women s l peace building in darfur sudan (leap) · the key challenge identified is to ......

STICHTING VROUWENORGANISATIE NEDERLAND-DARFUR

Van Bylandtstraat 47 - 2562 GH ’s-Gravenhage #telefoon: 070 3628493 #email: [email protected] #website: www.stvond.nl #rekening nummer: 4916536 (ING bank) #KvK: 2727719

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WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP FOR PEACE BUILDING

IN DARFUR, SUDAN (LEAP)

REPORT OF THE PILOT PROJECT IN 2013

The Hague, February 2014 Mekka Abdelgabar, project director

Joke Oranje, international trainer

Report LEAP pilot phase, January 30, 2014

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Glossary ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2

1. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................... 3

2. VOND: A Dutch-Sudanese Civil Society Organization .............................................................................................. 5

3. Gender Analysis of the Situation in Darfur ................................................................................................................... 7

4. Outline of the Project............................................................................................................................................................. 9

4.1 Objectives and actors................................................................................................................................................... 9

4.2 Approach and activities ........................................................................................................................................... 10

4.3 Organization ................................................................................................................................................................. 11

5. Realization .............................................................................................................................................................................. 12

5.1 Preparations ................................................................................................................................................................. 12

5.2 First learning round .................................................................................................................................................. 12

5.3 Journalist training on blogging ............................................................................................................................. 15

5.4 Field actions and coaching ..................................................................................................................................... 16

5.5 The second learning round .................................................................................................................................... 27

5.6 Public presentation of the WAP-Darfur Alliance .......................................................................................... 32

6. Learning Needs Identified ................................................................................................................................................ 35

6.1 The learning process................................................................................................................................................. 35

6.2 Cooperation .................................................................................................................................................................. 35

6.3 Participation in decision-making ........................................................................................................................ 36

6.4 National and international visibility .................................................................................................................. 36

7. Monitoring and Evaluation .............................................................................................................................................. 38

8. Notes on the Follow-up ..................................................................................................................................................... 40

LIST OF ANNEXES: ........................................................................................................................................................................ 41


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Glossary

VOND Vrouwen Organisatie Nederland Darfur

NAP-1325 Nationaal Actieplan 1325

UNSCR-1325 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325

HAC Humanitarian Action Committee

LEAP Leadership for Peace Building Project MAP OF SUDAN, WITH DARFUR EAST, IN DARKER COLOUR

For the recent subdivision in 5 states, see

http://unamid.unmissions.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=SOZJ9VBg2Ag%3D&tabid=11744&language=en-US

http://unamid.unmissions.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=SOZJ9VBg2Ag%3D&tabid=11744&language=en-US


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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Stichting Vrouwen Organisatie Nederland Darfur (VOND) has been active for nearly two decades in Sudan and the Netherlands, preparing the ground for the engagement of women from Darfur in peace building with support from the Netherlands’ National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on women in armed conflict (Chapter 2). The key role of women in promoting peace, and their energy and experience in reconstructing society, have been major assets when it comes to getting this project off the ground. The women of Darfur are commonly presented as poor victims of a long history of violence. The analysis by VOND concludes that these women are in fact actors of peace in a conflict-torn society. The key challenge identified is to increase the leverage of the initiatives that female leaders in Darfur can take – and are already taking – to promote peace and security and participate in peace negotiations. VOND mobilizes female Darfuri leaders of civil society organizations that work for and support other women who are community leaders in IDP camps, farmers and small traders. These grassroots communities need support if they are to defend their rights, benefit from projects negotiated as part of the Doha agreement and engage in activities related to community organizing, food production, health, education and trade in a fragile state (Chapter 3). To achieve these goals in a more systematic manner, a project known as Leadership for Peace Building in Darfur (LEAP) was formulated. Its aims are to achieve gender equality in terms of strengthening the active role of women in a male dominated society and being sensitive to the plight of young men, both as perpetrators and victims of the current war. LEAP aims to disseminate UNSCR-1325 and other resolutions and laws that envisage the participation of women and combat violence against them in a cooperation between government and civil society. The specific objectives of LEAP are clarified and detailed in Chapter 4, but in summary are to:

Advance an intensive learning process among female leaders in Darfur on what they need to do to guide local women in promoting peace and security together.

Strengthen the cooperation between female leaders in Sudan and Darfur on a common local agenda for peace and security in the region.

Enhance women’s participation in public and political activities for promoting peace and security in each of the five regions of Darfur.

Increase the visibility at a national and international level of the peace-building initiatives and proposals of women’s organizations in Darfur.

This report covers the first phase of the project, which was designed as a five month pilot of joint learning through action and reflection for a selected group of 16 female leaders from organizations in Darfur and 10 women from Darfur (journalists). First, the women were selected, the training content was established and the trainers were recruited. They then met in Khartoum for an initial learning round. The training included the schooling of the trainers and was based on an action-reflection methodology. After this first round, the women returned home to apply what they had learned in their own town. The Darfuri women who live in Khartoum learned how to produce a blog and started to publish posts on the actions of women in Darfur. The reporting and coaching of these activities led to a second learning round in Khartoum where the women analyzed together what had gone well and what had not. A public presentation of their vision and movements was celebrated thereafter. The immediate outcome of the pilot phase was a decision by women of several different ethnicities from different organizations in 16 places in Darfur in five different states to form an Alliance of Women


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for Peace in Darfur. While the Alliance was in the process of being registered, VOND had to change its position from being an initiator to a partner. Thereafter, upon analyzing the experience and the new relationship, further training needs were identified by VOND with respect to a follow-up to the LEAP project which will be implemented in Darfur itself (Chapter 6).

Like the participating entities, VOND is also a learning organization. The pilot phase involved an agreement with an external consultant who was appointed to monitor and evaluate the project (based on documents only). The consultant helped to identify exactly what had been achieved and which points required more attention (Chapter 7). Over the next three years, the hope is that a partnership between VOND and WAP-Darfur will be signed in which the former will provide the latter with coaching and help to facilitate further learning rounds and small projects in the five regions of Darfur (Chapter 8).

Women leaders from Darfur in the second Learning Round LEAP, ©VOND


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2. VOND: A DUTCH-SUDANESE CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATION Stichting Vrouwen Organisatie Nederland Darfur (VOND) is a Dutch-Sudanese organization specializing in the relationship between Dutch women and their counterparts in Darfur. It has been active for nearly two decades in both Sudan and the Netherlands. In 2007, VOND started to engage in projects in Khartoum, with the goal being to organize grassroots organizations originating from Darfur (45 women from 22 women’s organizations were invited to a four-day workshop in Khartoum) on issues of peace and reconciliation. In 2008, VOND brought women from these organizations to the Netherlands to participate in the National Action Plan (NAP) 1325 conference with women from other (post-) conflict areas. VOND was one of the organizing members of this learning conference for women in situations of armed conflict in cooperation with the Nederlandse Vrouwenraad. This event even took place before NAP-1325 was launched by Bert Koenders, the Minister for Development Cooperation. Meanwhile, VOND supported the network of women’s organizations in the different states of Darfur and lobbied for Dutch non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to provide financial support to small projects on health and education and for various training sessions. VOND was also active in the training of immigrants in language and computer skills at the request of several Dutch municipalities. Later on, VOND became a member of the Sudan working group on NAP-1325, taking the lead in the formulation of a project for Sudan in which Darfur would be given priority. This effort did not result in a common agreement, and so was reformulated into a pilot project on women’s Leadership for Peace Building in Darfur (LEAP). The pilot, if successful, would result in the provision of longer term support by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote female leadership with respect to peace and reconciliation in Darfur.

VOND works on the basis of two main principles. The first is its strong belief in the need for peace and reconciliation, not only in terms of political power, but also with respect to personal relationships in conflict-torn societies like Darfur. Networking, mediation and non-violent techniques are chosen as the best alternatives for the communities living under the threat of armed conflict. The second principle is the notion that peace can only be achieved through the participation and conviction of grassroots communities. Too many organizations talk about peace without considering the daily needs of ordinary people and without counting on their contributions.

In this way, VOND intends to mobilize female Darfuri leaders of civil society organizations who work for and support other women who are community leaders in IDP camps, farmers and small traders, and who need support: to defend their rights and benefit from projects negotiated in the Doha agreement; and with respect to activities related to community organizing, food production, health, education and trade. VOND aims to strengthen the actions of women in a male dominated society and promote gender equality and sensitivity to the plight of young men, both as perpetrators and victims of the current war. LEAP aims to disseminate UNSCR-1325 and other resolutions and laws that envisage the participation

Mekka and Salwa, two founding members of VOND


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of women and have the goal of combating violence against them in cooperation between governments and civil society. VOND’s option to establish a partnership with the female leaders of civil society and community-based organizations in Darfur to work for peace appeared to be quite challenging at the start, since the Sudanese government did not sign or ratify UNSCR-1325. However, the long established relationship of trust with civil society in Darfur gave VOND enough confidence to gather together women from 16 organizations to set up the LEAP project in order to train their leaders. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs allowed this project to start by providing funding, for which VOND is very grateful. For the LEAP project, a special team was constituted to implement it:

Mekka Abdelgabar Project director and coach NL The Hague Joke Oranje Advisor and international trainer NL The Hague Janine Tijhoff International trainer NL The Hague Awatif Nihar National trainer Sudan Khartoum Salwa Abdulah Finance control NL The Hague Edzo Tonkes Finance advisor NL The Hague Annette Evertzen Monitoring and evaluation expert NL Borne Amira Beshir Secretary/treasurer Sudan Khartoum Reem Osman Gaafar Blogger and national trainer Sudan Khartoum

Amira Beshir, VOND secretary in Sudan,

©VOND


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3. GENDER ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION IN DARFUR Due to the serious repercussions of the destructive war, which has claimed the lives of those from almost every household in the region, the people of Darfur have to cope with deep sorrow, agony, sadness and anger. The war started in 2003 with a claim by two movements for their basic rights to be respected by the Sudanese central government. Very quickly, this turned into ethnic cleansing and tribal conflict. Sudanese policy was able to divide these movements into more than 20 different groups in order to lessen their impact. Minor differences were exaggerated and manipulated, leading to the discrimination that tends to escalate due to deep-rooted anger, frustration and the propensity to seek revenge. In this way, tribalism was triggered in the Darfuri people, starting with ethnic differences between the two main groups, the Zourga and the Arabs. Shortly after the fractioning of the armed movements, tribal conflict also started to escalate. Indeed, even those from the same tribe began to fight each other, with neighbours killing neighbours, and even families who were staying quietly at home being killed in cold blood. The region is being increasingly overwhelmed with a great variety of weapons, which are becoming cheaper every day. Ammunition is also flooding to the region in huge quantities and varieties, and is bought in the bucket load instead of being purchased in packages. While Darfur is slowly verging on chaos, the international community is becoming tired. The region thus runs the risk of being forgotten and gradually erased from the international agenda. Confronted with this situation, the Darfuri people feel that they should do something. They are starting to become aware of the games that are ongoing, and want to reconcile and unite around peace as a common ground. To that end, they are seeking help from the national and international community, and are eager to get support from peace loving people worldwide to help them to achieve peace and develop their region.

International support has certainly been provided, but any progress stagnated because of a lack of capacity or willingness on the part of the government to solve the main problems of health, education, economic opportunity and democratic governance. Some of the more advantaged beneficiaries tend to manipulate the situation in their own interests. As they are ‘fishing in dirty waters’, they do not promote peaceful solutions. Indeed, those who have gained politically and/or financially are standing firm in order to maintain their position, and are not confronting the perpetrators of violent and armed attacks. Indeed, on the contrary, to achieve their goals, they exploit and encourage young combatants to continue the killing raids. These young people are perpetrators and victims at the same time. They are uneducated, unemployed and desperate, and are therefore easily manipulated and misused. Leaders give these young combatants false information and tell them that they should neither forgive nor

Women from IDP camp in Darfur, listening to the explanation on UNSCR 1325


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reconcile with the enemy. Many young men are thus misused as the machinery of war, joining in with armed movements, the pro-government militia, known as Janjaweed, or the government army.1

Along with some prominent female Darfuri leaders, VOND came to the view that Darfuri women are the people who can bring peace to Darfur. These women are an untapped potential resource when it comes to peace-making: they are respected by the community and can reach out to the tribal leaders and war lords to talk peace. Of course, they may or may not succeed, or not at a particular time, but with repetition, determination and consistency they will surely be able to make both a break-through and a difference with respect to reconciliation and peace. The power of these women can be channelled through mediation, and they can bring people together and promote a different mind-set using advocacy and negotiation as instruments to defend legitimate rights. With these powerful tools and the right help, these women can turn people away from aggression towards harmony, and thus to waging peace instead of war. The women approached by VOND have a firm belief that everyone always has a good side, and that it is possible to change the social reality in the following ways: through constant advocacy and the promotion of peace; by appealing to the sub-conscious of the people; by approaching community leaders, traditional governments, the Hakkamat, and Sheikhat; and by referring to poetry and traditional stories. Even the warlords and the young male combatants can be challenged to care about peace. Indeed, the people of Darfur are tired of violence and, in their hearts, want peace by any means. Many officers in the local government in Darfur are also tired of this war with no gain. The war has inflicted major damage on the state, and huge amounts of money are wasted in an attempt to contain it. The economy is also broken due to the economic blockade imposed on the country. Accordingly, the government is gradually becoming ready and willing to seek ways to achieve peace, even if it does not yet know how to do this .

1 See Willemse, K., Darfur in War, The Politicization of Ethnic Identities? In: I S I M R E V I E W 1 5 / S P R I N G 2 0 0 5

Group of men attending the LEAP workshop in Dar-Essalam (North Darfur) interested to hear any words

leading to peace and to give them hope ©VOND


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4. OUTLINE OF THE PROJECT The Leadership Building for Peace in Darfur pilot is based on an outline that was agreed between VOND and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the general NAPII-1325 cooperation agreement. The proposed outline and attached budget were accepted by the Ministry in July 2013. As VOND discovered that invited journalists would need further training, a budget-neutral change in the planning of activities was proposed and agreed. Another change was also introduced: VOND nominated a financial administrator to oversee the finances of the project and report on them. The additional costs were covered by lowering the fees paid to the director and some of those providing training.

4.1 OBJECTIVES AND ACTORS The general objective of the project is to mobilize and strengthen female leadership in lobbying for peace in Darfur. Four specific objectives can contribute to achieving this general goal:

1. An intensive learning process among female leaders in Darfur on what they need to do to guide local women in promoting peace and security together.

2. Increased cooperation between female leaders in Sudan and Darfur on a common local agenda for peace and security in Darfur.

3. Increased female participation in public and political activities for promoting peace and security in each of the five regions of Darfur.

4. Increased visibility at the national level of the peace-building initiatives and proposals of women’s organizations in Darfur.

In the framework attached to this report, the realization of these objectives is explained.

As key actors in the project, the female leaders from Darfur are targeted. The pilot phase is designed to train 26 selected women: 16 community leaders in organizations in the five states of Darfur, and 10 women who live in Khartoum, with roots in Darfur, who have good computer and (English) writing skills. The view is that one of the main barriers to female leaders changing the situation is the lack of awareness of the real issues by the women in their communities. The targeted women are seen as becoming leading examples in the building of awareness on the issues facing women in Darfur and keeping the women at the grassroots level engaged with the cause in order to change the situation. The stakeholders in the trainees are the local organizations, communities and local governments that are interested in participating in the reconstruction of their society and finding peaceful solutions to conflicts while also being confronted with tribal divisions and impositions from central government. Among the Sudanese stakeholders at the central level are women’s organizations, parliamentarians and the media that are interested in reaching out to Darfur. International NGOs working in Sudan with a particular focus on Darfur, like Oxfam USA, can also be engaged in the project. In the Netherlands, the NAPII-1325 Sudan group is a stakeholder interested in supporting the participation of women in peace processes, as is also the aim of Dutch foundations like VOND, ICCO (for their planned project with Sudanese NGOs), Vrouwen voor Duurzame Vrede (for visibility through their newsletter) and Peace Brigades International (for security issues). The key role of women in promoting peace, and their energy and experience in reconstructing society, are major assets when it comes to the success of the project. The main challenge identified is the need to increase the leverage of the initiatives that female leaders in Darfur can take – and are already taking – to promote peace and security, and to enable them to participate in the peace negotiations. Leverage will be created by bringing female leaders from the five states in Darfur together and giving them the opportunity to exchange views and analyze the current peace negotiation process together, formulating their own perspective.


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4.2 APPROACH AND ACTIVITIES The approach to training women to be trainers of local educators, community leaders and human rights defenders was based on four dimensions: (1) raising their awareness of their political power through cooperation within the framework of UNSCR-1325; (2) enhancing their capacity through information, coaching and intervention; (3) learning through reflection on the local situation and their local activities; and (4) increasing their visibility through cooperation with each other and the media. The approach is illustrated by the following figure:

Five activities were to be implemented in a period of five months after the first logistic and contractual preparations. These are:

FIRST LEARNING ROUND An initial activity was a one-week learning meeting involving 16 women from Darfur and 10 female journalists and bloggers from Darfur who were living in Khartoum. The purpose was to enable the women to acquire awareness of their common role as peace-makers and for the journalists and bloggers to learn about the role that the media has when it comes to public opinion. The content of the training during this meeting concerned UNSCR-1325, gender, and non-violent methods, with the aim being to build awareness in communities and enter into dialogue with and put pressure on local authorities. It was proposed that each of these women would produce a personal action plan to implement after the training that they would be coached on during the implementation process. There were two trainers. One of these (Sudanese) explained the law and mechanisms of local government and the peace agreement process. She also attempted to train the group on lobbying techniques. The other trainer (Dutch) guided the group in terms of getting acquainted with each other, understanding the other’s situation, achieving a critical gender analysis, and drawing-up a personal action plan.

CREATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF A (VERY) SMALL ACTION AND TRAINING FUND A fund was created (with a maximum of €200 per person) to enable participants to organize small events or training sessions in their community and/or to improve their English and computer skills if needed. The fund is administrated by VOND’s local office, which will be responsible for accounting for each expense with the corresponding receipts.

IMPLEMENTATION AND COACHING OF THE PERSONAL ACTION PLANS The 26 trainees were to implement the action plans drawn-up at the training and report on their dynamics and results. The coordinator planned to visit the regions and hold at least one coaching

visibility

capacity

local action

awareness


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session with each trainee to analyze what went well and where problems have been encountered. Coaching was also given to the journalists and bloggers using the tool of peer-to-peer feedback combined with personal interviews. The reports from all of the participants were to be collected to be used in the final meeting.

SECOND LEARNING ROUND After the activities, the same group met in a second learning round in Khartoum. In this training, which also lasted for a week, the reports of the activities in the field were used to reflect on lessons learned and further training needs. At the end of the training, an open day was organized with interested NGOs, the press, and parliamentarians in Khartoum to report on achievements and further plans and to ask for and organize support for the women in Darfur.

FORMULATION OF THE SECOND PHASE After the second training round, the plan was to formulate a project in Sudan and discuss it with the main stakeholders to realize the follow-up and roll-out of the pilot. It was anticipated that a further roll out of the project would be carried out through the trainees from the first round, and would take place in each of the five states of Darfur.

4.3 ORGANIZATION It was agreed that the activities would be organized by VOND’s offices in The Hague and Khartoum. The latter is actually a training centre for English and computer skills. A director was nominated and the secretariat in Khartoum instructed. One national and two international trainers were recruited for the two learning rounds. The director was to coach the implementation of the small projects by conducting field visits to the five states of Darfur. An external consultant in the Netherlands was also engaged to produce a monitoring plan and then follow it up.

Portrait of a women leader from Darfur, Thuraya Ibrahim Salih, ©VOND


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5. REALIZATION The actual implementation of the LEAP pilot phase started on August 1, 2013 and ended on December 31, 2013.

5.1 PREPARATIONS A project plan was produced that consisted of preparations, an initial learning round, a blogging session for journalists, coaching with respect to small projects implemented by the participants in the field, a second learning round, and a presentation to a wider public in Sudan. It was calculated that the learning needs for the future would be identified in the second learning round, and a new project would be formulated thereafter to roll out and consolidate the partnership between VOND and the Darfuri women’s organizations. The budget was reviewed to provide a reality check. Along with the monitoring and evaluation consultant, the logical framework was created for the project in order to test the correspondence between the objectives and the planned activities. For reasons of accountability, VOND’s board was strengthened with the addition of a new president, Karin Willemse. Two new members were elected to the board: Edzo Tonkes as financial advisor and Annette Bool as a board member. The coordinator of the LEAP project, Mekka Abdelgabar, temporarily stepped down as president of the board to avoid a possible conflict of interest. At the first board meeting, agreements were reached on the responsibilities of the board and each board member. Women leaders from 16 organizations in the five states of Darfur were carefully selected to represent different tribes and backgrounds. The women chosen were known peace-making activists. During the selection process, the common goal was discussed and trust was built by focussing on that goal. The organizations had already been identified during a previous visit by VOND’s chair to Sudan. Later, the Sudanese secretariat continued with the selections. VOND established criteria for the selection process at the start: (1) each organization should be registered and must renew its registration for 2013 with the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC); (2) the organization should have an office and staff; (3) the organization should have a track record of implementing work in the past; and (4) the member of the organization should be fluent in English. Due to many difficulties with email communication, nearly all messages were passed on via mobile telephony. Finally, 16 participants were invited to complete an application form whereby they committed themselves to working with VOND during this pilot phase of the project on joint learning and action for peace in Darfur. At the same time, 10 young journalists from Khartoum, with roots in Darfur, were invited to participate in the learning rounds. Terms of Reference were formulated for the financial officer, the monitoring and evaluation consultant, and the trainers. They were then recruited and started preparing their work. There was a major visa problem during the preparations. As VOND cooperates with ICCO, which is wrongly identified by the security services as a missionary organization, the application for a visa was declined. After being interrogated for two days by the security services, the LEAP director had to call for the intervention of a number of influential acquaintances to resolve the issue.

5.2 FIRST LEARNING ROUND The learning round started on September 22nd with a meeting intended to welcome the 16 women coming from Darfur, introduce them to each other, and get acquainted. The meeting took longer than expected; the women were overwhelmed and emotional about the situation in the region. It became clear that Darfur was in turmoil. The fragile security situation in various parts of South Darfur in particular meant that there were repeated outbreaks of armed clashes. Security is inadequate, even in the capital city of Nyala. Individuals are being killed for no reason, armed robberies and the murder of innocent people are common, and there is a curfew from 7pm onwards. In East Darfur, a war between


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two large tribes, the Rizeigat and Ma-alia, is crushing hundreds of lives from both. A young Rizeigat participant told us, with tears in her eyes, that more than 150 young men from the smallest clan of her tribe had been killed in the last few days, with the oldest victims being only 28 years of age. Another participant from the other side of the conflict, the Ma-alia, told us similar stories. The two women hugged and comforted each other, and everyone present was touched by the scene, which was recognized as a symbol of reconciliation and networking.

A questionnaire to be completed and returned the next day was given to the participants to assess their learning needs. From these questionnaires it became clear that most of the participants were leaders of organizations that represent a mix of tribes that are trying hard to repair the broken fabric of their communities. On 23rd September, the training started with everyone in attendance, i.e. the majority of the invited journalists also joined the group. Unfortunately, due to an uprising in Khartoum triggered by the high price of basic consumer commodities, most of the journalists were re-called by their newspapers to cover these events and some of them were thus unable to attend the entire training.

The language of communication was mainly Arabic and occasionally English. Even though English fluency had been one of the criteria for selecting the participants, communicating fluently in the language proved to be problematic. The women demanded that the trainers use Arabic so that they could get the full benefit of the training. The LEAP director and local trainer helped the international trainer with interpretation. The training was hosted by the gender department of the Institute of Development Studies of Khartoum University. The major reason for choosing this location was security; the university premises appeared to be safe from national security investigations. Due to the demonstrations referred to above, this security was, however, compromised. It was therefore decided to choose another venue for the second learning round.

LEARNING PROCESS The learning round started on the first day with brief introductions and the mapping of expectations. All of the participants were indeed leaders and had expertise in peace building. Most of them were aware of UNSCR-1325. The trainers discovered that this resolution was far more popular among the women of Darfur than among their counterparts in Khartoum. The Sudanese government did not sign and/or ratify the resolution, yet the women of Darfur disseminated it among themselves and started to implement it thanks to the support of the international NGOs working in the region. At the same time, the participants expressed their dissatisfaction with how these NGOs interacted with the women at the grassroots level. On the second day, the Darfur peace agreements (the Abuja and Doha agreements) were analyzed by mapping the participants’ experiences and/or perceptions thereof. A number of participants had attended peace negotiations and shared their experiences with the group. The group proceeded to map

Young journalist from Darfur listening to the

presentations during the LEAP learning event ©VOND


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tribal agreements, reconciliations and mediation. The majority of participants were actively engaged in the so-called Joudiat, i.e. mediations and reconciliation among the different tribes. An analysis was conducted of security and types of security, insecure situations and strategies to avoid or counteract them. Opportunities for lobbying were also identified, as how to form a united front against those who use violence to promote their cause or position. The importance of networking and working together in harmony was discussed, but the term ‘network’ proved to be forbidden by the government, and so the participants agreed to call it ‘cooperation.’ Another issue considered was the importance of behaving as a team and communicating effectively to increase security during public actions. The trainer and the participants explored issues of gender equality and gender mainstreaming. They analyzed the link between these issues and peace-building. They also reflected on non-violent co-existence in situations where there are different cultures/beliefs and conflicts of interest.2

On the final day, the learning concerned the actions, activities and alternative perspectives that can be articulated on the basis of a gendered view of the peace agreements. The concept of short and long-term goals was explained, as was how to be aware of concrete results. It was understood that peace-making goes far beyond reaching a political agreement between the main parties; it is also necessary to make peace between those who live side by side and have nowhere else to go. After these introductions, the participants worked on their personal action plan for their own local environment. After formulating the plans, these were shared with the others present and discussed. The expected impact of each plan was assessed. The participants were challenged to map the main groups that would be interested in cooperating with their plans.

RESULTS AND CHALLENGES IN THE FIRST LEARNING ROUND The participants revealed great satisfaction with the learning round. It was practical, profound and helped to form a strong network. The atmosphere was filled with a spirit of true reconciliation and broad cooperation. The learning content was relevant to the participants and the methodology was stimulating. All of the participants were present during the entire training and committed themselves again at the end to work together for peace and to share their experiences with each other on a regular basis.

2 Later on, the Sudanese Word Bank desk offered separate gender training over four days to the same group.

Participants in the first Learning Round LEAP, sharing their experiences, ©VOND


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The main challenges of this period were operational. For example:

It was difficult to reach and then register all potential participants, which took much more time than foreseen; this extra time was not covered by the budget.

A set-back was that the invited journalists were not able to attend the training for the entire period, because of the turmoil on the streets of Khartoum at the same time.

As English was not really the dominant language during the training, everything had to be translated, slowing down the pace and limiting the opportunities for interactive training. This issue did not, however, have a negative impact on the budget, as many volunteers helped with translations. Nevertheless, it caused some gaps and delays in the paper trail of the project, for example in using the questionnaire.

The training venue was a bit too small for interactive exercises, and during the turmoil proved to not be independent enough to be safe. Another venue was therefore used for the second learning round.

5.3 JOURNALIST TRAINING ON BLOGGING In their work, the young journalists present were used to writing content and giving it to an IT specialist working for a specific newspaper to upload a summary in case it was required by the newspaper. As the participants are experienced journalists working for national press, they have no problem in creating content; all they need is to master the techniques of blogging, design, uploading and maintaining their blogs.

BLOG TRAINING The training on blogging started on 1st October and was conducted by an experienced blogger, Mrs. Reem Osman Gaafar (http://reemgaafar.blogspot.nl). VOND’s office in Khartoum was used to accommodate the training and there was enough equipment to facilitate it: 10 computers, laptops, a beamer and a network. The first question asked and answered concerned how to create blogs as means of visibility and to take the work a step forward. Newspapers are read by the Sudanese community, even though, because of the difficult living conditions, not all of them can afford to buy them. The international community on the other hand read English blogs, while Arabic is read in some countries. However, we want to achieve visibility on international level. Moreover, there are a great many Sudanese who have access to the internet, forming a considerable audience. The group learned how to set up their blogs after a refresher session on some internet techniques. This was a simple and straightforward process. The design aspect proved to be a little harder and took

A journalist (left) with the team of Gineena that she is interviewing, ©VOND

http://reemgaafar.blogspot.nl/


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longer; there were two sessions on this issue and yet some were unable to master it. This led to the trainer being pulled back time after time. Adding content and publishing was easier, and the journalists started to add a variety of stories and statements, and the exercise seemed to be more fun. Then, the issue of how to reach an audience proved to be easier than anticipated; the use of other forms of social media is key in this regard. As blogging is personal, Mrs. Gaafar taught the journalists the importance of protecting their blogs, which can be vulnerable to intruders and internet ‘abusers’ who may use them to claim various rights and attract advertisements. This process was somewhat complicated, but, with rep-etition, the women were able to work it out. The participants created their individual blogs after the training, publishing articles written by them on both the training itself and the results of interviews with the female Darfuri leaders. The journalists are now ready to form partnerships with the leaders and start to launch the content produced by them to create visibility after the second round of training.

RESULTS AND CHALLENGES FOR THE JOURNALISTS Some journalists conducted interviews with the partici-pants and published the results in their newspapers. Mrs. Inaam Adam interviewed the chair of LEAP about the project and published this in El-Akhbar, which was disse-minated on 4th October 2013. Mrs. Rahiel Ibrahim Suliman also interviewed the chair of LEAP and published the result in El-Intibaha on 6th October. Mrs. Hanim Adam published a story by Mrs. Fatima Fadl from Geneina in the El-Khartoum newspaper on 30th Septem-ber 2013. Finally, a journalist also published a lovely “judia” story told by Mrs. Fatima Kanjom in the El-Akhbar newspaper on 1st October. Some examples of the blogs created are: http://mawadahamad.blogspot.nl/ by Mawada Hamad. http://asmamichael.blogspot.com by Asma Michael. http://thareyeribrahim345.blogspot.com by Thuria Ibrahim. http://najata44.blogspot.com by Najat Ahmed Mohamed. http://mekkaharoun.blogspot.nl by Mekka. http://hanimadam.blogspot.nl/ by Hanim Adam. A major constraint was the issue of language; English was rarely spoken or used for writing. All of the content in the blogs was written in Arabic. This means that further effort is required with respect to studying and mastering the English language in order to reach a wider audience, especially on an international level.

5.4 FIELD ACTIONS AND COACHING The participants drafted their action plans and promised to implement them as small projects after Eid (14th to 20th October). Most of the plans involved workshops for disseminating UNSCR-1325 among

Young journalists form Darfur creating their blogs, ©VOND

http://asmamichael.blogspot.com/

http://thareyeribrahim345.blogspot.com/

http://najata44.blogspot.com/

http://mekkaharoun.blogspot.nl/

http://hanimadam.blogspot.nl/


17

their constituencies and women at the grassroots level. Some participants intended to use the opportunity to increase their constituencies. A maximum of €200 per organization was made available to enable these action plans to be implemented. The LEAP director travelled to Darfur after Eid accompanied by the project secretary. The project was designed to include five states, but as the 16 participating organizations operated in towns that are some distance from each other, the visitors were expected to travel to 16 different locations, which was obviously not possible. Some places were, however, visited by the two members of VOND and others by only one of them. A few places were not visited. For reasons of accountability, all of the activities are briefly mentioned below per state.

EL FASHIR (NORTH DARFUR) In El Fashir, four organizations in different towns participated in the LEAP project: Altigana for the Empowerment of Women; the Dar-Essalam Association for Women & Development; El-Arjoon; and the Kebkabiya Women’s Association

1) Altigana for the Empowerment of Women The organization planned a one-day workshop in Fashir, the capital of the Northern Darfur region. The aim was to introduce UNSCR-1325 and create a communication circle among the women participating in the workshop and those at the grassroots level. The intended outcome was also a working plan for further cooperation among the women. The action was targeted at 50 women, including the members of the organization and other female leaders of the community.

The workshop was the first event to be organized by the newly-established foundation, and took place on 30th October at the premises of the foundation in the Jawamia neighbourhood. The objective was to raise awareness of UNSCR-1325 in the women of Fasher. The executive officer of the area, members of the general assembly of the foundation, female leaders from various institutions, women from the IDP camps and chairs from different associations from various counties such as Korma and the suburbs of Fasher were invited. The total number of attendees was 45. UNSCR-1325 and all of the resolutions that followed it were thoroughly explained by an experienced woman who is the head of the UNCR-1325 units of UNAMID in the region. Various recommendations resulted from the workshop, such as increasing the number of workshops on UNSCRs and women’s rights. VOND’s team attended the event and participated in the presentation.

VOND’s team and women leaders visiting Dar-essalam, ©VOND


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Outcomes:

10 women decided to join the new organization immediately. The gender advisor of UNAMID recommended that Altigana act as coordinator, linking the work

among the UNSCR-1325 committees of North Darfur led by the governors’ officers3, the gender unit of UNAMID and the women of civil and community-based organizations.

The media covered the event, the details of which were broadcast the next day on local radio, local television and in newspapers. This was great promotion for the newly created Altigana foundation.

2) Dar-Essalam Association for Women & Development The organization planned a one-day workshop on dissemination of UNSCR-1325 in which the resolution would be translated and explained in the local language. Thirty female members of the association and 50 women from the grassroots in Dar-Essalam County in North Darfur were to be invited. The workshop was organized in Dar-Essalam and started late; the participants had to wait as the VOND team was delayed because the road was not clear due to armed clashes that had occurred recently. Around 120 women attended the workshop, which was also honoured by the presence of the city’s mayor, the head of security and some of his colleagues, and representatives from the local government, the Sudanese Women’s Union, and HAC. A considerable number of men were also present. The workshop was held inside a large tent in the middle of the foundation’s premises and was crowded. Many of the women sat under the shadow of a tree to listen to the presentations. The mayor contributed a great deal by praising the organization for its good work and for reaching out to the women of this remote county, explaining that Dar-Essalam is safe as a result of the work done to overcome differences and start negotiations, after which the rebels left Dar-Essalam peacefully. An experienced woman from the Sudanese Women’s Union explained UNSCR-1325 and handed an Arabic copy to the group. Other issues such as women’s rights granted in the Doha agreement, legal aid and women’s rights generally were also discussed.

3 The Sudanese government created UNSCR-1325 units in the five states of Darfur.

The road to Dar Essalam is rough and sandy. The taxi got stuck in sand at some places, forcing the passengers to

help pushing.© VOND


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The outcome was:

22 women joined the association immediately. Nearly 100 women became aware of UNSCR-1325 as an essential tool in peace-building. Many organizations connected with each other in a positive way, setting a positive example to

other places in Darfur. The participants urged the organizers to hold more such workshops to spread the message and

consolidate peace within the international framework.

3) El-Arjoon The plan was to: hold a one-day workshop on the dissemination of UNSCR-1325 in El Kooma town; translate and explain the resolution; and distribute copies to the audience. Fifty women from different levels in El Kooma were to be invited, including directors of girls’ schools, associations and unions.

Al-Arjoon operates in Al-Kooma county, about 80 kilometres east of Fasher. It is inhabited by different tribes that live in peace and harmony, the majority of which are Zayadia: camel-herders and nomads. The workshop was organized on 1st November 2013 in the premises of the organization. Along with the targeted women, the opening of the workshop was honoured by the presence of a number of guests like the mayor of the municipality, the Zaydia Nazir (the highest traditional leader), a number of security officers, the HAC commissioner, youth representatives and repre-sentatives from the Children’s Net-work. The facilitator was Mrs. Rabia Adam Sharif, a high ranking officer and head of the UNSCR-13215 unit in the Ministry of Social affairs,

Mrs. Aziza Kinain opens the 1325 workshop in Dar-essalam County, ©VOND

A women leader from Al Arjoon explaining the situation in Darfur to

the guests on the Open Day


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Women and Children from Fasher. The workshop produced many discussions and recommendations such as the further dissemination of UNSCR-1325 and the importance of the political and social participation of women. LEAP’s coordinator participated and was given the floor: she addressed the audience about the spirit and practice of peace-making and peace-building. Peace can only be made by all members of a community, including men and women, governments, rebels, CSOs and the people at the grassroots level. The recommendations from this workshop were to:

Continue to organize workshops on women’s issues and the capacity-building of female leaders. Support Al-Arjoon by funding development projects for women in rural areas. Continue and intensify the partnership with VOND, which disseminates the message that needs

to be heard in Darfur.

4) Kebkabiya Women’s Association The plan was to disseminate UNSCR-1325 in the town of Kebkabiya, with members of the association and other women like teachers, nurses and other leaders being invited to attend. The workshop was organized on 25th October 2013 in the premises of the organization. A large number (up to 125) of female leaders and women from different backgrounds attended. Three presentations were given: the first on the role of educated women within the community; the second on the details of UNSCR-1325, followed by a discussion; and the third on violence against women and how to combat it. The understanding among the participants was high, and the discussions very enlightening and fruitful. VOND was unable to attend workshop due to the distance to Kebkabya. From the report of the Kebkabya Women’s Association, it became clear that there is a high demand for such workshops when it comes to informing a variety of people and raising their awareness. In particular, the connection between women’s rights and effective tools like the UN resolutions is valuable. There is great willingness on the part of women to acquire knowledge and an education, and there are resources available like a large, equipped hall and skilled trainers. The UNSCR-1325 text was copied and handed to the participants. The female attendees were convinced of its value, and promised to work diligently for peace and to use all of the useful clauses in the resolution for their benefit. Outcome:

125 more women leaders are now aware of UNSCR-1325 as a validated instrument. Recommendations:

Zahra Zarieba opening the workshop in Al Arjoon, on the background the mayor and some men from different

backgrounds attending the workshop, ©VOND


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Increase the participation of women at the grassroots level through open workshops. Increase the participation of men and women in combating violence against women. Organize workshops on ways and non-violent techniques of peace-making and peace-building.

NYALA (SOUTH DARFUR) In Nyala, the coach was detained by the security services for three days, and was obliged to explain the work again and again to different departments. The Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) is a government entity that controls the work of both national and international CSOs. It is very strict with respect to the national organizations. It has different sections, one of which is the Regulation Department that includes the security officers who monitor and control all of the activities of the organizations. Sometimes, the work of these organizations interferes with that of the head of HAC, which is what happened in Nyala, where security prevented the workshops from taking place despite the fact that permission had been obtained from the head of HAC following normal procedures. All of this created misunderstandings that required intensive discussions before they were resolved. Ultimately, three workshops were halted by the security services. Three others were held before the arrival of the coach and her assistant. The implementing organizations were however dissolved thereafter by the security services. This was a very difficult learning experience for the LEAP participants.

5) El-Trabut Charitable The plan of this organization was to raise women’s awareness of UNSCR-1325 and ways to combat violence against them by applying human rights laws. It intended to invite 40 women, 20 from an IDP camp (Direig) and 20 from the middle tier of leadership. The workshop started before the arrival of the coach, but the organization itself was suspended by the security services thereafter. The events are explained in its report. The workshop on female empowerment was organized on 29th October in the IDP camp Direig in the suburbs of Nyala. A total of 41 participants attended, including female leaders, government officials, representatives of NGOs and even some officials from HAC. The workshop was opened with welcoming words from Trabut, which was followed by a presentation by the representative from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Women and Children and another by one of the Trabut team members. The workshop had two sessions: the first

Women leaders from Nyala arriving at the LEAP learning round, ©VOND


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was an introduction to UNSCR-1325, while the second was on gender and the rights of women. The sessions ended with extensive discussions involving the participants. As a result of this workshop, it is clear that the women in this IDP camp now have more information about their rights. This makes them stronger and more able to defend themselves.

6) Dar Bakhita for Charity The plan was to organize a one-day workshop called “Boushat Hariem” (meaning ‘A Crowd of Women’) to introduce UNSCR-1325, inviting 50 women from the grassroots level. The idea was to talk about laws, human rights, customary laws and violence against women, with an emphasis on culture as a reflection of humanity and humanitarian values. The Dar Bakhita for Charity foundation organized the workshop on 18th October. Fifty women from the grassroots level were invited to the premises of the organization in the eastern Wadi neighbourhood of Nyala. The workshop consisted of three presentations, an exhibition of cultural items and a discussion. The first session was on UNSCR-1325, the other resolutions enhancing it and the benefits that can be gained from their implementation. The second session was on laws, human rights, customary laws and how to combat violence against women using them. The third session was on how to build the broken social fabric of the community as a consequence of the ongoing war through cultural cooperation and practice. The workshop ended with a cultural exhibition and a discussion on how to identify co-benefits for women and men. Following the presentations and exhibition, there was a thorough debate on how to deal with the broken fabric of society, the various repercussions such as the rampant violence against women, the exploitation of women for criminal purposes, and the decrease in women’s participation in social activities. At the end, 150 copies of UNSCR-1325 in Arabic were distributed to the participants to hand out to their relatives and neighbours, especially to the men around them, and to the men who believe in and support women’s rights and women’s issues. The workshop was implemented before the arrival of the coach, and, unfortunately, the organization was suspended by the security services thereafter.

7) Development of Sudanese Women The organization planned a one-day workshop giving information on UNSCR-1325 and explaining the laws on women’s rights and how they can be used to protect women and enable them to present their cases. This foundation is one of the pioneering organizations concerning advocacy on women’s issues, rights and affairs, especially the empowerment of women in various ways such as through health, education, law and legal aid, particularly for those who have escaped the war. The chair was a lawyer, Mrs. Majda Ali Amin. The workshop on awareness of UNSCR-1325 was organized on 12th October 2013. A total of 45 women attended from the 50 invited: 10 were lawyers working for the community, 10 were female leaders at the IDP camps, 10 were officials from the Sudanese Women’s Union, and 20 were from the Union of Working Women. The purpose was to disseminate the resolution, especially at the grassroots level. The workshop was also intended to establish the principle that this resolution is an effective way to activate the relevant laws, and to confirm the participation of women and raise their awareness on the importance of UNSCR-1325. An experienced lecturer presented the resolution with these explanations, and a hard copy was given to the participants. The workshop was followed by an extensive discussion on legal aid and ways for women to report violence to the police and to seek assistance from the female lawyers who were in attendance. The outcome of the workshop was that the 10 female lawyers in attendance offered their services free of charge to the other female participants, in particular the women prisoners who were mothers of young children, for as long as they continue to live in Nyala. The organization itself was suspended by HAC after the workshop.

SUSPENDED WORKSHOPS IN NYALA


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Three other workshops were prepared and participants invited to them, but the security services prohibited their implementation.

8) El-Shorooq This organization prepared a one-day workshop to disseminate UNSCR-1325, especially to teachers, students and school employees.

9) El Ruhma for Development & Humanitarian Aid This body prepared a one-day workshop to disseminate UNSCR-1325, especially to women who participate in decision-making institutions on issues related to women’s affairs. Fifty women from the different villages surrounding Nyala, and different groups like teachers and female student leaders of the community, were invited.

10) Riaheen Elsalam For Maternity and Childhood Organization (REMCO) This group prepared a workshop for young women on empowerment and raising awareness of UNSCR-1325 to encourage them to see themselves as leaders, not victims, and to also encourage their participation. Thirty young student leaders from five high schools in Nyala town and the IDP camp surrounding it were invited. After three days of negotiation with the security services, it was agreed that there could be one combined workshop. This event started under the auspices of Her Excellency the Minster of Social Affairs, Women and Children in Nyala. Immediately after the opening by the chair, the LEAP director was given the stage. She started to briefly present her work, albeit being careful because of the presence of the security forces. However, they interfered almost immediately and asked her to stop. The minister then insisted on talking, but she was also stopped before finishing her presentation. The security services brought an end to the program and ordered the attendees to leave the hall immediately. The LEAP coach was asked to re-visit HAC’s security officials under the threat of not being allowed to leave Nyala. The coaching team left the town with regret.

GENEINA (WEST DARFUR) In this region, three organizations participated in the LEAP project: Gouloup El Rahma, El Badreen for Charity and El Birwa El Twasul.

11) Gouloup El-Rahma The organization planned a one-day workshop to raise awareness of UNSCR-1325. The target was to reach 40 women from different neighbourhoods. The workshop took place on 29th October in Assalam County. Assalam includes eight neighbourhoods that are considered to be the poorest in Geneina, encompassing a mix of tribes living side by side in terrible conditions. The workshop was concerned with awareness raising, the dissemination of UNSCR-1325 and legal awareness in general. The venue was the Women’s Training Centre in a girls’ primary school. The workshop targeted 40 women, but 45 attended, most of who came from an IDP camp in the county. VOND’s team attended this workshop and delivered a presentation on peace and the need for peaceful co-existence.

A women leader from Goloup El-Rahma during the

workshop in Gineena


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The response of the attendees to resolution 1325 was very strong, and they promised to disseminate it further at the grassroots level, thus creating a network. Gloub Alrahma agreed with these women to start an Agricultural Association for them to secure their livelihoods and to search for funds to finance the agricultural project they demanded for irrigated farms. The area around the valley is fertile, with enough water. Currently, however, people dig for water using their hands, while all they need is pumps and tools to get enough water to irrigate their small farms so they can grow vegetables to sell at Gineena market. In Geneina, the government showed positive interest in the 1325 activities. Outcomes:

Awareness of their rights was raised among the women in the IDP camps; it was the first time they had ever heard of UNSCR-1325.

There was an increase in the organization’s constituency; 12 women registered immediately to become members of Gloub Alrahama.

Immediately after the workshop, Gloub Alrahama formed agricultural cooperatives among the women who attended to develop the water project referred to above.

12) El-Badreen for Charity

The organization planned a workshop on the dissemination of UNSCR-1325 for 60 women, five from each of the six neighbourhoods in Geneina, plus 10 from the IDPs, 10 young graduates and five women from the Sudanese Women’s Union. The objective of the workshop was to establish general concepts for understanding women’s rights, supporting and consolidating the concepts of social, economic and cultural values, and bridging the gap among women. VOND’s team was unable to attend this event. The foundation implemented its workshop under the name of Salaam Darfur Salaam on 5th November 2013. UNSCR-1325 was explained in detail to the audience. The discussion included other issues such as the positive role that women can play in peace-making and peace-building, the various ways of peaceful co-existence, acceptance and how to raise children in that spirit. The discussion also covered the right of citizenship and the right to a decent living, micro-finance and how women can utilize this knowledge in a useful way. All of the 60 women who were targeted attended the workshop and were satisfied with the results. El Badreen promised to hold more such events in the future.

13) El-Bir Wa-El-Twasul The plan was to hold a one-day workshop to disseminate UNSCR-1325 to 50 women from eight neighbourhoods in Gineena and to some from the IDP camps. VOND’s team was unable to attend this event. The objective was to enhance the role of women in peace-building within the areas of decision-making, guarding the rights of women and raising awareness. The workshop was organized on 4th November 2013 on the dissemination of UNSCR-1325. The venue was the premises of the foundation in the women and children’s hall. Fifty women attended the event. The Al Birr team distributed Arabic copies of UNSCR-1325, which was discussed thoroughly. The recommendations made were to:

Raise awareness among the entire community of the resolution. Improve the programs on health and reproduction. Empower women economically to reduce poverty. Raise awareness of religion and the reduction of dowries. Support women with seeds and agricultural tools. Combat drug abuse within the IDP camps. Establish women’s associations in Geneina neighbourhoods. Execute peace-building projects. Seek support for projects for girls.


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DAEEN (EAST DARFUR) In Daeen, two organizations joined forces to arrange one workshop together.

14) Sudan Peace Humanitarian 15) Massai for Human Service

These organizations planned a one-day workshop on raising the awareness of women, especially of UNSCR-1325, as well as also giving them information on human rights laws, women’s rights and the rights of children. The plan was to invite 100 women of different ages and occupations. The two organizations arranged a workshop about the role of women in peace-building, democratization, good governance and a strategic vision for gender mainstreaming to achieve gender equality. The workshop was held on 4th November in the large hall of the municipality of Daeen, and 64 people attended. The Daeen local government is cooperating with both organizations, and both chairwomen are well-known because they work for the local government. During that period, the war between Rizeigat and Ma-alia was active, making transport to Daeen difficult and dangerous. Therefore, the LEAP coaching team, which had been trying to travel there, could not reach the area as the road was not secure and traffic was being stopped. The workshop started by welcoming the participants. Mrs. Sitana Adam Musa introduced the program and objectives. Mrs. Galia Mahmoud and Mrs. Hikmat Adam were the keynote speakers. They discussed UNSCR-1325 in detail, as well as issues like gender mainstreaming, violence against women, and ways to cooperate and work together. They also talked about how to make and build peace, and the essential role of women in this regard. The speakers also discussed the challenges facing women, as well as the factors and opportunities available to them. They called upon the participants to unite Darfuri women to form a strong alliance to take care of women’s affairs and gender mainstreaming.

The recommendations of the participants were to:

Support security and stability, which are essential for any work to succeed. Unite the women of Darfur in order to repair the broken social fabric of the communities. Mend fences between the two tribes that are killing each other, i.e. Maalia and Rizeigat, and

spread the culture of peace among them. Organize more workshops on UNSCR-1325 and other relevant resolutions and laws. Establish training centres for women and train them for job opportunities. Demand that decision-makers increase women’s participation in politics and social work at all

levels of local and state government. Organize peace conferences among the tribes in conflict. Organize vocational education for young people to combat unemployment.

Some women from Dar-essalam are sitting on the ground outside, as the tent was full, ©VOND


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Outcomes: 15 new women joined Sudan Peace Humanitarian. 12 new women joined the Massai Foundation.

ZALENGEI (CENTRAL DARFUR) In Zalengei, there is only one organization participating in LEAP.

16) Tasamouh for Women’s Development The group planned a one-day workshop on disseminating UNSCR-1325, with the purpose being to create a network for working together in the future. Sixty women from the different neighbourhoods and with different backgrounds and ages were to be invited. The motto of the workshop was: “10 years backwards and 10 years forwards.” The idea was to evaluate the status of the women in this newly created state over the past 10 years and decide what should be done to improve things for them in the next decade. The workshop introduced UNSCR-1325 and emphasized the need for its dissemination. A total of 55 people attended: 10 female farmers, 15 grassroots community leaders, 10 men, 10 female teachers, five women from the health sector, and five from the university. The participation of the attendees was active and positive, yet we discovered that about 50% of the women had never heard of UNSCR-1325. VOND attended this workshop as a coach.

The recommendations made were to: Give women priority when it comes to participating in the committees that work for tribal

reconciliation in the Darfur states. Organize a comprehensive conference including all women’s organizations from the five states

of Darfur to discuss the status of women. Organize a meeting for the leaders of political parties, parliamentarians, and civil society

organizations to discuss the status and participation of women in the various institutions, with the aim being for at least 30% of the representatives to be women.

Lobby for the implementation of the clauses on women in the Doha peace agreement.

RESULTS AND CHALLENGES OF THE FIELDWORK The small projects formulated by the organizations that participated in the first learning round were implemented accordingly. In this section, we summarize the results and some of the challenges faced. All of the participants delivered a written report on their activity, as well as a financial report and a list of attendees. The first LEAP learning round was multiplied by a factor of around 70 persons per participant, including female leaders from the grassroots, government authorities, traditional leaders and other interested people. The most important outcome was that the participants were directly encouraged to take the lead in their own county and initiating public action. This was very successful in most cases, and enabled them

Women Leader from foundation Tasamuh in Zalengei,

©VOND


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to further exchange learning points with each other. Another result was that the workshops met with a very positive response from the carefully selected audiences: they reacted positively to the invitations, the practical peace-building message fell on fertile ground, and people were eager to hear more about it. A third outcome was the cooperation with both grassroots community leaders and government officers. This opens up a whole range of opportunities for peace-building initiatives. Finally, a remarkable result was that, in most cases, the peace-building message was connected to a gender analysis and to interesting discussions on the role of women as peace-builders – not in general and theoretically - but in that very place facing the harsh reality of armed raids and tight security measures. A major challenge, particularly in Nyala, was the defensive attitude of the national security officers who mistakenly considered the workshops to be a threat to national security. At the same time, this set back provided a good learning experience for the entire group on how to take security matters into account during the preparation of public activities. In particular, the participants who started their activities without having received prior permission from HAC, and without informing HAC in enough detail about the nature of the initiative, suffered from the disappointment of being dismantled. Without proper registration, an organization in Sudan can barely operate. Even VOND had to remove, at the insistence of HAC, three organizations from its list and replace them with others. Another challenge was transport. Road blocks due to armed raids, bumpy roads and mud roads caused delays and sometimes made it impossible to coach all of the activities. A related challenge was the number of the action plans, 15 in total, which was more than expected. This meant that it was impossible to visit all of the initiatives.

5.5 THE SECOND LEARNING ROUND The second learning round of five days was held in Khartoum from November 11-15. The LEAP director and the national and international trainers met on the day before the start of the training to agree on the program and the approach. This event was attended by women from 17 organizations, including those who were invited as replacements for representatives of the three organizations that were unregistered. Seven of the nine journalists who attended the first round and the blogging sessions were also present in the second learning round. The four objectives of the LEAP program were taken as the lead to identify the challenges for this training:

Participants from Nyala, Kebkabya and Daean preparing their presentation during the second learning

round LEAP, ©VOND


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What was learned and which learning needs still require attention to guide local women in promoting peace and security together?

How can we create the conditions for greater cooperation between female leaders in Sudan and Darfur on a common local agenda for peace and security in Darfur?

How can we encourage the participants to increase their involvement in public and political activities for promoting peace and security in each of the five states of Darfur?

What can be done to increase the national visibility of the peace-building initiatives and proposals of women’s organizations in Darfur?

How can we assist them in team building and effectiveness in organizing an open day for women’s organizations, university and government representatives, and international agencies?

On the approach to be taken, the decision was made to consider one issue each day and develop it in different ways: a theoretical introduction, group work, plenary sessions and exercises. The aim was to encourage the participants’ recognition and ownership of the subject.

DAY 1: LEARNING

After a brief introduction round, the participants started by analyzing their experiences with the activities they implemented in their region. This was first done in small groups with the help of a questionnaire, and then presentations were made to the plenary session. The negative experience in Nyala with the security services was used to discuss in detail how to deal with such issues. Experiences in other regions were also analyzed. Upon assessing the weak performances of regional governments and the dominance of the security services, the participants came to the conclusion that civil society has to step in with more energy and cooperate with them. The experience of non-violent actions throughout history in other countries was taken as a point of reference. The triangle method was used in small groups to explore learning needs. The mind map drawn as a result of the reports of these groups revealed four main directions for further learning:

Leadership issues, convincing others, especially men. Fundraising for projects, especially (a) organizational and technical support for women farmers,

(b) organizational support on raising awareness of 1325 among female community leaders, including in the IDP camps, and (c) training on 1325 for female parliamentarians (including male colleagues).

Institutional linking, networking, and coordination with other organizations.

Participant listening to the lecture during the second learning round of LEAP ©VOND


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Assuring security through transparency and networking and non-violent techniques.

DAY 2: COORDINATION An extensive introduction was given on cooperation between government and civil society. The participants analyzed which civil society organizations could be useful to coordinate with. Coordination involves the identification of relevant issues, the mobilization of communities, networking with other organizations, and cooperation with authorities with respect to the application of good laws. After the introduction, the participants were trained in groups on stakeholder analysis. It was concluded that, in Darfur, the networking is too limited because of security problems. If there are conferences with important stakeholders, women are often not invited. The Doha peace agreement is still transitional and is not recognized as part of the Sudanese constitution. The participants decided that the number of women who are active in civil society activities for peace building should increase, as should the number of motivated and educated female councillors and government employees in the regions. The participants came up with a list of the most important stakeholders (whether positive or negative) to coordinate with: government representatives for 1325 or 1325-committees in each state; ministers for social and gender issues; councillors, especially women; Sheiks and Hakkamat; humanitarian aid committees and security officers; police; religious leaders; TV and radio; the Institute for Peace Studies at Nyala University; lawyers; female entrepreneurs; and UNDP.

DAY 3: PARTICIPATION The subject of the day was the political participation of women. Two guest speakers were invited: Mrs. Um-Salama Mohamed Ismail from the Sudanese Women’s Union and Mr. Abdalla Adam Khatir, who is a well-known journalist in Sudan.

The first guest spoke about the right to participate and equal rights for men and women. She stressed that women have to protect their rights and be responsible. To that end, they have to be organized and able to advocate their rights based on the constitution. The participants criticized the way in which the Sudanese Women’s Union behaves in Darfur and asked for clarifications. Three proposals for cooperation were given to Mrs. Ismail, which she promised to discuss within the organization.

Mrs. Um-Salama Mohamed Ismail from the Sudanese Women Union explains to the group on her work, ©VOND


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Mr. Abdall Adam Khatir addressed the meeting by referring to the 2004 international agreement to give humanitarian help to Darfur. It is essential to understand that there are leaders in Sudan who really want change and to ensure that women’s actions are visible. The media should be given information on the work that women do, both locally and at a national and international level. The media should be encouraged to publish features about all kinds of people and not just representatives. It is essential to build confidence and a relationship with the right people in the media. An important point of departure was the awareness that the Doha document was not produced in Doha, but was actually based on discussions and negotiations in Darfur itself. On the inquiry of Mr. Khatir, it transpired that only four of the 16 participants had read the document, and only one had participated in producing it. Accordingly, Mr. Khatir advised writing a letter to the head of the Transitional Office of Darfur to insist on the effective implementation and amendment of the Doha agreement.

In the afternoon, the film “Pray the devil back to hell”, which concerns the struggle of women in Liberia to bring an end to violence and constitute a new government, was shown. The participants were impressed and commented:

“We can do this. They overcame their differences and united for one cause, they had one common goal. We have to start and participate in the peace conference in December.”

In the afternoon, there was an exercise on good, bad and ugly practices concerning (a) participation, (b) inclusive leadership, and (c) convincing (men). Some good advice from the participants themselves was the result and was commented on by the trainers. On the issue of participation, it was stressed that women in Darfur need to enforce vertical participation, meaning:

Filling the gap between grassroots and government. Getting more women to participate at all different levels of governance (ministries,

commissions, police, management of schools and health care facilities, security committees). Communicating with each other at different levels on common priorities.

A particular outcome was the description of inclusive leadership for Darfur:

“Inclusive leadership involves setting priorities and organizing; communicating; including different people, accepting that diversity means having a broad base; building trust; having the courage to go on; making the organization sustainable; learning from others; evaluating progress.”

The dresses are colourful with flowers and patterns in the second learning round, ©VOND


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The risks of bad leadership were also highlighted: a lack of focus, fragmentation, the best people leaving, laziness and frustration, the stereotyping of others, and following donor requirements blindly. It was also agreed that when these issues are not corrected, there will be selfishness, self-centred management, greed, and intimidation. The theme of convincing men triggered some lively discussions. The women from the group preferred an obedient and non-aggressive style of communication, confirming the male role as protector. The trainers reminded the group that if you really want men on your side with their added value, they are, in general, used to being challenged more on clear targets, the authority of law and the chances of success. All of us were aware that the support of men for increased women’s participation is a crucial issue to be worked on.

DAY 4: VISIBILITY AND IDENTITY On day four, the trainers and participants decided together that the best way to tackle visibility, apart from technical skills in communication, English and ICT, would be to have a strong identity in the first place. We decided to work on that issue first and postpone training on technical skills to other specialized sessions, preferably in the towns in Darfur itself. After a brief introduction on how to present a project, the participants worked in groups and then presented their ideas, agreeing on the features of their identity as a coordinated platform for women’s actions for peace in Darfur. See the details in the annex. The next session was on forms of organization. The trainers highlighted the advantages and disadvantages of a few legal forms of organization: union, cooperation, foundation, association, platform and joint venture. The participants decided to choose a platform firmly based on the 16 organizations from the five regions of Darfur. The platform was named “Women’s Alliance for Peace in Darfur.” Thereafter, in a secret vote, the participants chose a president, a vice-president/secretary, and a treasurer.

DAY 5: EVALUATION AND PREPARATIONS FOR THE OPEN DAY The day started with a round of personal evaluations of the training overall. People were asked to concentrate on what they had learned and what could be improved. The comments collected in this session are set out in the annexes. After this round, training needs for the future were summarized: communication, especially to convince security officers and religious leaders; crisis management and security training specifically for women; English; and advanced internet communication techniques.

Mrs. Ibtisam El-Douma Shomain explaining leadership @VOND


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Then, having finished the evaluation, the trainer handed the lead to the president and vice-president of the Alliance to guide the elections of a treasurer and to prepare the Charter to be presented to external invitees in a special meeting in the week to come.

RESULTS AND CHALLENGES OF THE SECOND LEARNING ROUND The women were very satisfied with the second learning round; especially the combination of action and learning that effectively tapped into and awakened their own resources and self-confidence. The methodology chosen was evaluated as highly effective. It was also quite positive that all of the participants were present during the entire training. They were motivated and joyful, and expressed themselves with conviction, working hard to clarify challenges that the trainers offered them. Highlights were:

The discussion on the experience with the security services in Nyala. The guided exchange of opinions with the representative from the Sudanese Women’s

Organization. The film “Pray the Devil back to Hell” featuring peace women in Liberia. The establishment of the main features of their own platform organization, Women’s Alliance

for Peace in Darfur. The challenges were, again, mostly on the operational level. The training venue was good, allowing for some walking in and out, but was not very suitable for interactive exercises. The language was an ongoing challenge, and continuous interpretation was required and, luckily, several participants could help out in this respect. Unfortunately, a few evaluation questionnaires were lost on the final day. A serious challenge arose at the end, when one of the participants was not responsive, had ignored instructions from the trainers and dominated others in the small groups. Eventually, she was elected as leader of the Alliance, but once she started to chair the meetings it became clear immediately that she was not ready for democratic leadership. Several group meetings after the last training session had to be arranged in order to fix the problems caused by this situation.

5.6 PUBLIC PRESENTATION OF THE WAP-DARFUR ALLIANCE

OPEN DAY At the end of the second training round, WAP-Darfur organized an open day to which it invited various organizations and individuals from different areas: the Dutch embassy, the Swiss embassy, the Ministry

The representative of the Netherlands Embassy opened the first manifestation of WAP-Darfur


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of Social Affairs, Women and Children, the Sudanese Women’s Union, Oxfam USA, ESCOM USAID, UNAMID, UNICEF, UNWOMEN, the Legislative Council, and some leaders from NGOs. The event was opened by the representative of the Royal Netherlands embassy, Mrs. Esther Verloeff. Thereafter, the Chair gave the floor to representatives from each state in Darfur, who briefly introduced their organizations, described the circumstances in their state and the small projects implemented by the group. The Chair read a strong manifesto as a charter for trust and diligent work for peace. The women signed it to present to officials as a binding document. It was submitted to two entities: Mrs. Fatima Sidiq from the Khartoum Legislative Council, and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Women and Children in Khartoum. Both bodies expressed their views on the event and the creation of this network, and promised to partner with, support, and work with the Alliance.

The well-known journalist Mr. Abdalla Adam Khatir expressed his deep appreciation for this initiative, the impact of which he compared with the first Sudanese girl going to school, who was the girl who went on to become his grandmother. Later on, Mr. Khatir organized a meeting in honour of VOND’s Chair and to discuss the way forward and future cooperation. He invited members of the alliance and a group of prominent women from Darfur to the meeting, where there was an intensive discussion about how to make peace and how and where to begin. Mr. Khatir believes that we are starting at the right time and there is hope. He promised to keep working with the alliance to enhance the visibility of its work.

REGISTRATION After the open day, WAP-Darfur started to hold meetings on the Terms of Agreement, consolidation and registration of the newly formed platform. The board of WAP-Darfur was re-arranged and is now constituted as follows: Chair: Mrs. Fatima Kanjom from Nyala. Vice-chair: Mrs. Thouria Ibrahim Salih from Kebkabya. Secretary: Mrs. Ibtisam Adoma Shomain from Fasher. Treasurer: Mrs. Majda Abdelwahab Khatir from Zalengei. Projects: Mrs. Galia Mahmoud Abdelhamid from Daeen. Unfortunately, the organizations in Nyala that were outlawed by the authorities could not become members, but they will continue as associates. They were replaced by other organizations. One of these that participated in the project failed to comply with the democratic procedures and had to be excluded.

Some of the guests on the Open Day: Mr. Abdalla Adam Khatir the journalist,

Nawal Hassan Osman from ESCOM–USAID and her daughter, Abubakar from the Darfur Network and a representative from UNWOMEN


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This was done through consultation with all members, and written consent from a two thirds majority was used to proceed in this way. The organizations that ultimately accepted full responsibility for the objectives of WAP-Darfur and agreed to adopt its democratic procedures and give their name to the official registration are the following:

Members of WAP-Darfur No Organization Contact Person City 1 El-Wathba for Peace and Development Fatima Tahir Kanjom S/Nyala 2 Riaheen Elsalam for Maternity & Childhood Asma Abakar Taha S/Nyala 3 Gaya for Development Amna Daif-Allah S/Nyala 4 Al-Amal for Community Development Salwa Haroun Imam S/Nyala 5 El-Shorooq Sabrin Adam Ibrahim S/Nyala 6 El-Ruhama for Development Mariam Moh. Adam Hamid S/Nyala 7 El-Ruhal & Rural Development Mahasin Ali Abdelgadir S/Nyala 8 El-Tagana Empowerment of Women Ibtisam Adoma Shomain N/Fasher 9 Ass. DarEssalam Women & Dev. Aziza Mohamed Kinain N/Dar-Essalam 10 El-Arjoon for Development Zahra Musa Zariba N/El-Kooma 11 Kebkabiya Women’s Association Thouria Ibrahim Salih N/Kebkabya 12 El-Bir Wa-El-Twasul Fatima Fadul Abdalla W/Geneina 13 Gouloup El-Rahma Sumia Moh. Abdalla W/Geneina 14 Tasamouh for Women’s Development Majda Abdelwahab Khatir M/Zalingei 15 Salam El-Sudan Humanitarian Galia Mahm. Abdelhamid E/Daeen 16 Massai for Human Service Mahjouba Hassan Musa E/Daeen

An analysis has been produced on the learning needs identified during the pilot phase of the LEAP project. At the same time, the relationship between WAP-Darfur and VOND changed into a partnership in which the former is an independent organization with its own decision-making powers. VOND will assist WAP-Darfur over the next three years with coaching, mutual learning, international exposure and the facilitation of resources for small peace-building activities. To this end, VOND will formulate a three year project to be financed through the Dutch NAP-1325.

RESULTS AND CHALLENGES FOR THE ALLIANCE During the open day and thereafter, many organizations in Khartoum showed an interest and expressed their willingness to support WAP-Darfur and its objectives. Some organizations started to implement activities for these Darfuri women leaders immediately. Mrs. Hidayat El-Taib from the World Bank organized a four-day workshop for them on gender. During the training, assisted by the national trainer Awatif Nihar and the German facilitator Mrs. Christine Pauly, the women were able to discuss further the importance and ways of creating a solid platform. The Regional Institute for Studies on Civil Society Development, which was where VOND’s team rented its premises, organized a one-day workshop immediately after the end of the World Bank’s event. Furthermore, both the Institute for Peace Studies (part of Khartoum’s Ministry of Social Affairs, Women and Children) and the Legislative Council decided to draw-up a partnership with WAP-Darfur upon its registration. As the work developed successfully, some internal challenges also arose. One major issue is that many of the registered organizations are connected to larger units with headquarters in Khartoum. These national NGOs are implementing agents for international donors or INGOs, and the female leaders are their agents. As a by-product, there is competition between them, greed in terms of funding, a lack of trust, and suspicions about any new organization entering the field of humanitarian work. The approach of LEAP is concentrated on the local female leaders, helping them to believe in themselves and their own capacity to have an impact on peace based on networking, cooperation and understanding the local situation. To that end, VOND is a partner, not a donor, and does not intend to become one.


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6. LEARNING NEEDS IDENTIFIED In this chapter, we recall the specific objectives of the project in order to analyze how far they have been realized by the activities reported in earlier sections. These objectives were to: enable an intensive learning process for a selection of female leaders in Darfur; increase cooperation between them on a common agenda for Darfur; increase their participation in public and political activities; and, finally, increase visibility at a national level of the peace-building initiatives and proposals of women’s organizations in Darfur.

6.1 THE LEARNING PROCESS This pilot phase of the project brought about an irreversible, intensive learning process among female leaders in Darfur through the methodology of combining training with action. In addition, the two training rounds were interactive, combining the specific experiences of the participants with general information on legal issues, lobbying techniques and non-violent methods of social action. It can be concluded that the main objective of the project has been achieved in that the women are well aware of what they need to do to promote peace and security in their town and the whole of Darfur. They are also ready to hold workshops themselves, with most of them succeeding in already doing so in their locality. Those who were prevented from acting by the security services also had a significant learning experience. All of them have been enabled to mobilize and educate other women, especially at the grassroots level, in terms of the ways in which they can cooperate with respect to UNSCR-1325. The issues that remain – or new issues – in the learning process are needs such as:

How to convince and involve men. Having access to training courses to improve English language and computer-skills.

6.2 COOPERATION On the issue of cooperation, it can be concluded that coordination between the 16 invited organizations is now good. The approach of the training was ‘learning by doing’, and this strengthened the bonds between the bodies. The women did cooperate in the implementation of their 16 personal action plans, and collaboration between women from different tribes was no longer an issue. The cooperation between them and community leaders has also been quite positive. In addition, a set of strong principles on cooperation have been developed, such as: inclusive leadership; identifying relevant issues together; mobilizing communities; and networking with regional, national and international organizations. The most important additional outcome on cooperation was the creation of a permanent platform called the Women’s Alliance for Peace in Darfur, which was firmly sustained by 16 women’s organizations in Darfur. The participants did agree on a Charter expressing their joint commitment to work for peace in Darfur. This was presented in public to a varied external audience after the training and was included in the statutes of WAP-Darfur. The issues on cooperation that remain concern, for example, collaborating with journalists and (women’s) organizations in Khartoum, with there still being room for improvement. Additionally, after the training, it became clear that not all members understood the concept of democratic leadership, and a painful power game began on the basis of “the-winner-decides-all” principle. While this also became an intensive learning process, it became clear that the application of a more inclusive style of leadership is not just a matter of theory and skills, but also relates to understanding and dealing with the psychological consequences of the trauma of war. Coordinating a shared women’s agenda for peace and security in Darfur with clear proposals and demands is still difficult. In the current situation, documents and agreements, including the 1325 resolution or the Doha agreements, still only exist on paper. Their validity has to compete with the violent and badly informed actions of the security services and instructions from Khartoum. Fundraising is also a very important issue for all of the women’s organizations, which work almost exclusively on a voluntary basis, which restricts their reach. Even very small sums of money (€200 to


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300) make a huge difference in this respect. Since VOND is not a donor organization, the bodies need to learn for themselves how to coordinate and cooperate with the many existing funding agencies in order to attract funds to match their implementation capacity.

6.3 PARTICIPATION IN DECISION-MAKING On the issue of participation in political processes, a major outcome is the increased awareness of the right to participate as women, and to even claim a religious foundation for this: “Islam gives us the right to participate; we have to protect our rights and feel responsible for this.” The legitimacy of acting as civil society, defending marginalized communities and expressing independent views that can challenge government practices is recognized. The participants learned how to identify and commit concrete stakeholders to their cause in their direct environment. The need to participate in political decision-making as women and as organizations is also recognized. However, the actual process of acquiring and defending a position in society is still a mountain to climb; it needs courage and protection, either by law or through the influence of allies and active popular support. There is an ongoing need for action-learning in non-violent techniques for public mobilization and effective lobbying. The participants identified the need to inform and educate female parliamentarians in order to improve their performance and strengthen their influence. More skills are needed to: manage power positions, use legal agreements, obtain support for essential issues from all influential social circles, and deal with the protection of female human rights defenders.

6.4 NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL VISIBILITY Together with VOND, the participants organized a public meeting with important people in Khartoum. They learned how to present themselves institutionally (as a platform) and how to ask for commitment from the audience. This was of great added value for their visibility. In general, the women learned to acknowledge visibility as an important tool with which to assure their security, and they discovered how to mobilize a large group of local people for a common cause.

What remains to be mastered is:

The systematic use of modern mass media and visibility management with radio broadcasts, newspapers in Khartoum, international media and/or television for a well-described common cause.

Cooperation with journalists. This was intensive, but it is still difficult for the two groups to identify features that would be publishable as important news, especially in the national

Photo-time at the end of the LEAP second learning round, © VOND


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environment that is not open to their message. This issue goes along with visibility, which is still not sufficiently action-oriented and was somewhat limited to discussions in meeting rooms. It is necessary to feature more on community movements and political achievements.

The confidence and skills required to approach and encourage the interest of national and international women’s organizations and other political or civil bodies in Khartoum.

An additional issue for the entire project that was identified in the pilot phase was the language. The spoken language was actually Arabic, and most of the women are not really fluent in English. This means that even if most of the work can be done in Arabic, the relationship with international organizations and international trainers requires interpreters and translators, especially Arabic to English. The workload in this respect has become too much to only rely on volunteers.


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7. MONITORING AND EVALUATION Following the agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the project was monitored by an external consultant recruited by VOND. A monitoring plan was designed with the following steps in mind:

Assisting VOND in formulating the indicators for the expected outcomes of the project. Drafting a questionnaire and collecting 26 answers on the expectations of the trainees. Comparing the expectations with the reports of the trainees on their action plan

implementation. Collating a report on the first and second training rounds and comparing them with the

indicators formulated. Examining the report of the Small Action Fund. Exchanging views with VOND on the expectations that were realized and those that were not

and delivering a final report. At the start of the implementation period, VOND organized a meeting with the consultant to analyze and improve the logical framework for the project, designing clear indicators. At the end, a new meeting was arranged based on a provisional report on the activities in order to analyze if they were implemented accordingly and if the intended results were achieved. The monitoring report is included in the annex. The report confirms that all of the proposed activities have been executed. The analysis of the indicators reveals the following:

The indicators of an intensive learning process are that the participants: understand the law (including customary laws) and mechanisms of local government and the peace agreement process; understand the gender issues concerning political participation, conflict, security, and the peace process; and are skilled in lobbying techniques. The first two indicators were reasonably achieved, while the third still requires work.

The indicators of increased cooperation were: the establishment of a local agenda for peace and security in Darfur; the number and content of individual activities implemented; and the number and content of joint activities between community leaders, journalists/bloggers, and between both groups. The first indicator produced a good result, but democratic leadership still needs attention. The second indicator has been fully achieved, but the third still requires work.

The indicators of participation and visibility concerned the number and content of awareness-raising activities in Darfur; the frequency and content of dialogue with local authorities; and the number of articles/blogs produced by the participants. The trainees shared their knowledge with, on average, more than 60 people (750 people were reached in 12 workshops), including local authorities.

The indicator of exposure at the national level is networking with civil society organizations (national level) to enable them to take into account the peace-building initiatives of women’s organizations in Darfur. The creation of the Women’s Alliance for Peace in Darfur and its appearance before the footlights during the open day in the presence of representatives of embassies and (inter)national organizations confirms that this indicator has been met.

The registered outcomes are:

Awareness of UNSCR-1325 and peace-building processes. Awareness of women’s rights, women’s positions and the importance of women’s political

participation.


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Strengthening women’s organizations by: improving the knowledge and skills of female leaders; increasing their cooperation, participation in public activities and visibility; increasing their audience; and establishing the platform.

Impact: women participating in peace-building, improving the chance of peace and strengthening their position.

The results of LEAP with respect to NAP II–1325 are mainly twofold: (1) it contributes to the first specific objective (result 3) of the Dutch NAP-1325: “Women and men to have the required skills and knowledge to enable them to act effectively as leaders (political or otherwise) and peace builders”; and it contributes to the fourth objective (result 4): “Diaspora, migrant, women’s and peace organizations to be actively involved in the implementation of this NAP.” The most important additional reflections of the evaluation are as follows:

1. The questionnaire on expectations was not filled in before the training, but on the first day. 2. Not all of the completed evaluation forms were collected and not all of them were filled in very

seriously. 3. Lobbying techniques – the most wanted item – need further work. Learning about the peace

process and treaties in Darfur also needs more attention. 4. Any ex-post reflections of the trainers on the training were missing in the provisional report.

This kind of evaluation needs more attention. 5. There is no information about the feedback given by the coach to the partners during or after

the workshops. 6. The specific information on the participants’ analysis of the field experiences in the second

learning round is missing. 7. The identity chart of the platform does not mention gender equality; the gender approach

remains instrumental, leaving room for weakening the position of women after peace has been achieved. It is not only peace that should be mentioned, but also a new peaceful society with more equal gender relations.

8. A collection of stories from participants – describing a situation in which they found they had a voice in the peace and security process – was foreseen, but not realized.


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8. NOTES ON THE FOLLOW-UP The Alliance of Women for Peace, which encompasses 16 women’s organizations from five regions of Darfur, is the main actor when it comes to following up the project as a partner of VOND. The LEAP project will aim to meet the following objectives identified by WAP-Darfur:

1. More women active as mediators in local armed conflicts. 2. Parliamentarians actively encouraging local governments to attend to specific gender-

segregated needs in reconstruction projects. 3. A bridge formed between grassroots communities, civil society and government to combat

violence and neglect. LEAP will have the responsibility of monitoring the organizational process, organizing capacity building through six learning-action events, each in a different region of Darfur, and coaching the implementation of small projects. VOND will act as a coach for the organizational decisions that the newly founded organization is facing. Meanwhile, the 16 organizations will continue to implement activities in their own towns, initially facilitated by the LEAP project, but later on with their own resources. The same 16 participants will be invited to the learning events, to which 10 external guests will also be invited depending on the subject of the training. The methodology will continue to be learning through action-reflection. A provisional plan intends to cover the following:

In El Fashir: the psychological and socio-psychological aspects of peace building; 10 community leaders will be invited; action: WAP-Darfur will enter into a dialogue with religious leaders, police officers and health organizations in a bid to stop violence against women.

In Daeen: fundraising for small projects; 10 government officers will be invited; action: surveys will be conducted in communities and agencies in Daeen on base line data on violence against women, and the results will be published and commented on by WAP-Darfur.

In Nyala: political positioning and mandates; 10 councillors will be invited; action: public dialogue with the 1325 Committee, the local council and humanitarian agencies on a common agenda to stop violence in Darfur which will be drafted by WAP-Darfur.

Geneina: political pressure to enforce the common agenda; 10 journalists and human rights defenders will be invited; action: a broad public manifesto for peace in Darfur.

In Khartoum: national and international lobby for peace in Darfur; 10 VIPs and women’s organizations from Khartoum will be invited; action: a major visibility event along with strong national and international partners.

Zalengei: evaluation; the evaluator and 10 partnership organizations will be invited; action: collect base line data on violence against women.


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LIST OF ANNEXES: I Logical framework. II Training program first learning round. III Training program second learning round. IV Identity of the Women’s Alliance for Peace in Darfur. V Evaluation remarks from participants at the end of the project. VI Monitoring report. VII Financial report.

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