2015) in cooperation with the Danish-Egyptian Institute for Dialogue

The aim of the project is to strengthen and build the capacities of youth from different political parties, in light of the problems facing young people in these parties, whether in terms of their integration into them, or in terms of party line, as well as the problems of marginalizing youth, especially in parties whose members belong to different generations.

The goal was achieved by holding training courses for youth affiliated to political parties, parliament, and local councils.

The project’s outputs were as follows: Policy Recommendations, which are the reports that came as a result of the working groups, and which were also discussed with the groups, which are three policy papers; The first for political parties on managing diversity and crises in parties; The second is presented to the parliament regarding amendments to the Local Administration Law; And the third is for political parties in preparing for the upcoming local elections.

In addition to Building the capacities of 24 members from different political parties in issues related to determining the crisis of the party line, managing diversity and pluralism in political parties, as well as parliamentary work, the concept of public policy, writing policy papers, analyzing, and drafting legislation, parliamentary oversight tools, and reading budgets. As well as the various regional and international experiences related to the aforementioned topics. The project also made the following recommendations: Expand the network to include more parties, youth, and more relevant members; Dive into some issues and topics such as parliamentary work, local councils and dealing with the media; Involving these young people in various discussions and activities that can develop their knowledge and strengthen their ability to work together.
2) Project “Empowering Local Councils in the Arab Region ” (2015) in cooperation with the Swedish Institute in Alexandria

The aim of the project is to empower potential local council members, especially from marginalized sectors, to be able to play an effective role in their communities. It also aimed to support laws and policies that could advance the role of municipalities in the region, and to create a regional network among potential members of local councils in the region.

To achieve its aim, eight researchers and experts from Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia were collaborated, in addition to the main researcher responsible for developing the project methodology. In the beginning, a regional meeting was held, during which experts exchanged information and agreed on the methodology of work and the necessity for there to be training for trainers instead of potential candidates for local councils, and these trainers in turn could train potential candidates. The training program consisted of two levels: the first based on knowledge and the second on skills in relation to election campaigns and work in municipal councils.

The project came out with the following outputs:

– An international and regional conference during which all project papers were presented, followed by many important discussions on the concept of decentralization as a central concept in the study of local councils and others.

– Publications: a book edited by the main researcher that focused on the role of the local council in the Arab world. Second, policy papers include an analysis of municipal problems in the Arab region.

– Municipal terminology associated with local councils in the four countries.

3) Project “Social Justice between Street politics and the political Path” (2015) in cooperation with Rosa Luxemburg Foundation – North Africa Office

The project aimed to establish a linkage between street politics and the political path based on economic and social demands. As well as to empower progressive parties in the region with regard to social justice, and to support policies that can advance social justice in the region. It also aimed to creating a regional network that works on social justice issues.

The aim was achieved by: Firstly; Two regional Workshops with experts, civil society organizations and parliamentarians from progressive parties. Secondly, a ToT specifically for young people from youth movements and progressive political parties with the aim of developing their skills and knowledge related to the concept of social justice, its models, and effects, and on analyzing public policies and writing policy papers from the perspective of social justice.

Project outputs:

– Book on Social Justice between street politics and the political political path, that aims to analyze the gaps between street politics and policies that were adopted by governments and international actors from the perspective of social justice.

– Building the capacity of 18 trainers from the social movements and political parties: As a result of the ToT, which was held on the concepts and applications of social justice and these cadres by their turn will be training local members of political parties and social movements.