Following the successful inaugural Charter Project Africa Multi-Stakeholder National Dialogue held in Botswana in May, Democracy Works Foundation (DWF) is happy to host the second leg in Lusaka, Zambia.
The Charter Project Africa is a multi-stakeholder initiative involving a consortium of six organisations: the European Partnership for Democracy (lead), Africtivistes, Code for Africa, DWF, Goree Institute and ECDPM. The project is undertaking work across the continent with 11 countries as focal points: Botswana, Benin, Cabo Verde, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia.
The #BotswanaCharter Dialogue highlighted challenges and opportunities for civil society and the various actors in strengthening participatory democratic governance systems and amplifying citizen voices through the AGA.
The participants showed a collective appreciation for the dialogue’s informative approach as well as the DGI workshop’s co-creation approach.
The two-day event in Lusaka will commence with a closed workshop with the Zambia grant recipients, Zambia Governance Foundation and Lobby and Advocacy Youth Programme 2050 and other civil society actors. These organisations will present their Democratic Governance Initiatives (DGI) and deep dive into civil society’s assessments of democratic governance in Zambia and how to engage with the African Governance Architecture and AGA institutions.
Day two is a public dialogue and a platform for various stakeholders to share pertinent insights and possible solutions. One key presentation will focus on “Leveraging Civic Technology and Digital Engagement to Enhance Citizen Engagement and Accountable Governance.”
Overall, the Charter Africa Project aims to use digital democracy technologies to strengthen participatory democratic governance systems in African Union member states through the African Governance Architecture (AGA) and the promotion of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG).
The project further seeks to facilitate collaboration between African Union policymakers, national policymakers, and civic initiatives to jointly address the challenges of democratic governance through hosting multi-stakeholder dialogues and bilateral engagements in the coming months.
The remaining multi-stakeholder dialogues and workshops will occur in South Africa and Tanzania in July.
Check the DWF and Charter Project Africa social media pages for #CharterZambia updates.
