Civic Education

Civic Education in Ituri through "Village Parliaments"

_{^{The term ‘civic education’ in the Great Lakes Region is slightly problematic as it was used in Burundi, Rwanda, DRC, and Uganda in the past to signify ideological indoctrination into a one party system. For lack of a better term this paper uses the expression in the context of a multi-party system, and includes, inter alia, democracy, rule of law, human rights, women’s rights and community development.}}

The first democratic elections in the DRC have taken place. On a local and national level, elections have created additional pressure on the already fragile peace process. The de facto isolation of a large proportion of Ituri’s population from information flows causes ignorance, which in turn leads to cultural vulnerability, negative manipulation of communities and conflict. FEWER-Africa has designed a project aimed at providing grassroots civic education in Ituri. This project responds to an urgent need to increase the Ituri population’s ability to meaningfully participate in the democratic process. To read the concept note click below.

Civic Education Concept Note (14 September 2006: 28kb)