Nadie migra con la voz intacta

“¿Y si intentamos convertir sus historias en canciones?”. Lanzamos la pregunta al aire en nuestro salón de trabajo, que en realidad era la capilla de la Casa del Migrante Arcángel Rafael, donde decidimos desarrollar el proyecto. No hubo demasiado entusiasmo al responder. Algunas personas rieron, como diciendo “eso no es para mí”; otras se miraron entre ellas en complicidad. La mayoría no había escrito nunca una canción. Sin embargo, hubo quienes, a pesar de las dudas y las dificultades de su proceso migratorio, decidieron darle una oportunidad a una experiencia que todavía estaba tomando forma, pero que ya parecía [...]

2026-05-26T09:39:51+00:0026th May 2026|

No one migrates with their voice untouched

“What if we tried turning your stories into songs?” We threw the question into the air in our workspace, which was actually the chapel at Casa del Migrante Arcángel Rafael, where we decided to develop the Music4Change pilot. The response was far from enthusiastic. Some people laughed, as if to say, “That’s not for me.” Others exchanged knowing looks. Most had never written a song before. And yet, despite their doubts and the difficulties of their migration journeys, some decided to give this experience a chance, even as it was still taking shape, already sensing it had the potential [...]

2026-05-26T09:35:15+00:0026th May 2026|

Yuguelito y el Presupuesto Participativo: Cuando las reglas no están a la vista

¿Te imaginas tener una idea para mejorar tu colonia y que exista dinero público destinado para hacerla realidad?. En la comunidad del Yuguelito no solo lo imaginaron, lo están haciendo. Tras un mapeo y priorización colectiva de necesidades junto a Accountability Lab, nació un proyecto: Todos juntos por un Yuguelito seguro. Se trataba de un Sendero Seguro que combinaba pavimentación, luminarias, cámaras de vigilancia y alarmas vecinales. Este proyecto fue una propuesta muy completa y con un respaldo comunitario innegable. En la exploración de vías para hacerlo realidad, nos encontramos con el Presupuesto Participativo como una posibilidad para lograrlo. Este [...]

2026-04-23T15:37:40+00:0023rd April 2026|

Yuguelito and participatory budgeting: When the rules are kept out of sight

Can you imagine having an idea to improve your neighborhood and having public funds available to make it happen? In the Yuguelito community, they didn't just imagine it; they pursued it. After a collective mapping and needs prioritization process facilitated by Accountability Lab, a project was born: Todos juntos por un Yuguelito seguro. It was a Sendero Seguro combining paving, streetlights, security cameras, and neighborhood alarms. This project was a thorough proposal with undeniable community support. While exploring ways to bring it to life, we came across Participatory Budgeting as a potential avenue. This mechanism is meant to give everyone [...]

2026-04-23T15:37:16+00:0023rd April 2026|

Lo que la comunidad pidió, y lo que el sistema (no) respondió

[Lee la primera parte de esta historia: Yuguelito: Vivienda, Autogestión y Rendición de Cuentas] La primera parte de esta historia terminó con una promesa implícita: más de 250 encuestas completadas, un equipo de once Agentes Comunitarios de Campo, con el Yuguelito en el centro de todo, y la certeza de que lo que vendría después tendría que estar a la altura de lo que la comunidad se había tomado el tiempo de decir. Este es el relato de lo que pasó después. Lo que la comunidad dijo 255 voces. Una respuesta al proceso de recolección de datos que representa más [...]

2026-04-16T21:42:03+00:0016th April 2026|

What a community asked for, what the system rejected – and everything in between

[Read the first part of this story: Yuguelito: Housing, Self-Governance & Accountability] The first part of this story ended with an implicit promise: over 250 completed surveys, a team of eleven Community Frontline Agents with Yuguelito at the center, and the certainty that what came next would have to live up to what the community had taken the time to say. This is the story of what happened after. What the community said A total of 255 voices were captured—representing over 12% of the settlement’s population, or, put another way, roughly half of the ~500 families who call Yuguelito home. [...]

2026-04-16T10:59:42+00:0016th April 2026|

The Long Game: Changing narratives and building ecosystems in Southern Africa

It was on the crest of a wave of change Zimbabwe was experiencing in 2020 that Dr McDonald Lewanika found himself ready to change tack. Years of direct non-violent action had done the backbreaking work of earning Zimbabwe a new constitution, and  other democratic concessions, while a military assisted transition had led to leadership changes at the top of the state and ruling party ticket.  It seemed a good time to find a process that matched the guarded optimism in the air.  “Over years of introspection, I had come to the conclusion that a lot of what we were doing [...]

2025-01-22T09:18:14+00:0022nd January 2025|

L’inclusivité en action : Le rôle du projet USAID Basiki ni Tagne Kunafoni dans la transformation de l’accès à l’information au Mali

Le Mali est plongé dans une grave crise sécuritaire et sociale depuis plus d'une décennie, où la désinformation est devenue un puissant facteur de perturbation, divisant les communautés par la peur et la méfiance. L'information se propageant plus rapidement que jamais, on ne saurait trop insister sur l'importance de garantir l'accès à des informations fiables et vérifiées. C'est dans ce contexte difficile que le projet USAID Basiki ni Tagne Kunafoni a été développé. Soutenu par l'USAID et exécuté par un consortium composé de Pact, Code for Africa et Accountability Lab Mali, le projet a pour objectif  d’apporter l'espoir d'un Mali [...]

2025-02-18T18:09:04+00:0017th December 2024|

Inclusivity in action: transforming information access in Mali

Mali has been entrenched in a severe security and social crisis for over a decade, where misinformation has emerged as a potent disruptor, dividing communities through fear and mistrust. As information spreads more rapidly than ever before, the importance of ensuring access to reliable, verifiable information cannot be overstated. It is within this challenging context that the USAID Basiki ni Tagne Kunafoni (BTK) project was conceived. Supported by USAID Mali and executed by a consortium led by Pact, including Code for Africa and Accountability Lab Mali, the BTK project brings hope for a more informed Mali. The Importance of the BTK Project The BTK [...]

2025-01-13T14:11:21+00:0017th December 2024|

Prioritizing Community: Building impact on shifting political sands in Mali

With two coups in the last four years and the political instability that comes with it, Mali is not the easiest place to put down good governance roots. Unless those roots are placed with the one constant: people. We sat down with Accountability Lab Mali Country Director Doussouba Konate and Deputy Country Director Habibou Diaou to talk about how a community-led approach pays dividends in a transitional context. “We live, these days, in an exceptional situation in which we’ve had transitional governments led by the military. And that's not an ideal environment for an organization that's pushing for better governance,” [...]

2024-09-25T07:47:15+00:0023rd September 2024|
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