Partnership Project Application - DEMENA Youth Pool

Transcription

1 Partnership Project Application - DEMENA Youth Pool 1. General Information Project Title Capacity Building Young Sahrawis in Using Social Media for Political Mobilization Applying Danish or Middle Eastern/North African NGO: Name of organization Afrika Kontakt Acronym (if Number of AK applicable) members 455 Address Nørrebrogade 52C, 2 sal tv. Telephone Website Contact person Morten Nielsen morten@afrika.dk Cooperation partner in the Middle East/North Africa or Denmark (all partners must be mentioned) Name of organization Unión de Estudiantes de Saguia El Hamra y Rio de Oro Acronym (if Number of UESARIO applicable) members 4000 Address Rabuni Camp. Sahrawi Refugee Camps, Tindouf, Algeria. Telephone Website Contact person Alali Mahmud Chej uesario2010@gmail.com Project location Country Algeria City/Region Tindouf Project time schedule Beginning 1/ Completion 1/ Project costs Total costs DKK Amount applied for DKK ,81 DKK ,81 DKK

2 Project summary (approximately 1-2 pages) Briefly describe 1. The motivations giving rise to this project In 2013, Afrika Kontakt (AK) formed a formal partnership with the Sahrawi student union UESARIO. UESARIO has its base in the Sahrawi refugee camps, situated in South West Algeria, near the Western Sahara border. One of the most pressing challenges UESARIO is facing today, is an increasing level of frustration among young Saharawis due to the apparent stagnation of negotiations for a peaceful resolution to the territorial dispute between Western Sahara and Morocco. The young people living in the camps feel abandoned by the international community and media, which predominantly gives coverage to outbreaks of armed rebellion in cases of territorial dispute. Consequently, more and more young people in the refugee camps are expressing support for a military solution to the conflict. Meanwhile, Sahrawi youth in the occupied territories and the youth living in the camps are separated by the occupation and media blockage, which Morocco has put on the occupied territories. Supported by the Sahrawi exile government (Polisario), UESARIO is working to promote peaceful means of protest by seeking new methods for increasing international awareness about human rights violations in the occupied territories and about their situation in the camps. The emergence of social media, or new media, provides new and effective ways to conduct grass root activism, and constitutes a fairly cheap and accessible way to operate around the established power structures of censorship and media. It is the aim of AK and UESARIO to collaborate on utilizing these new media channels to increase awareness of the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. In relation to this, the Sahrawi students constitute an important and resourceful group that makes out both the target group and the collaborating entity of this project. 2. A brief analysis of the context and the problem addressed in your project 40 years have passed since the Moroccan government seized control over Western Sahara. During their invasion of the territory in 1975, Morocco bombed several cities in Western Sahara, causing major parts of the Sahrawi population to flee over the Algerian border. Today, a large part of the Sahrawi population still lives in refugee encampments near the border. Morocco has maintained their occupation, and the UN regards Western Sahara as the last remaining colonial issue in Africa. The frustration felt by the Sahrawi youth relates to the stagnated political situation. In 1991, the UN Security Council established a mission to ensure a peaceful transitional period for the preparation of a referendum (MINURSO). Nearly 25 years have passed since the mission was established, and to this day, the referendum has not been held. Moreover, in contrast to other peace missions, MINURSO has no mandate to monitor and document human rights violations. This is crucial, as Sahrawis often experience violations e.g. denial of equal rights and freedom of expression. The young Sahrawi refugees have lived in the camps their entire lives, and little has happened to better their situation. Over the years, the camps have evolved into one of the most well organised refugee camps in the world, with a free primary education system, their own TV and radio stations, and a vibrant civil society. Despite the relatively extensive institutional set-up, social life in the camps is highly limited in terms of future prospects. There is no industry in the camps and the institutions are fully dependent on international assistance. Many young people in the camps obtain a higher education abroad, but have no formal job opportunities when returning to the refugee camps, adding to the frustration of their situation. Several barriers separate the people living in the camps from the people still living in the occupied territories of Western Sahara. Furthermore, Morocco has build a wall separating the occupied territories from the camps and continues to enforce a media blockage on Western Sahara, severely limiting informational exchanges between the Sahrawi population in the camps and in the occupied territories. All contributing to the lack of international awareness about the Sahrawi cause 3. What you would like to achieve and how you plan to do this This project aims to facilitate a strategic and effective use of social media that can give a voice to young Sahrawis. The project takes inspiration from the Arab Spring, where social media played a crucial role in political organization, communication, and increasing awareness. Most notably social media has been the primary medium for Arab youths to make their voice heard, mobilizing other youths, and gaining political influence. In relation to the Western Sahara issue, it is the conviction of UESARIO and AK that social media holds great potential to increase awareness about human rights violations of Sahrawis. Additionally, social media constitutes an effective method to counter the Moroccan media blockage, which is repressing Sahrawi peoples rights to freedom of expression. Like most other organizations, UESARIO recognize the importance of using social media for online campaigning, but struggles with how to use their online presence in an effective and strategic way. UESARIO has recently made a Facebook page, which they use frequently, but since members from UESARIO have not received any formal training in how to frame their message on social media; a barrier is created between UESARIO and Sahrawi solidarity organizations around the world. The organization has some social media outlets but rarely utilize them. In order to make their message and online presence more visible on social media, AK will collaborate with UESARIO to implement a number of 2

3 trainings, which will strengthen UESARIO s organizational capacities and enable them to use social media strategically for online campaigning. This includes developing skills in photography, video production, editing and adding subtitles. Building on AK s best practices and knowledge gained from using social media for domestic campaigns, the project establishes effective ways of exchanging knowledge with UESARIO. At the same time, the project shall strengthen the bond and collaborations between youth in the occupied territories and youth in the camps by flying in young Sahrawi activists from Western Sahara to participate in the workshops. Representatives from UEASRIO s leagues in Algeria, France and Spain will also participate to ensure that the knowledge, methods, and media strategy will be disseminated to all levels of the organization (for UESARIO s organizational chart see Annex A). Thus the idea behind the project is to further UESARIO s organizational and communicative capacities and strategic services to properly utilize social media to raise awareness and advocate the rights of Sahrawi people. Furthermore, AK will ensure increased awareness and dialogue about the conflict in Denmark with a Western Sahara Solidarity Campaign during Fall For this campaign UESARIO and AK will also make use of UESARIO s leagues in Spain, France and Algeria to promote the campaign materials in their respective national contexts. 4. How the project promotes the following cross cutting issues: a) youth participation in democratic reform processes UESARIO has a seat in the parliament and is recognized as the political voice of the Saharawi students. By strengthening UESARIO s organisational capacities, the project contributes to improving UESARIO s position as an political factor, and hereby to strengthen the position of the students in the political system. By focusing on social media, youth participation is in many ways implied. Statistics show social media outlets, such as Facebook, to be most used by people in the age group of years. Facebook is therefore also a great outlet to reach youth in Denmark and engage them in a solidarity campaign. As the Sahrawi students democratically elect UESARIO s National Council, giving the organization a unique position within the Sahrawi community, which enables them to mobilize young Sahrawis and ensure their democratic participation. By strengthening and organizing their use of social media, UESARIO will be better equipped to mobilize other youth in the camps and provide them with ways of drawing attention to their peaceful political project and beliefs. Meanwhile, the project will promote the participation of Danish youths in the Western Sahara issue by: 1) introducing them to the conflict and 2) providing them with concrete activities, through which they can participate in the Western Sahara Solidarity Campaign. - b) women s active participation in the project Women have a central role in Sahrawi history and their struggle for independence, and for the social organisation in the camps. In the decade after the Sahrawi exodus, the camps were mainly inhabited and controlled by Sahrawi women, while the men led the war against Morocco. It is thus the women, who laid the foundation of the structural organisation of the camps, and today women are present at all levels of political organization. UESARIO have established gender quotas for their elections, to ensure that women are represented in their Executive Bureau (EB). During the joined finalisation visit in February 2015, AK engaged in a dialogue with the female EB members Sherihan Fadel and Azza Salem, and with a female member from UESARIO s Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) committee Radija Zidi, to ensure that all workshops will be planned in a way that will enable the participation of young women. In this regard, it was suggested that all workshops should be held in the early hours of the day, as some women have domestic work during afternoons. Most importantly, many women are hesitant to travel unescorted in the camps after dark, and it is very important that they are provided with money for transportation. In relation to the project activities (see item 2.3), It was agreed that at least 2 out of the 5 workshop participants from the occupied territories and 50% of the persons in charge of information participating in the workshops should be women. c) dialogue and intercultural understanding between Danish and Arab youth One of the main outcomes of this project will be an improved exchange of information between Danish and Sahrawi youth. As a result of the media training, UESARIO will provide high quality material for online activism in Denmark. The materials, which UESARIO will produce, will be shared and monitored by AK. AK will thus be able to give direct feedback to UESARIO and assist them with improving their social media content. Furthermore, AK will ensure translation of important articles into Danish, and will share UESARIO s materials on the website throughout the project and during the 2016 campaign especially. Consequently, a stronger communication platform will be created, which will increase the capacity of UESARIO and Sahrawi youth to share their stories and their struggle on social media in the North. AK has experienced that Morocco s illegal occupation of Western Sahara is generally unknown by young Danes. Therefore, one of the objectives of this project is aimed at informing young Danes about the conflict, and engage them in a dialogue concerning the rights of young Sahrawi refugees in Algeria and in the occupied territories. In addition to raising awareness about the conflict, the engagement of Danish youth in an international solidarity campaign and dialogue with UESARIO, will give the young Sahrawis a feeling of their struggle gaining international recognition. 3

4 2. The Project 2.1. Target group Primary (directly involved in the or direct beneficiaries of the project) The primary target group is UESARIO members, who are students. This overall group can be divided into two smaller target groups. Group A: The people who will receive trainings during the first activities of the project (October-March): This group is 30 people: UESARIO s National Council (NC) consisting of: The Executive Bureau in the Camps (9 people), UESARIO s Secretary General (1 person), the Secretaries Generals from UESARIO s leagues in Algeria, Spain, France, and the league of gradated students in the camps (4 people). In addition, the persons in charge of information from the same leagues (4) (for clarification see organizational chart Annex A.), representatives from UESARIO s M&E committee (2 people), and representatives from organizations in the occupied territories (10 people) will participate. The youth from the occupied territories, who will participate in the workshops, are representing Sahrawi human rights organizations from among others AK s secondary partner CODESA and from the Committee for the defense of Sahrawi s rights to self-determination in Western Sahara (Codapso). Some of these organizations have previously engaged in collaborations with AK, which will ensure a good communication between AK, UESARIO and the representatives from occupied territories. Group B: The people who will receive trainings from Group A. The people from Group A will pass on trainings to approximately young Sahrawis, during UESARIO s Summer Seminar in August Additionally, group B includes a number of representatives from different organizations in the camps, such as the Women s Union and the Youth Union, who will be invited to a workshop taught by UESARIO in April All of these people, in turn, will pass on knowledge within their respective organizations and universities. Number 450 people (Group A + B) Gender Male and female Age group Location Refugee camps, Algeria. Ethnicity and/or religion Sahrawi/ Islam Social status/class Refugees (students and graduate students) Challenges and opportunities characteristic for the target group This target group has many opportunities in relation to the long term effects of the activities, since they through their engagement, are motivated to learn and continue to develop their skills in advocacy and social media activism. UESARIO is democratically organized and has leagues in Europe, Cuba, and Algeria, which provide opportunities to reach new target groups in other countries. The language can pose a challenge since many young Sahrawis do not speak English well enough to communicate directly with the international society beyond the Spanish and Arabic speaking populations. Secondary (not involved directly in the project or indirect beneficiaries of the project) The secondary target group includes all the people who have gained awareness and/or participated in the online dialogue and campaign activities created by UESARIO and AK. Number people Gender Male and female Age group Location Ethnicity and/or religion Social status/class Denmark, Algeria, France, Spain Sahrawi/ Islam & mixed ethnicity/religion in Denmark, Algeria, France and Spain Refugees and students 4

5 Challenges and opportunities characteristic for the target group The secondary target group is reached by the social media activities and includes both Danish youth, Sahrawi youth living in the refugee camps as well as Sahrawi students living abroad. The latter group will be reached through UESARIO s increased presence and campaigning on social media and will also to some extend include French and Spanish youth reached in the 2016 shared solidarity campaign. Since social media gives the individual an instant and personal platform to express and frame a message, young students are given a voice that can reach others and increase support, globally as well as locally. The Danish youth will mainly be reached by AK s campaign activities in collaboration with UESARIO. Experience from AK s previous campaigns show that these types of activities pose a great opportunity to reach a broader audience, and create interest and understanding of complex global issues among young Danes at both High School and University level. However, an important challenge is that the market for campaigns on social media is enormous and flooded with different messages and organizations promoting their respective causes. Here the international campaign and strategic use of social media, images, and interactive communication is central to ensure the expected effect Objectives Development objective This project will contribute to create a strong, peaceful opposition of Sahrawi students fighting against the illegal occupation of Western Sahara and contribute to create international media awareness about human rights violations of Sahrawis. Immediate objectives 1. By the end of the project, UESARIO is a strong organization and its administrative capacities have been strengthened Criteria for success/indicators (both quantitative and qualitative) 1.1 UESARIO is producing high quality monitoring and financial reports quarterly in order to facilitate transparency. 1.2 UESARIO has improved their strategy for transmitting knowledge, from one Executive Bureau to the next, including online backup systems and the use of a checklist for a good transition process. 2. By the end of the project, UESARIO s National Council and key UESARIO members from the occupied territories, will use social media strategically and produce high standard documentation for regional and international social media. 2.1 A minimum of 24 articles and videos produced by UESARIO are shared and discussed on social media platforms. 2.2 High quality translations of news from youth in the occupied territories are shared on Facebook and Twitter by all UESARIO s leagues. 2.3 UESARIO s international Facebook page will gain 3000new likes and their main Twitter account will gain 200 new followers. 3. By the end of the project, youth in Spain, France and Algeria and Danish youth in particular is more aware of the struggles of Sahrawi youth in the refugee camps and in the occupied territories 3.1 AK is translating articles and updates produced by UESARIO into Danish and sharing it on social media Danish High School students have been informed about the situation of Sahrawi youth, through online activity and visits by UESARIO representatives. 3.3 By the end of the project the animation film (see item 2.7) has been seen by Danes and the 5

6 international campaign activities have contributed to a high level of cross country dialogue on social media platforms Activities and expected result (In case of more than three activities, please copy, paste, and fill in the boxes below for those activities as well) 1. By the end of the project, UESARIO is a strong organization and its administrative capacities have been strengthened Expected Result Activities Time Frame 1.1 Startup visit UESARIO s EB plays a key role in facilitating media activism amongst Saharawi youth and the improved administrative and financial capacities have helped the organization to be further suited for long-term partnerships and international donor requirements a. AK and UESARIO will make a detailed plan for project monitoring and evaluation b. Together the organizations will make a draft strategy for UESARIO s social media presence c. The organizations will discuss how UESARIO s strategy will correlate with AK s activities in the North. The content of UESARIO s social media and campaigning manual in relation to the workshops will be discussed Workshop in M&E During the start-up visit, AK will give a workshop in good M&E practice. Participants: AK, UESARIO EB and representatives from the M&E Committee. In total: 15 persons 1.2 Administration Workshop 1 Facilitated by a local representative from the National Institute of Administration. The expert will teach good practices for project management and financial management. Participants: EB and representatives from the M&E committee. One representative from the EB of UESARIO s Graduated Students League. One person in charge of administration from UESARIO s branch in Algeria and one person in charge of administration from the Abroad Community Branch. In total: 17 people October 2015 (2 weeks) November 2015 (1 week) 1.3 Administration Workshop 2. The local representative from the National Institute of Administration (NIA), who facilitated the first administration workshop, February 2016 (1 week) 6

7 will return to follow up on the practices from the first administration workshop. Participants: EB and representatives from the M&E committee. One representative from the EB of UESARIO s Graduated Students League. One person in charge of administration from UESARIO s branch in Algeria and one person in charge of administration from the Abroad Community Branch. In total: 17 people 1.4 Midterm visit and final visit 1.4.a. The midterm visit will be used to follow up on the indicators, budget and the M&E plan set out during the start-up visit. 1.4.b. The final visit will be used to ensure that AK has all the information necessary for the final narrative report and accounting. This visit will be an opportunity to make an evaluation of the activities, and identify improvements for future collaborations. May 2016 (1 week) and February 2017 (1 week) Participants: AK, EB and representatives from the M&E committee. In total: 14 persons 1.5 Project Board Meetings A project board will be established, to carefully monitor the project implementation. The board will have meetings ahead of workshops to discuss the progress of the project activities, monitoring, budget and possible changes in the division of responsibility (for more information see Division of Responsibility item 4.1). Meetings 4 times a year. Participants: 5 persons from UESARIO EB have been selected to be part of the board. 2. By the end of the project, UESARIO s National Council and key UESARIO members from the occupied territories, will use social media strategically and produce high standard documentation regional and international social media. Expected Result Activities Time Frame 2.1 Translation network: In order for articles and other updates to be shared on international social media, it is necessary to have a network of translators, who can react whenever students in the occupied territories share important information. Persons participating in the network will have been identified by November 2015, and will be active throughout the project. 7

8 By the end of the project, the communication has been improved between students from the camps and students from the occupied territories resulting in ongoing production and international distribution of news Participants: The network will consist of 6 UESARIO members from the camps, who are able to translate from Arabic. Thus, the network will have two English translators, two Spanish translators, and two French translators. The network will have meetings six times a year to discuss the progress of the network. 2.2 Social Media Activism Workshop 1 The workshops will contain trainings on: 2.2. a. Participants from human rights organizations in the occupied territories will share their experiences and the challenges they face, when working with activism in the occupied territories b. Strategies for the usage of social media and how to get more exposure on their social media posts c. Basic skills in video making, editing, sound recording, and adding subtitles. This will also include how to capture moments on film and to get one s message across through images, and how to use smartphones for social media activism d. UESARIO s National Council and participants from the occupied territories will make a strategy for sharing information and utilize the new media outlets. December holidays 2015 (2 weeks) Participants: Experts, National Council, UESARIO s EB, Secretary Generals (SG) and persons in charge of information from the leagues in Algeria, Spain, France and from the refugee camps, M&E committee, 5 representatives from occupied territories and various unions from the camps. In total: 29 persons 2.3 Social Media Activism Workshop 2 The workshops will contain trainings on: 2.3. a. Writing articles about the situation in the occupied territories and the refugee camps. Participants from human rights organizations in the occupied territories will make a session introducing their work and ideas for articles about the occupation b. How to write good articles, and get a message across in a short and concise way c. Photography: UESARIO will learn how to better the visual content of their social media pages and website d. UESARIO s National Council and Participants from the occupied territories will discuss the strategy for sharing information. March holidays 2016 (2 weeks) 8

9 Participants: The same as in December, but with five different persons from the occupied territories. In total: 29 Persons 2.4 UESARIO s Social Media Workshop: To ensure that the new knowledge and skills are shared, UESARIO will facilitate a workshop for other organizations of relevance in the camps. Including the Women s Union, students from Oluf Palm School for Women, and the Youth Union. April 2016 (1 week) Participants: 40 persons 2.5 Workshops during UESARIO s Summer Seminar The annual Summer Seminar is one of UESARIO s main activities, where students from the leagues abroad return to the camps for summer holiday. The program encompasses a series of workshops and activities focusing upon the political situation, the security situation and Sahrawi culture. The summer program is attended by approximately students and is organised and facilitated by volunteers from the Executive Bureaus of the leagues, branches and universities. UESARIO therefore has great experience in organizing large seminars and is very successful in mobilizing the target group to participate in activities and undertake voluntary work. Usually, UESARIO is in charge of the seminar, and for 2016, they plan to teach students: how to share the message about human rights violations of Sahrawis on social media. August 2016 (3 weeks) The Sahrawi youths have the ability to share their stories on social media, and they are aware of UESARIO s social media The workshops will be held in five of the camp districts (Wilayas): Dahkla, Smara, Laayoune, Awserd, Boujdour. The Workshops will be facilitated and planned by the UESARIO members, who attended the workshops during December and March. Participants: Students from the refugee camps Between 50 and 80 persons per camp/wilaya. 2.6 Development of a Social Media Platform Ongoing activity 9

10 strategy and of the outlets administered by UESARIO s EB. By the first social media training in December 2015, a physical space will have been established in UESARIO s office in camp Rabuni (the administrative camp, central in the refugee camps). This space will have the proper instalations and security measures to safely store electronic equipment, which will provide youth in the camps with a physical platform of the new social media production. After the first workshop in social media activism, the participants from the occupied territories will produce news, which will be sent to UESARIO in the camps. The translation network (see activity 2.1) will translate materials into English, French and Spanish, which will enable persons in charge of information to share the materials on social media sites of their respective leagues and networks. Furthermore, UESARIO in the camps will share the materials with AK. As UESARIO will start sharing videos and articles resulting from these workshops, AK will ensure that UESARIO's posts are getting a boost on social media via online promotion tools. Users: UESARIO and youth in the camps with an interest in conveying their ideas and messages through social media. 3 By the end of the project, youth in Spain, France and Algeria and Danish youth in particular are more aware of the struggles of Sahrawi youth in the refugee camps and in the occupied territories Expected Result Activities Time Frame 3.1 International Solidarity Campaign By the end of the project, young people in Denmark, Spain, France and Algeria will have gained awareness about the conflict in Western Sahara and the situation in the Refugee Camps in Algeria and engaged in the campaign through social media or direct activism 3.1.a. Every six months, AK s own campaign group organizes a campaign containing compositions of videos, online activism, public meetings and creative events. During the fall of 2016, AK will launch a Western Sahara solidarity campaign. In collaboration with UESARIO, stories and visuals will be produced and shared. 3.1.b. In addition to the activities in Denmark (see item 2.7), smaller campaigns will take place in Algeria, Spain and France. These activities will be implemented by UESARIO s local leagues, using material and tools developed during the project. Fall 2016 (6 months) 10

11 3.2 Outreach Danish High Schools Two members from UESARIO; visit Denmark to participate in outreach at six different High Schools on Zealand. In collaboration with representatives from AK s Western Sahara project group, UESARIO will speak about the situation for youth in the camps. High school students will be encouraged to participate in public awareness events and online activities in relation to the Western Sahara Campaign. (More on Danish campaign activities see item 2.7). Fall 2016 (10 days) 3.3 Short film about the Western Sahara Conflict UESARIO and youth from the occupied territories, will collaborate on producing a film, which will be used in the solidarity campaign and subtitled into Spanish, French, English and Danish. Fall 2016 The project facilitates and entails the ongoing learning process and production of articles and online media activism. The combination of workshops and production of updates and materials seeks to ensure an active use of the new knowledge and tools made available by the project. Hereby the activities focusing on capacity building, advocacy and strategic services combined, enables UESARIO to play a key role in giving voice to young Saharwi and creating international awareness. The social media platform that will be established in UESARIO s offices will furthermore offer a permanent space in the camps where young people can contribute to producing articles and voicing their concerns, hopes and dreams for the future through online platforms Expected impact [Elaborate on the expected impact (long term effect) of the project?] Stronger bond between students in the occupied territories and students in the camps: By including UESARIO members from the occupied territories in the workshops with UESARIO members in the camps, a stronger bond will be formed between the two groups of students, who rarely have the opportunity to interact and share information. The workshops will thus contribute to countering Morocco s restrictions on Sahrawis living in the occupied territories, as well as Morocco s Media blockage on any news relating to violations of Sahrawi human rights in the occupied territories. The interaction will strengthen UESARIO as a union. Better quality of news and videos coming from the occupied territories: It is the wish of UESARIO s EB to share news from students in the occupied territories. Thus, it is crucial for UESARIO members from the occupied territories to learn -how to pass on good stories and relevant information, and make video recordings of a usable standard in spite of the pressure they are facing from the Moroccan government. The project will support this endeavour. The project will thus further the opportunities for Sahrawis, in -and outside -the occupied territories, to influence the way Sahrawi life is depicted in international media. A coherent media strategy for UESARIO (see activity 1.1.b.): By making a manual for using social media, UESARIO will ensure that new knowledge is preserved for daily use. The manual shall also ensure that UESARIO is moving towards gaining a coherent media strategy, within all leagues and branches of UESARIO in the camps, occupied territories and diaspora. A media outlet for youth in the camps: In the current situation, young people in the Al-Sahrawi refugee camps do not have a stable and well-functioning media-outlet, and are lacking a platform devoted to sharing their stories. This project will make UESARIOs office in the Rabuni camp such an entity, and a manifestation 11

12 of the voice of young Sahrawis. The project will provide young people with new ways of telling their stories. They will be given a voice and a feeling that their message is shared. In this regard, social media also presents an opportunity for young Sahrawis to gain ownership of an alternative to the existing media run by Polisario. Ensure the outreach to the secondary target group. The UESARIO leagues from Algeria, Spain, France and the camps have to be able to share all the information they receive from the official UESARIO Facebook and Twitter profiles, but also the material from the planned campaign in Denmark. The information will be shared in Arabic, English, French and Spanish*. The information will target a broader audience, which is defined as our secondary target group. It would be the responsibility of the representatives of the leagues to encourage their members in Algeria, Spain and France to share materials produced in the future. UESARIO is a strong organization: After the project has been implemented, UESARIO will have a necessary and effective tools and knowledge to mobilize youth in the camps and abroad, and contribute to a peaceful and meaningful struggle against the Moroccan occupation. (For Expected impact in a Danish Context see item 2.7) * In addition to Arabic and English the leagues in Spain and France will share the material in their own languages independently Risks What are the risks that could hinder the execution of the project, and what measures can be taken to prevent or minimize the risk or adjust the project, if needed? Risk Likelihood (Low, Medium, High) Measures of risk prevention/reduction Language barrier: The majority of Sahrawis has Arabic (Hassaniya dialect) and Spanish as their primary languages. Only a minority of the students are fluent in English. This presents a problem during workshops taught by foreign experts, but also on a more general level for sharing news and social media postings. Medium In order to reduce this risk, UESARIO has suggested that one activity will be to assemble a network of translators. Within UESARIO s leagues and in the Refugee Camps there are already people who do translation of smaller articles. By organizing a network of translators, translation into English can be done in a rapid and systematic way, so that news translated into Danish by AK still have relevance when they are posted. For each workshop taught by English experts, two local translators will be present. This system was put to the test during the joint finalization visit, where AK s representatives successfully conducted workshops in English with Arabic translation. UESARIO is lacking some administrative competences: The organization is used to relying on help from the Sahrawi youth union (UJESARIO), to ensure that their administrative procedures are meeting standardized criteria. If the current EB members do not receive the necessary training it is the fear of UESARIO and AK, that this will jeopardize future collaborations. Low To prevent this risk, UESARIO and AK has planned a number of trainings in administration and financial management before and during the implementation of the project. Thus, the person in charge of cooperation Alali Mahmud, and the person in charge of foreign relations Jalihena Mohamed will participate in AK s seminar on financial management in Johannesburg during May 2016 (see item 3.1 preparatory process). Furthermore, workshops in administration 12

13 Security risks: For Sahrawi participants: For young Sahrawis living in the occupied territories harassment is part of their daily life. If word gets out that Sahrawi students are organizing meetings at their universities in Morocco, the government will intervene and break up the meetings and assemblies. In some cases, civil officers will seek out participants in their homes or on the street. Likewise, it is a risk for any Sahrawi students, who visits the camps in Algeria that they will be victims of harassment upon their return to the occupied areas. General security situation: The Sahrawi refugee camps are located in the South Western part of Algeria and thus the area is located in the Maghreb region, and the British foreign ministry generally advise against unnecessary travel. Therefore, it is important to take some security precautions before travelling to the camps. For Sahrawi participants: medium General security situation: low and monitoring and evaluation have been added to the project activities. In order to ensure transparency of financial transfers, UESARIO has implemented a system where 4 signatures are needed before withdrawals can be made from their Algerian account. In addition, UESARIO has applied the MANGO self-assessment tool. For Sahrawi participants: The UESARIO members selected to be flown in from Western Sahara, will be notified about any risks they are taking by participating. However, they are most likely already aware of those risks. The students, who will participate in the workshops are selected based on their affiliation with activist organizations in Western Sahara, and are highly committed to the Sahrawi cause and generally well aware of the risks they are taking. AK has several years of experience with working in fragile situations and has a security policy, which specifies procedures for keeping partners informed and more generally for working with partners in fragile situations and under oppressive regimes. The policy includes reflections on how to take precautions to protect the sensitive personal information for persons participating in democratic mobilization projects. Furthermore, AK is currently fundraising to expand their Security Network, designed to assist partners if they are arrested as a result of activities related to their work with AK. The purpose of the network is to ensure that AK will be able to assist with money for lawyers or bail if needed. If students from the occupied territories are to experience harassment or maltreatment, Polisario have established trauma centers in the camps, where treatment is available for people coming from the occupied territories. The general security situation: When AK visits the camps it is as guests and friends of the exile government, Polisario. Polisario have a well-advanced security unit, which operates under the ministry of protocol (Protocolo) and collaborates with the Algerian police. Ahead of arrival to Tindouf, visitors are obliged to register their arrival with Polisario and will be escorted by Protocolo from the airport to the camps. It is in Polisario s interest to ensure safety for foreign guest and maintain a good 13

14 reputation for the camps, and they also offers escort between camps and specially secured housing if requested. Furthermore, the Western Shara group in AK is supported by a Polisario representative in Denmark, who closely follows the situation in the camps and help with the preparation of project visits Sustainability [Describe how the financial and technical assistance from this fund/grant will be phased out] Knowledge will be shared with the other organizations of relevance in the refugee camps: A purpose of the workshops, attended by members of UESARIO s National Council, is to provide the participants with capacities, which they can disseminate in their own workshops during their annual summer seminar held in the refugee camps. The idea is that the participants will be able to pass on their newly gained knowledge within their own leagues and branches and that Non-UESARIO members, who attend the seminar will learn about UESARIO s strategy, and feel inspired to use social media to spread UESARIO s articles in their own networks. Hereby, the training will take on a snowball effect, ensuring that the knowledge acquired during the workshops will be preserved after the project has been terminated, without need for additional funding. UESARIO already has an organizational culture of handing over knowledge: Following elections, UESARIO s former and new EB undertake a 15 days transition period overseen by Polisario. Here, the new board receives training from the former board, and is being informed about the current and planned activities of the union. In addition, AK will help UESARIO to develop improved strategies for handing over knowledge. It is therefore assured, that the capacity training provided to UESARIO s EB will not be lost when a new EB is elected. The trainings will make UESARIO strong enough as an organization to take up new projects independently: By making a relatively small one-time investment in strategic services and training, UEASARIO will gain equipment and capabilities, which they can use after the project has ended. These trainings will make UESARIO a stronger organisation and give them the capacities to grow and engage in new partnerships. Consequently, they will be a stronger partner for AK in future collaborations The project is run by volunteers: The project does not include any salaries for staff. Thus, there will be no loss of human resources after the project support has been faced out. Likewise, the translation network consist of volunteer UESARIO members, and it will be based in the camps. To ease their work, translators will be given access to dictionaries to translate from Arabic to English, Spanish and French, which they will be able to use after the project has ended. AK will also provide UESARIO with free Microsoft control system and office package to help them with their work after the project termination. The project will establish a strong foundation for future partnerships between UESARIO and AK: Throughout the duration of the project, project visits have been scheduled, where representatives from AK will travel to the camps and meet UESARIO representatives to discuss whether or not, the project implementation is proceeding as planned. To schedule project visits is an integral part of AK s partnership strategy, to build and maintain good relations with the partners. As this project is the first partnership project UESARIO and AK are planning together, project visits shall make sure that project implementation is progressing as planned. Additionally, the volunteers from AK will get support and guidance from AK s secretariat to prepare each project visit. The investments related to the project visits will ensure the success of collaborations after the project has ended. 14

15 [To what extent is it expected that the partner will be motivated to continue similar activities independently?] Ownership within UESARIO: The initial project idea was formulated by UESARIO s National Council, which means that the organization has a strong sense of ownership over the project. As the EB members are refugees living in the camps, their work with UESARIO is voluntary and not reliant on project funding. Furthermore, their work with UESARIO is a fulltime occupation. Thus, the EB will continue the coordination and production of materials, in alignment with UESARIO s own strategy for social media use. Workshop participants have been selected to ensure sustainability: In order to ensure participation in the long term, UESARIO and AK have decided that it will be the Secretary generals and the persons in charge of information from the leagues in Spain, Algeria, France and the camps, who participate in the workshops during December 2015 and March This will ensure that the information obtained, will have a direct use, once they return to their respective leagues. Moreover, UESARIO s EB has expressed a wish to make training in social media campaigning a set point on the agenda of the annual summer seminar. As key members of UESARIO have been educated in these subjects, UESARIO can after the termination of the project take over the roles of trainers and facilitators. [In what way is the project expected to be of continued benefit for the target group after the termination?] After the project has ended UESARIO will have a physical space to continue project activities By developing a social media platform in UESARIO s office space in Rabuni, UESARIO and other youths in the refugee camps will have their own space to conduct new workshops and produce and share photos articles and videos. The platform will be used for sharing these stories and materials, after the project has ended. These materials will continue to reach the secondary target group after the relevant channels have been established by, among other things, the campaign activities. Furthermore, the manual that UESARIO will produce by the end of the first year will ensure that knowledge and methods from the workshops are passed on. The project will strengthen the relation between youth in the refugee camps and in the occupied areas: After the project has ended, UESARIO will have a stronger connection with youth in Western Sahara. By participating in workshops side by side, and discussing the strategy for using social media, youth in the camps and youth in Western Sahara will have a joint vision of, which news and images they wish to share with the world. The workshops will benefit UESARIO as an organization to carry out future projects and collaborations. Afrika Kontakt will have a better foundation for spreading awareness about the Western Sahara issue in a Danish context After the project has ended, young Danes will be more aware about the Western Sahara issue, which will help Afrika Kontakt s future activities in lobby and campaigning Information activity in Denmark Describe what kind of information activities you intend to implement in Denmark both during and after the project Description International Solidarity Campaign Fall Every six months, AK s own campaign group organizes a campaign in collaboration with a chosen project group. Every campaign contains a combination of different campaign activities (videos, online campaigning, public meetings and creative events), which will increase public awareness and political pressure. The campaign group is working continuously to improve the media expertise and communication skills of the organisation. By drawing on their resources, the project is guaranteed to reach a broader target group through strategic campaign activities. 15

16 Previous campaigns have generated high online activity and AK s animation videos alone have given more than views (fall campaign 2014) and more than views (spring campaign 2015) (facebook.com/afrikakontakt/videos) AK has agreed to run an International Solidarity Campaign for Western Sahara during fall 2016, which will include a direct link to the photos, video and article production in the refugee camps. The campaign activities and materials will be made in collaboration with AKs campaign group. By launching the campaign fall 2016 a synergy-effect between UESARIO s campaign activities and increased production of articles and visual materials and the Danish campaign, can be created ensuring that the voice of Saharwi youth will be central in the Danish campaign. The Campaign will focus on three main platforms 1) Social media activities 1.1 Production and launch of animation film 1.2 Ongoing updates and online activism 2) Dialogue and information activities for High Schools students 3) Public awareness raising: 3.1. A public debate and workshop 3.2. A creative public event 1) Social Media Activities This will include the translation of relevant material and stories produced by UESAERIO, and general updates informing about the events of the campaign. Furthermore, this part of the activities will include posts encouraging the target group to participate in the debate and campaign events. The Campaign in Denmark will be launched from September to December 2016 (4 months) Prior to as well as -under and after the campaign; a selection of stories and visuals produced by UESARIO will be translated and distributed online. This will feed into the information activities contributing to the lobby and advocacy work related to AK s ongoing Western Sahara work. In general, the project will contribute to the ongoing information work that AK is already dedicating to the Western Sahara issue. This includes a monthly newsletter to politicians and decisions makers as well as ad hoc online updates about the situation. 2) Dialogue and information activities for High Schools students (10 days) 2 members from UESARIO; will be flown in to participate in outreach at 6 different High Schools on Zealand targeting classes with political/social science as a subject. Together with representatives from AK s Western Sahara project group, the UESARIO members will share experiences and knowledge of the situation for young Sahrawis living in the camps. Here High School students will be encouraged to participate in the campaign activities on social media and participate in the dialogue on social media and in public events. During the campaign, representatives form the project group will furthermore visit the morning gatherings at the same High Schools to ensure that all students at the schools will get a chance to get involved in the solidarity campaign. AK has had positive experiences with these forms of short presentations, supplemented by short videos/animations. The students can watch videos produced by the campaign-group, about young Sahrawis and their struggle for a free Western Sahara, followed by 16

17 information about, how students can engage in the discussion and in the online activities. 3) Public awareness raising During the visit of UESARIO in Copenhagen, AK will also host a public event with a presentation by UESARIO followed by two workshops focusing on: a) How to engage in the solidarity campaign through online media activities b) How to contribute to the public pressure on the Danish Parliament to recognize the rights of the Sharawi people. This model of public events has been used before in AK campaigns, and around people can be expected to participate. Time schedule Medium/methods Target group Fall 2016, September December Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, creative activism, outreach, public events The primary target group is young Danes between The outreach activities will focus on High Scholl students, while online activities and public events will include a broader category of people, in particular university students with an interest in social and political issues. A secondary target group will be people who follow AK s Facebook page currently (4000 people) and trough the online activities will become aware of the situation in Western Sahara. By the end of the project, young people in Denmark will have gained awareness and engaged in a dialogue about the conflict in Western Sahara and the situation in the Refugee Camps in Algeria. Furthermore, a sizeable number of young Danes have engaged directly in the solidarity campaign. Expected effects By the end of the project, AK will have been successful in increasing awareness about the Western Sahara conflict among youths in Denmark. The most important effect of engaging Danish youths in a dialogue with Sahrawi youths is a greater awareness about, and participation in, the political mobilization, which young Sahrawis envisions to assist the recognition of the Sahrawis as an independent people. By including Danish youth in campaign activities the aim is to demonstrate effective ways to contribute/participate in the Sahrawi struggle for a free Western Sahara. Furthermore, by the end of the project, UESARIOS increased media capacities and establishment of a translator network will increase the access of information that can be shared in a Danish context in years to come. Long term the increased awareness about the conflict will strengthen the political and advocacy efforts of the project group after the end of the project. Among other issues, the group is trying to put pressure on the Danish government to clearly speak out against Danish investments and business engagements in the occupied territories, which are undermining the Sahrawi claim to the territories as well as pushing for a recognizing of Western Sahara as a state. 3. The Cooperative Aspect 3.1. Preparatory process [Describe the preparatory process leading up to this application. How has the target group been involved in the preparation? Is the project an extension of a previous project or a result of a pilot project? If so, briefly describe the experiences of the former project] 17

18 The idea of building up UESARIO s communication strategy and capacities was initially formulated at UESARIO s congress during summer The suggestion for enabling this idea through cooperation with AK was subsequently discussed when Morten Nielsen and Anna Agger, activists from AK, visited the refugee camps in early Since then, the idea has slowly developed. In March 2014, one representative from UESARIO and two representatives from the youth union UJESARIO visited AK in Denmark, where the first discussion of the project s objectives took place. In April 2014, AK s board accepted an application written by the working group to make UESARIO an official partner for AK, based on information obtained from UESARIO through correspondence. In the months that followed, AK and UESARIO held skype meetings and exchanged phone calls; here UESARIO provided information for AK about the context for the project. At the partner seminar in May, 2014 Sabina Thulin and Cecilie Gundersen (activists from AK) had several informal and formal meetings with Salama Mohamed (UESARIO s representative in the Sahrawi Committee of Human Rights) regarding the project, the context and the communication between the two organisations. In October/November 2014, Cecilie Gundersen visited the Sahrawi refugee camps for three weeks with the purpose of gaining a deeper understanding of UESARIO s capacities and discuss the future project. Here, UESARIO s Executive Bureau provided a thorough description of its organisation: the history, the structure, their activities, and their cooperation. Additionally, meetings were scheduled where Gundersen and representatives from UESARIO s National Council, the graduated students league in the camps and the students league in Algeria discussed the objectives, the activities and the target groups for the project. UESARIO s Executive Bureau and Gundersen furthermore discussed potential partners for cooperation in the camps. Additionally, during Gundersen s visit, UESARIO s Executive Bureau filled out a MANGO Financial Health Check questionnaire prepared by AK s intern Emma Akinyi for AKs Financial Seminar in Johannesburg A subsequent skype meeting was held based on the questionnaire to gain a deeper understanding of UESARIO s financial capacities. The meeting was attended by Jalihenna Mohamed and Alali Mahmoud, in charge of respectively external relations and cooperation for UESARIO s Executive Bureau, and Tine Irming Lindskrog and Emma Akyini from AK. At the Financial Seminar in May 2015, Jalihena Mohamad Mustafa (foreign relations) and Alali Mahmud Chej (cooperation) from UESARIO s Executive Bureau and a representative from AK s Western Sahara Group will participate in financial capacity training, which will strengthen UESARIO and increase the probability of success for the envisaged project. In the last weeks of February, Nina Back Andersen, Michael Nosal and Mikkel Troest Kaarsbøl from Afrika Kontakt represented the Western Sahara group at a joint-finalization visit in the camps. Together with UESARIO the group held meetings with several institutions and ministries in the camps. Including the school of cinema, the ministry of information, the Minister for Occupied territories and Diaspora and a representative for Polisario s political department. All to make a baseline and to better understand the commitment and resources available for the project. During meetings with the ministries, all representatives expressed their excitement and support for the project and emphasized a need to use social media to give a new voice to the Sahrawi youth and to create a stronger bond between people living in the occupied territories and those in the camps. In addition, Afrika Kontakt and UESARIO held meetings every day. By using Logical Framework Approach, the two organizations formulated a detailed project description. The two organisation made a strategy for monitoring and evaluation and a draft for the project budget. In addition to the members from UESARIOs EB, the meetings were also attended by representatives from UESARIOs own Monitoring and Evaluation committee, and representatives from the league of graduated students Description of applying Danish or MENA NGO [Brief description of the organisation s mission statement and focus in Denmark or MENA country as well as previous experience with international cooperation, if any] Afrika Kontakt (AK) is a Danish solidarity organisation primarily run by young volunteer activists. Since the organisation was established in 1978, the active members have worked to promote a socially, economically and politically just world through projects in Africa. This involves enabling people to push for a change in the conditions that they define as the root causes of poverty and inequality through organisation, mobilization and advocacy. Today AK has more than 100 active volunteers, most of them students or newly graduated, who work together with the organizations partners in Africa. 18

19 AK s work takes point of departure in Afrika Kontakt Strategy, for the full version see The 3 main objectives in the strategy are: 1. Afrika Kontakt is a resourceful, coherent and financially sustainable organisation driven by political activism. 2. Afrika Kontakt s political activism and projects are rooted in strong and coordinated partnerships with popular based organisations. 3. Afrika Kontakt s political activism has impact on strategic agendas concerning political, social and economic justice. AK s partners are defined as popular based organisations, in other words organisations, which are built and consolidated on democratic structures, and which promote and support the active participation of their members in decision-making processes. Subsequently, members contribution to the definition, development and implementation of ideas and projects relevant to the organisation s development are highly valued and advocated. AK has partners in Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Western Sahara, Somalia and Swaziland. AK considers all partnerships to be solidarity partnerships - partnerships that build on a shared vision of a more equal world order. In this regard, we take the lead from our partners, who, at the 2009 partner seminar, defined solidarity partnerships as partnerships that include; trust, mutual understanding, willingness to commitment and sacrifice, independence, transparency and accountability, information sharing, and equal power relations. This has provided the foundation for our current Partner Approach (see AK prioritises to be visible in the partnerships in other ways than just by providing funding. This includes campaign and advocacy work in the global North in cooperation with our partners. Another important part of AK s visibility is our support to capacity building of our partners. This includes for instance assistance and facilitation of organisation- and leadership building, democratisation, monitoring and documentation, and financial capacity building. AK also supports partners to enter into networks with other organisations in South and North. AK has four overall thematic working-areas: Democratic and local control of natural resources. Democratic, social and economic rights. A poverty alleviating development aid. A just trade policy. It is mainly the two first-mentioned areas that are related to the project work, whereas all four thematic areas are related to AK s information work in Denmark. The thematic working-areas are more thoroughly described in AK s policy paper (see The Western Sahara-Group The Western Sahara Project group consists of 10 activists, in the age group years, coming from diverse backgrounds, however joint together by a passion for the Sahrawi cause. The work of the group is two-dimensional, focusing partly on influencing the political scene in Denmark and Europe and now also striving to set up a project with UESARIO. Lobby work and creating awareness in Denmark and Europe, is central to AK's work on the Western Sahara issue. Twice a month, AK produces a newsletter on Western Sahara, which is sent to a group of Danish politicians and journalists. The efforts made by AK over the last four years to inform and influence the Danish government s policy on Western Sahara have shown great results. In May 2014, the Danish government adopted a report from the Foreign Affairs Committee, sharpening Denmark s Western Sahara policy, and several central points in the report were suggested by AK. In the same year, several Danish municipalities stopped purchasing road salt from Western Sahara, due to pressure from AK. Likewise, AK 19

20 played a decisive role, when the European Affairs Committee in the Danish parliament decided that Denmark should vote no to the Europeans Unions fisheries agreement with Morocco in the fall of In spring 2013, the Western Sahara Group and UESARIO decided to set up a project focusing on the Sahrawi students limited communicative access to the international society. The project group has since worked closely with UESARIO s Executive Bureau in the Rabuni refugee camp near Tindouf in Algeria to further develop the proposal for a project that will enable Sahrawi students to make successful international campaigns from a media center in UESARIO s office The counterpart organization: Founded in (month/year) Has existed since 1975 under the Youth Union UJSARIO, reconstituted themselves as an independent organization in Structure of the organization draw an organization chart if possible Organizational structure see Annex A. Is there a board? If so; how is it constituted? UESARIO is an umbrella organisation with students leagues in Algeria, France, Spain, Cuba and the Sahrawi refugee camps. UESARIO s Executive Bureau (9 members) and secretary general are elected at the congress every three years to manage activities and represent the organisation. The students leagues likewise have elections where they elect a secretary general and an executive bureau. Large decisions are left up to UESARIO s National Council (15 members), which consists of the Executive Bureau, UESARIO s secretary general, the students leagues elected secretary-generals and the representative in the parliament. With leagues in 5 different countries, UESARIO already has a wide network and a potential to make campaigns with a strong international outreach. A main aim for the union now is to further expand UESARIO s network by establishing partnership with international organisations. Mission statement of the organization Ownership/legal status (private or public - registered how?) Education then Liberation Public 3.4. Capacity Experience [What experiences do you and your partner have regarding other projects of this scope? Does your organization and partner organization have previous experience of cooperation; and if so, what have your organizations gained from this?] In 2013, UESARIO successfully implemented a project with the Italian organisation Limonel nel Verde, with the aim of educating youth in the Aussad camp in informatics and languages. UESARIO managed the project, which was worth Since January 2015, UESARIO has hosted workshops for a project, which is similar to the project described in this document focused on producing political articles, however, on a smaller scale and with a smaller budget. The workshops were held for UESARIO s EB and students from the occupied territories, students from Algeria and students from the diaspora. The project was formulated and funded in cooperation with the Finnish organisation International Solidarity Work. The workshops had trainings in article writing and received good feedback from the participants. The funding for the project was ( DKK). The Finnish organisation International Solidarity Work has had a positive experience from working with UESARIO. AK has established contact with the organisation to learn from their experiences and to ensure that both organisations are aware of each other s projects and potential overlaps. As an organization Afrika Kontakt has years of experience in administrating budgets in the area of a million DKK (See Annex B.) Human resources 20

21 [What qualifications and competences do the participating organizations make available for this project (e.g. staff and volunteers)? How many members/staff are expected to contribute actively to the planned project? How is the project anchored in the organisation?] UESARIO UESARIO is an important actor in the Sahrawi society and in particular in the political sphere, as it assists in the organisation of local and regional elections in the camps. UESARIO is best described as a political movement with a long experience in local campaigning with focus on students rights and gender equality. In addition, UESARIO works very closely with Polisario, from whom it also receives training in administration. One of the organizations greatest capacities is the political and social commitment, which UESARIO s National Council feels towards their members and other youths in the camps. They have been running for election and have been voted in democratically by UESARIO s members, and though they are conducting the work on a voluntary basis, the 9 EB members, and the secretary general are working full time for UESARIO. The EB members consider it to be their official political responsibility to the Sahrawi state to ensure the success of projects running during the time of their instatement, thus creating a strong foundation for the project implementation. With UESARIO s position in the exiled society comes a responsibility to raise awareness about the situation in the occupied territories and the illegal exploitation of Sahrawi natural resources. In order not to change the strong volunteer commitment already present in the organization, UESARIO and Afrika Kontakt have decided against hiring a permanent staff member to oversee the project. Instead a project board has been established to facilitate the workshops. They will not receive direct pay, but will get some money for transport and food in relation to board meetings. The project will be coordinated and implemented by members of UESARIO s EB and General secretary (10 people). Thus, it has a strong foundation in the organization. Some of the Bureau members have a background in communication and many have a general knowledge of social media. The person in charge of communication Najem Bachri Brahim, has recently begun co-hosting a radio-show targeting Saharawi youth. Sherihan Yakber Mohamed Fadel from the EB and Dadah Mohamed Moulud (part of the Monitoring and Evaluation committee) both work for the ministry of information, and thus have experience as well as ties and connections to the local media. As the local media is run by Polisario, UESARIO will have access to experts from the local news station (located in close proximity to UESARIO s office), which can assist with media training of different sorts.. Afrika Kontakt Out of the Western Sahara Project Group 10 volunteers are connected to this project. As an organization, AK has recently gained a great deal of experience in using social media. The Western Sahara project group will make sure that the people attending the first project visit have been equipped with sufficient knowledge on good social media practice to assist UESARIO with drafting a plan for the content of the social media manual. During the past couple of years, AK has undertaken a vast amount of online activism and media projects of different kinds. This has provided the organisation with a lot of contacts to experts in among other things animation, video and social media. AK has focal members who are involved in bettering AK s own social media strategy and received a number of trainings on the topic. The organization has over 100 volunteers, who help and consult each-other during project applications and implementation. (More on AK structure see CISU stamdata Annex D). Assistance from AK s secretariat AK has a fulltime project officer, who is able to assist with guidance on how to monitor and evaluate the project. Prior to project visits the project officer will assist the volunteers with the preparations and trainings for the visit. In addition, AK s policy and communications officer will provide assistance and guidance in relation to the Danish campaign activity. 21

22 4. Programme Management 4.1. Division of responsibilities Describe the division of responsibilities between the partners of the project in regards to: (Please note that it is required to have people responsible from both organizations) [Who is/are responsible for the project? Please specify who is/are responsible for the different functions (accounting/budget, communication, activities, monitoring & evaluation etc.) UESARIO During previous collaborations with the International Solidarity Work (the Finnish organization), UESARIO divided the responsibility for coordinating the project into concrete area of responsibility for each EB member: Inspired by the model used in collaboration with the Finnish organization, individual areas of responsibility will be assigned: - Facilitator - Overall responsibility for workshops - Plane tickets - Responsible for identifying and keeping contact with UESARIO members from the occupied territories. - Foods and refreshments - Accommodation - Getting translation for English workshops Apart from this division of responsibility for each workshop. UESARIO will form a project board consisting of following individuals: Sherihan Yakber Fadel & Azza Brahim Sahlem (responsible for coordination of workshops), Alali Chej (responsible for communication with Afrika Kontakt), Radija Mohamed (Lead responsibility monitoring and evaluation) Abdelhai Elmafoud, Jalihena Mohamed (Responsible for keeping the budget and contact with local accountant). The board carries the primary responsibility for the project implementation, and will have meetings ahead of the workshops to discuss the progress of the project activities, monitoring, budget and further changes in division of responsibility. As the project board is part of UESARIO s administrative entity the board will report back to the administration during their meetings with the remaining members of the Executive Bureau. Afrika Kontakt While the entire Western Sahara Project group 10 members will be involved in the implementation of the project, a smaller group of people will carry the primary responsibility for the project implementation: Michael Nosal, Tine Lindskrog (Accounting and budget) Nina Back Andersen, Tine Lindskrog (Contact with UESARIO) Nina Back Andersen, Michelle Gregersen (Monitoring and Evaluation) Sabina Thulin, Mikkel Troest Kaarsbøl (Danish campaign activities) [How is the target group involved in the execution of the project?] UESARIO s EB is an important part of the primary target group, and they have developed the idea for the project. The EB will implement the project and mobilize students and other youths to attend the summer seminar. The summer seminar is a collaboration with the people in charge of information from the leagues in Algeria and Spain, and other representatives from UESARIO s leagues, who come back during summer to volunteer for the workshops. Thus, the primary target group will also hold the responsibility for capacity building and training young Sahrawis in using Social Media. 22

23 Who is/are entitled to make decisions regarding changes in the project? If UESARIO wants to make changes, they will agree on a meeting with the entire board. If the board reaches an agreement. UESARIO will contact AK to discuss any changes. In the same way, If AK wishes to make any changes, the western Sahara Project group will hold a meeting with the focal members for this project and if needed consult AK s secretariat to agree upon changes. Then the Western Sahara project group will contact UESARIO and agree on the changes together. Who is/are responsible for evaluation and final account and narrative report? AK s Western Sahara Project Group will finish the final report, narrative report and the evaluation will be made in collaboration with UESARIO based on a project-log containing all monitoring systems and evaluations and accounts received from UESARIO throughout the project Monitoring [How will the development of the project be monitored? Which methods will be used to monitor the indicators set out in part 2.2.?] Afrika Kontakt has their own standardised tools for monitoring and evaluation, which will be thoroughly discussed with the partners during the start-up visit. Thus, a division of responsibility will be made for every objective, indicator and output. By going through each output/ result the organizations will be left with a detailed roadmap for the project implementation. UESARIO s monitoring and evaluation committee will oversee all of UESARIO s own evaluation practises. The committee have their own systems for M&E. They will gather evaluation forms, disseminated during each workshop. The same goes for the summer seminar where evaluation forms for participants is a standard procedure. In order to measure more than the counts of people participating in the project, AK and UESARIO have agreed on a number of indicators (see item 2.2), which will measure the success of the projects by the materials that are produced and shared between the two organisations as a result of the project. This is to ensure that the trainings are put into practise by the partners and that social media outlets are used by young Sahrawis and Danes. Social Media provides specific tools for monitoring progress of postings. The administrator of the Facebook pages will automatically be provided with weekly updates, informing them about increased numbers of likes and followers as well as peoples interactions with the online posts. During the project, UESARIO s project board will send activity reports to AK giving updates on the progress of the project, every two or three months. All exchanges will be gathered in a project log, to document the progression of the project. Among other things, this log will contain short status reports on the monitoring of social media, hereunder also for the social media outlets created for the Danish campaign Evaluation [How will the project be evaluated? Which methods/means of verification will be used to evaluate the indicators set out in part 2.2.?)] By early 2017, AK will conduct a final project visit to make status over the project. The purpose of the visit will be to report whether or not the organizations have been successful in meeting the indicators. With point of departure in the plan made at the start-up visit, the project will be evaluated to ease further collaboration between UESARIO and AK. During the startup visit a TOR for evaluation will be developed and with a description of the work-plan for evaluation. The project-log (see item 4.2) will be used for documentation and as a means of verification that the indicators have been met. In the event that an indicator has not been fulfilled - the organizations will discuss how improvements can be made for future practice. [How will the target group be involved in the evaluation?] UESARIO s M&E committee will carry the responsibility for involving the target group in the evaluation of the project activities, by handing out evaluation questionnaires after each workshop. Furthermore, UESARIO s EB and SG, who are part of the primary target group (group A) will participate in the evaluation with AK during the final project-visit. Thus, UESARIO s EB and SG will contribute to the initiation of the final evaluation, taking point of departure in the TOR agreed upon for the overall evaluation, as well as a TOR, made ahead of the final project visit. 23

24 [How will you ensure that the lessons learned from the project are documented and used in the future by all the partners?] The purpose of the final project visit is to make status over the entire outline of the project so as to facilitate future collaborations between AK and UESARIO. Furthermore, the project log will make sure that information is stored for future purposes. The project evaluation will be integrated into a final project report made by AK. 24

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