Overview

USAID awarded a fixed obligation grant to the Welfare Association for the Development of Afghanistan (WADAN) in September 2012 for the Engaging, Empowering and Mobilizing Provincial Council Members project, which works in the provinces of Ghazni, Laghman, Parwan and Samangan.  The project aims to strengthen the role and capacity of Provincial Council (PC) members through a series of learning opportunities and events.  The main project objectives are to: 1) increase awareness and knowledge of the PC members’ roles and responsibilities, as well learn more about the provisions and objectives of the draft PC Law; 2) raise PC members’ awareness about good governance, democratic principles, rule of law, human rights principles and practices, with a focus on gender and youth issues, anticorruption practices, and peace building; and, 3) encourage the development of constructive relationships between PCs and their constituencies in order to improve cooperation with other actors in the provincial government and community.  WADAN is partnering with the Afghan Development Association (ADA), an Afghan civil society organization, to implement the project.

Activities

• Thematic Training Workshops: Organize two, three-day thematic workshops for PC members in each of the four target provinces.  Topics will include: review of the draft PC Law, roles and responsibilities of PC members, democratic governance, human rights, and citizen engagement.
• Anticorruption Meetings: Organize eight meetings on anticorruption, for a total of two per province.  Each meeting will include 30 influential local leaders, civil society representatives, government officials, religious scholars, teachers, women, youth, and media.
• Governance Coordination: Hold five meetings with each PC to improve communication between state and non-state actors.
• Media Involvement: Utilize media, particularly local radio and television, to support local civil society strengthening and build local governance.  Media involvement will include producing one 10-minute video film for PC and local media training sessions.
• Town Hall Events: Organize 28 gatherings for the PCs and their constituents, and invite influential local leaders, civil society representatives, government officials, religious scholars, teachers, and the media.  The purpose of this activity is to connect government officials with their constituents in order to exchange views on key issues and improve communication.

Projected Accomplishments

• Eight thematic workshops conducted for PC members in the four identified provinces.
• Eight anticorruption meetings (two meetings per province) planned and organized by WADAN/ADA in conjunction with PCs, resulted in the development of a core group of influential citizens to work in coordination with the PCs to fight corruption.
• WADAN/ADA planned and executed 28 Town Hall Events in cooperation with the PCs;
• One 10-minute film produced and used for media relations training with PCs and local media outlets.
• Aired four radio phone-in programs, each with a 5-minute feature story discussing how to bring improvements in planning and service delivery in the districts and provinces.
• Conducted three media training sessions in each of the target provinces, encouraging PCs and their constituents to discuss issues of good governance.