SFCG Board Member, Ahmed Charai, is also the chairman of Med Radio, a national broadcast network in Morocco and publisher of the Moroccan newspaper, L’observateur. He has written extensively on reforms taking place in Morocco, Moroccan democracy, and the differences between protests in Arab countries. Most recently, he has written an article for the Wall Street Journal on what Bahrain and other Arab monarchies could learn from reforms that Morocco’s king has initiated. read more…
Thousands demonstrate in Kyiv's Independence Square during Ukraine's Orange Revolution in 2004. (from beyondintractability.org)
In 2004, before the Jasmine Revolution or Mubarak’s resignation, the Orange Revolution took place in Ukraine. Idealistic and impassioned Ukrainians demonstrated en masse, against election fraud and corruption. From 2006-2009, Ukraine was the only country among post-Soviet states that Freedom House listed as “free,” in their annual mapping. But that is changing. More recent rankings saw Ukraine backsliding into the only “partly free” category and many worry that democratic backsliding has betrayed the country’s revolution, with freedoms being eroded.
With the fall of communism in Ukraine, freedom of speech was quickly restored, but reviving civil society has proven a much harder task. And without a robust civil society, freedom is a fragile thing. read more…
Snapshot – Côte d’Ivoire, Fighting spreads to Duekoué
Abidjan Districts
About Karno Ouattara in the SFCG Côte d’Ivoire Office continues to update us on the ongoing conflict:
The situation on the ground here is not improving. Every day there is lots of violence, particularly in Abidjan, which has gradually moved into a sort of urban guerrilla warfare. Yesterday, the Abidjan districts of Attécoubé, Port Bouet 2, and Yopougon were the stage for many scenes of violence perpetrated by armed men. The main targets are the mosques and police stations. A Port Bouet Imam was killed when his mosque was attacked. To prevent the violence from taking a religious turn, the associate of Imams of Côte d’Ivoire has appealed for calm and forgiveness from all Ivoirian Muslims. read more…
Scenes from the protest against the sectarian system of governance in Beirut. (from yalibnan.com)
“Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatest which does not bow before children.”
~Kahlil Gibran
SFCG has worked in Lebanon since 2008, focusing primarily on children and youth. There are deep divisions in Lebanese society, and working with young people gives us the chance to influence their way of thinking towards greater open-mindedness at a younger age, when they are less indoctrinated into separateness and stereotyping. Further we believe in the ability of youth to make real change in their communities and we have a long commitment to help them acquire the skills they need to do so in a positive way.
The wave of change that has swept through North Africa and the Middle East had been largely lead by young people. Unlike other countries where uprisings have occurred, however, read more…
Fighters opposed to Laurent Gbagbo take up fighting positions as they man a roadblock in the Abobo district of Abidjan. (AP/Rebecca Blackwell)
Conflict continues in Côte d’Ivoire between the supporters of Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara.
About Karno Ouattara (no relation to Alassane), Studio Coordinator in our Côte d’Ivoire office is keeping us updated on the situation as it progresses. We’ll be sharing his observations here: read more…
Governance Training Programs for Students in Angola
School Parliament participants attend a discussion to involve more youth in leadership activities.
Agencia Angola Press published an article last week praising the work of Search for Common Ground in Cabinda and Luanda, Angola. Working in partnership with Angolan Executive, SFCG has implemented a project called “School Parliament,” which aims to engage youth in constitutional law and democratic principles.
João Domingos, the official in charge of the project explained that the trainings are designed for the young students from various schools of the country’s capital, on “rights, fundamental duties and citizenship”. Domingos also underlined that the group will benefit from training programmes on constitutional law and governance principles as well as negotiation and resolution of conflicts.
“School Parliament” will be broadcast in radio stations from the provinces of Luanda, Cabinda, Huambo, Benguela, Malanje and Lunda Sul.
Learn more about the “School Parliament” initiative here and read the original article here.
