Programs Studied

Dominican Republic

Participación Ciudadana (PC): A national NGO that trained young people and adults to serve as election observers in 1996.

Grupo Acción por la Democracia (GAD): A civil society mobilization program from the mid-1990s that first educated people on basic rights and obligations in a democracy, then brought them together to hold a series of forums to discuss national and local issues.

Asociación Dominicana para el Desarrollo de la Mujer (ADOPEM): A local NGO that trained women community leaders between January 1996 and January 1997 in women's rights, democratic values, democracy in the family, and self-esteem.

Radio Santa María (RSM): A mid-1990s project that trained intermediaries (typically leaders of rural towns) who then conducted civic education in their local communities.

Poland

Foundation for Support of Local Democracy (FSLD): An NGO that promotes local self-governance, primarily through training for local officials. The Civic Participation Project was implemented in 22 relatively small towns beginning in 1994 and ending in 1995. FSLD chose project leaders, who then brought together citizens in their communities to work on solving particular local problems.

DIALOG Project (also run by FSLD centers): A problem-solving project for groups and communities that began in 1991 and conducted information campaigns on key local problems, then invited citizens and government officials to workshops dealing with the issues.

South Africa

National Institute for Public Interest Law and Research (NIPILAR): The lead organization of an NGO consortium operating in the fields of rights education and public-interest law. One of the main civic education programs conducted by NIPILAR during the period under study was its women's rights program, designed to promote awareness of the United Nations Women and Children's Rights Convention.

Community Law Centre-Durban (CLC): An NGO that coordinates approximately 30 legal-advice offices in the province of KwaZulu Natal, and which conducted democracy and civic education workshops there during the period under study.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR): A national rights-awareness and public-interest law organization that, during the period under study, conducted workshops emphasizing the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as well as political participation.