Betting on local media to strengthen local democracy

Written by Raju Sharma The debate around democracy on a local level is marginalized in the media today. Everybody seems concerned with what the Prime Minister says but seldom puts focus on what the mayor of their local government thinks. It is against the backdrop of this absence of focus on local democracy that we see a rise of electoral dictatorship in the country. Constitutionally, we should be more concerned with what our local leaders are doing because their decisions affect our lives as much as the decisions taken by our national leaders - if not more. Our local leaders [...]

2021-06-29T17:17:25+00:0029th June 2021|

What does an effective, post-pandemic CSO look like?

As we enter the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, effective, collaborative civil society organizations (CSO) —which provide critical ideas, services, and advocacy efforts—have never been more essential. Over the past year, governments everywhere have used the global health crisis as an excuse to close civic space, restrict freedoms, and undermine liberties. By Blair Glencorse and Jean Scrimgeour The “quality of democracy, market economy, and governance” have declined to their lowest levels since 2004, according to the Bertelsman Stiftung. Freedom House maintains that democracy and respect for human rights have declined in 80 countries since the beginning of the pandemic. Equally, many CSOs have [...]

2022-02-12T09:04:31+00:0029th April 2021|

An assessment of current policy advocacy tools used by chambers of commerce in Pakistan

By Nida Qasim Khan Context: Accountability Lab Pakistan has worked with chambers of commerce in its recent Business Accountability Bootcamps, and in the process has gathered some insights into how they operate. Some of the key findings made were that they lack the advocacy tools that are required of a chamber of commerce, such as proper websites, updated social media channels, or a platform where they share press releases, minutes of their internal meetings, and other such details of their work. We understand at Accountability Lab Pakistan that chambers of commerce are the bridge between business communities and the government and [...]

2022-11-10T06:46:24+00:0031st March 2021|

ICPC pledges to sustain new ethics, integrity in fight against corruption

THE Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it will sustain the new National Ethics and Integrity Policy, which is geared towards changing many Nigerians’ mindsets and preventing them from engaging in corruption. The commission launched the new policy to reduce corruption in public and private spheres in Nigeria. ICPC spokesperson Azuka Ogugua made this known during a radio programme, ‘Public Conscience,’ produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development (PRIMORG) on Wednesday in Abuja. Ogugua, while reassuring that the sustainability of the policy was of paramount interest to the commission, disclosed that plans were on the [...]

2021-03-26T10:28:08+00:0025th March 2021|

Maverick Citizen: iKhaya eLitsha Hub — pathways to food security and dignity

In this article by the Daily Maverick Citizen, it's noted how community-led change and local action are too often stifled by the dominant accountability models. "New models of social accountability, built on trust, redistribution and horizontality rather than the usual bureaucratic checks and balances, are desperately needed," they say. In March 2020, when the president announced that South Africa would be going into a lockdown, a lot of uncertainty ensued. At the time I had just started working for a non-profit organisation that deals with sexual and reproductive health for adolescent girls and young women in the Klipfontein District. By [...]

2021-03-25T11:05:37+00:0025th March 2021|

Our Strategy Update: What We’re Going to Do in 2021

In late 2019, we developed a new global strategy for the 2020-2023 period. The strategy outlined why we care about accountability, what we have learned from almost 9 years of work on these issues, where we are going and how we’ll get there. The strategy was matched with a 2020-2023 operational plan and a budget for this work (here.)  Adapting to COVID-19 And then everything changed...as COVID-19 fundamentally transformed global politics, economics and societies; and dramatically altered accountability dynamics everywhere. The pandemic has highlighted the deep-set challenges of corruption within healthcare systems; and the policy responses have demonstrated how critical [...]

2021-01-14T18:46:32+00:0014th January 2021|

How do you “do” systems change?

By Jean Scrimgeour & Cheri-Leigh Erasmus The Accountability Lab supports responsible leaders, active citizens and accountable institutions. We think this can make governance work for people. For us, this is essential if we want to live in a world where resources are used wisely, decisions benefit everyone fairly, and people lead secure lives. We know that systems change is complicated, time consuming and unlikely to produce neat, sequential outcomes. But we also understand that in order to bring about these changes we will need to be a part of a fundamental shift in the underlying structures and systems.  We have [...]

2021-01-13T16:15:44+00:0013th January 2021|

Women’s Health During COVID-19 in Pakistan

Dangers of not knowing enough about COVID-19’s impact on women in Pakistan According to UN Women’s data, as compared to their male counterparts, women in Pakistan and Bangladesh are less likely to receive information about COVID-19. This is attributed to a variety of reasons including limited access to the internet, limited cell phone ownership, and comparatively lower levels of education amongst women. According to the 2018 Global Digital Report, women in Pakistan are 37% less likely than men to own a mobile phone or have internet access. Limited access to necessary information about COVID-19 puts, not only women, but also [...]

2020-12-17T08:09:27+00:0017th December 2020|

Public Speaking Scares

“Too many people spend too much time trying to perfect something before they actually do it. Instead of waiting for perfection, run with what you got, and fix it along the way.” - Paul Arden, author of It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be Many people find public speaking to be a daunting task so very few take a chance on it. We decided to explore public speaking failures through our fail faire event series in order to learn from the experiences of established public speakers. Specifically, we wanted to find out how their [...]

2020-12-18T09:34:31+00:0025th November 2020|

Getting students debating solutions to gender-based violence

By Samina Anwary It’s not often we get to explore “out there” solutions to entrenched socio-cultural problems to the extent that it becomes a formal debate with well researched arguments and rebuttals. But this is exactly what happens when young people are given the platform to find creative solutions to seemingly intractable challenges. "The government is required to provide protection and safety under our constitutional framework. Therefore, they are complicit in perpetuating GBV. This is why a class action law-suit is needed." This was the strong statement made by Rhodes University debater Khanyisa Mqotyana during a debate on whether the [...]

2020-10-22T19:12:40+00:0022nd October 2020|
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