MAURITANIA: S/GWI PROJECT PROPOSALS

UNCLAS NOUAKCHOTT 000099 SIPDIS FOR S/GWI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KWMN PREL KPAO PHUM AID MR SUBJECT: MAURITANIA: S/GWI PROJECT PROPOSALS REF: SECSTATE 132094 ¶1. (U) Per reftel's instructions, please find below two project proposals. Post prefers the proposal "Mauritania Women Speak" by Nedwa because the second proposal, presented by the National Democratic Institute and the Reseau pour la Promotion de la Citoyennete (RPC),has high consultant, indirect, and administrative costs. ¶2. (U) Proposal #1: Mauritanian Women Speak by NGO Nedwa: -------------- THE PROBLEM -------------- ¶3. (U) Mauritania today is confronted with major challenges due to its vast territory, undeveloped human resources and struggling leadership. According to the 2009 UNDP Human Development Report, Mauritania is 154th in its Human Development Index (HDI). Women represent nearly 60 percent of the population of which most are semi-illiterate and economically dependent. Girls who have completed a secondary education represent only 26 percent of the total students. Culture, tradition, and certain interpretations of the religion have profoundly contributed to these realities, limiting women to mostly domestic responsibilities. In addition, the alarming divorce rates in Mauritania have contributed to a significant breakdown in family values, unity, accountability, and rearing responsibilities. ¶4. (U) During the past few years, however, Mauritania has made some mild advancement towards the promotion of women, such as: - Initiation of gender based programs in FGM, violence against women, and HIV/AIDS. - Recognizing international conventions relative to human rights and discrimination against women - Signing a law that guarantees a minimum of 20 percent women among electoral candidates ¶5. (U) Nevertheless, despite these initiatives, the overall impact remains limited and perceived as good intentions at best. While discussing the challenges of this program, it was agreed that the empowerment of women is not only dependent on the government's political will, but also on the worldview and commitment of its citizens, educators and religious leaders. What is needed to jump-start this exchange of thoughts is to develop an educational media program with an innovative approach to inspire new dreams without rejecting one's religion, traditions, or culture. A successful media campaign based on contextualized models of behavior change will have a very significant impact in creating the crucial momentum needed for Mauritanian women to make significant advances against poverty, ignorance, and become models of success. -------------- PROGRAM OVERVIEW -------------- ¶6. (U) This program is a high-profile nationwide media campaign aimed to use both mass and popular media to inspire and arouse a positive perspective and perception of women, their strengths, potential, and opportunities. ¶7. (U) At the program's core, it will highlight 20 of the most successful Mauritanian women from all four ethnic groups and bring them forth as role models to younger girls and women. In addition, the program will also produce radio programs to inform women of their rights and encourage and show them how to best participate in civil society. These materials will be written by reliable women journalists from around the country who will gather stories, interviews, and record songs. Print materials, radio and TV programs will highlight the challenges and victories of each woman. Trainin workshops will be organized regionally and educational materials will be used at these workshops as well as distributed to schools, women NGOs and throught the Ministry of Women. Activities include: - Production of 20 radio spots in four languages - Production of eight longer radio magazines in four languages with interviews, testimonies, theater, music, and debate. - Production and broadcast of four TV programs in four languages - Production and printing of a training handbook in Arabic and French - Production and printing of a booklet with the life stories of each of the profiled women in Arabic and French ¶8. (U) Mauritania Women Speak is a program conceived as an awareness campaign to promote women's empowerment and active participation in the social development of Mauritania. It builds on the experiences and lessons of the Program "Arab Women Speak Out" designed by the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication with primary financial support from USAID, as well as the successful BBC program in Afghanistan to promote women's rights. Lessons learnt from these programs were contextualized to the Mauritanian environment and building on the experience of NGO Nedwa, who has produced educational materials in Mauritania for over 22 years. -------------- OBJECTIVES -------------- ¶9. (U) The project will highlight activities and messages that will primarily support the following objectives: - Offer access to new ideas, information, and resources that can help women expand their life options, including those affecting their economic, social, legal, and health status. - Promote diverse economic opportunities that move beyond women's traditional income-generating activities. - Facilitate the process of obtaining credit and loans. - Foster social support for women's education, personal development, and active participation in public life. - Help project compelling, realistic depiction of proactive women that offer inspiring examples and counter inaccurate stereotypes. - Help women better understand their legal rights and how to obtain them. - Build on the strengths of social networks to provide outreach and support to women. - Help women safeguard their health by becoming informed about their needs and their rights to appropriate and adequate services. - Seek women's active participation in decision-making about project design and approach. -------------- APPROACH AND MESSAGE STRATEGY -------------- ¶10. (U) Role models: Role models assist us in the process of formulating our notions of who we are and how we should act. These women have the potential to stand as powerful role models for thousands of women because these stories reflect the concerns, conditions, obstacles, and opportunities facing the average woman. These examples may well inspire the belief that, "if she can do it, so can I." ¶11. (U) Empowerment: Empowerment education is mostly initiated at the grassroots level. Women identify the central issues of their lives in group dialogue and, in so doing, allow other women to consider a wider range of options. Empowerment is integral to development, which we define as a process that increases choices, improves access to services and goods, and enhances the capacity of individuals. It is not just about having more but also about being more. Although women already function as teachers, passing down important traditions and knowledge to the next generation, they may not recognize the significance of their roles or see them as a path to empowerment. Often women think, "It's nothing. I do it all the time," or "It's just part of being a woman." Empowerment education helps them recognize their own strengths and skills as well as their contributions to the family's welfare. Equally important, empowerment education helps women become aware of all the options open to them and their potential consequences, on the assumption that informed and self-confident women can make their own decisions. -------------- THE SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT -------------- ¶12. (U) The women profiled in this project view their achievements within the context of their families and their communities. In Mauritanian culture, the individual is more deeply embedded in a closely connected social network than in most Western contexts, and becomes reaffirmed by being part of and working for the well-being of that group. Rather than being measured by Western standards of personal success and individual gratification, achievement is recognized chiefly through contributions made within this familial and social context. As noted by Jacobson, "Western notions of autonomy based on the concepts of privacy and individual rights, for example, may be less relevant to Muslim women who value the interdependence of individuals, families and communities." Except under extreme conditions, these women do not want to jeopardize their marriages or compromise their roles as wives, mothers, daughters, and daughters-in-law. They are constantly engaged in resolving the tensions between their personal needs and domestic responsibilities, individual aspirations and social obligations, and household duties and participation in public life. The result is a complex blending of respect for and resistance to established traditions. On the whole, these women do not perceive themselves as revolutionaries who seek to challenge social norms. Most of them comply as much as possible with prevailing customs in order to fulfill the traditional roles and deflect unwanted social judgement. -------------- THE LEGAL AND RELIGIOUS DIMENSIONS -------------- ¶13. (U) Reactionary movements, which have gained considerable momentum in recent years, seek to limit women to a few home-based activities, the most important of which are child-bearing; taking care of infants, children and elderly family members; managing the household; and attending to husbands' needs. Women are allowed to participate in other activities only to the extent that such undertakings do not detract from their primary duties, thus perceived. Such gender constructions contradict Qur'anic texts, in which no distinction is made between men and women with respect to belief and practice and therefore with respect to the determination of the individual's worth from the perspective of the Almighty. ¶14. (U) Lessons and conclusions from other programs greatly reflect and confirm the inseparable nature of women's multiple roles as producers and entrepreneurs, teachers and trainers, home managers and health workers, community organizers and political activists, wives and mothers. -------------- TARGET AUDIENCES -------------- ¶15. (U) All women: All women between the ages of 13 and 65 can benefit from these messages of inspiration and positive change. These include literate/ illiterate, rural/urban,married/single, employed or not. ¶16. (U) Family members: Research shows that people are more likely to adopt a new behavior when they believe that other people will approve, especially those whose opinions they value. Immediate family members, such as parents, grandparents, siblings, and spouses, can be especially important sources of inspiration, persuasion, motivation, and support. If they oppose a behavior, they can be equally important sources of discouragement, disagreement, and resistance. ¶17. (U) Parents and grandparents: Parents and grandparents impart basic values, beliefs, and attitudes to their daughters and grand-daughters during childhood. They also control girls' access to education, work and marriage. Fathers exercise a strong influence on their daughters and are key sources of their social awareness and desire to help the community. ¶18. (U) Decision makers and advocacy: Popular participation in social change is just one goal of empowerment education. It also aims to influence and shape policy, because social and economic policies can either inhibit or promote women's empowerment. For this reason, the materials and findings of this project will be shared with the policy-makers who influence social development and family welfare policies. The information will also be shared with the individuals and organizations who shape project planning, including donor agencies, to encourage them to actively promote and support projects that reflect the diversity of women's capabilities. -------------- WOMEN TO BE PROFILED -------------- ¶19. (U) A variety of grassroots organizations, including NGOs, reproductive health centers, and social development agencies, will help to identify women who have expanded their roles beyond the hearth, are admired within their communities, and act as agents of change. The women will be predominantly married of reproductive age who already have children and who come from modest backgrounds. The diverse mix of women will be rural as well as urban, community activists as well as entrepreneurs, teachers as well as farmers. -------------- PARTNERS -------------- ¶20. (U) In order for this program to succeed, full participation from the government and civil society groups must be engaged. Meetings to discuss this program have already taken place with: - Ministry of Women - Ministry of Communications and Relations with Parliament - UNFPA - UNICEF - International NGOs - Local NGOs working for the promotion of women - Women cooperatives - Syndicate of Journalists in Mauritania - Sociologists - Teachers - Media producers -------------- SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES -------------- ¶21. (U) Radio spots: Twenty radio spots will be produced in all four languages. These will be inspired from interviews and testimonies taken from the field and edited into short spots of 45-60 seconds each. These testimonials are very powerful peer-to-peer tools for positive change. These 20 spots will be broadcast at least 200 times during prime time on national radio. ¶22. (U) Radio programs: In radio magazine format, these 30 minute programs in all four languages will include highlight messages from the field, testimonials, interviews, music, theater, and host educators. Constructive debate will frame the style of the shows, and using the enter-educate models, the program will both be entertaining and educational. ¶23. (U) TV Programs: Four TV programs in all four languages will be broadcast for 50 minutes each. As in the radio programs, these shows will also include field, testimonials, interviews, music, theater, and host educators. These will be broadcast at high audience hours. ¶24. (U) Training handbook: A twenty page training handbook will be published and distributed in both Arabic and French on ways to lead discussion groups in a positive and constructive manner. Included in the handbook is a powerful introduction and context, a copy of the video and women profiled, pre and post questionnaires, role play suggestions and illustrations. ¶25. (U) Booklet including all profiled stories: The stories of all 20 profiled women will be compiled in a book in a simple story telling fashion. Lessons learnt and personal insights will be highlighted throughout the stories. The booklet will be used in regional workshops, in classrooms and to NGOs. ¶26. (U) Training module: The project includes a training module to be used as a tool for groups to discuss the key factors that have contributed to the success of the women profiled in the project. The module includes process-oriented learning exercises designed to help women strengthen their self-confidence, develop their negotiating skills and network-building skills, and identify sources of information and support. It also includes a viewer's discussion guide to promote the critical review of the way women are depicted in other media. Workshops will be organized regionally using the training module. ¶27. (U) Poster: a full color and large poster will be conceived and printed aimed to initiate discussion and serve as reminder of the issues. Posters will be distributed to schools, NGOs, and government offices. -------------- NGO NEDWA -------------- ¶28. (U) Nedwa, an Arabic word meaning meeting place for dialogue, is a Mauritanian NGO founded in 2004 and working in the field of communications for educationl development. It is officially recognized by the Mauritanian Ministry of the Interior. The staff of Nedwa has almost 20 years of experience in the field of information, education, and communication activities and health campaigns in Mauritania. It gained this experience under World Vision's Social Mobilization for Health program between 1987-2004. The Nedwa team comprises 15 Mauritanians and one US citizen. NEDWA has worked in partnership with the US Embassy and USAID in Counterterrorism projects. It has also partnered with prestigious organizations like World Vision, UNICEF, UNDP, FAO, UNFPA, WHO and WFP. -------------- BUDGET -------------- ¶29. (U) The total budget for the program is as follows: Program, media products and materials: USD $67,000 Consultants and Program Director USD $20,000 Administrative fees USD $13,000 Total: USD $100,000 -------------- GRANT MANAGEMENT -------------- ¶30. (U) This grant would be managed by the Public Affairs Officer at US Embassy Nouakchott. ¶31. (U) Proposal #2: Supporting Women's Advocacy Initiatives by the National democratic Institute for International Affairs (ND) -------------- PROBLEM STATEMENT -------------- ¶32. (U) In the decade since Mauritania formally adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW),the treaty has yet to translate into concrete improvements in the lives of Mauritania's women. The government still maintains a reservation precluding the adoption of CEDAW principles deemed contrary to Islamic sharia and has failed to implement or even address the more controversial elements of the convention, frequently bowing to pressure from influential clerics. Mauritanian women continue to face profound discrimination in law and in access to the meaningful political participation which CEDAW is meant to support. ¶33. (U) Prior to the 2008 coup, Mauritanian women were making significant strides in promoting women's leadership and political participation. In 2006, for example, the National democratic Institute (NDI) supported the efforts of a group of women from civil society organizations, political parties, and government who coalesced to successfully advocate for the adoption of a 20 percent quota for women for legislative elections. As a result of the campaigns and advocacy surrounding the quota, Mauritanian women achieved 16 percent representation in the National Assembly and 34 percent in municipal councils. Some of these women's groups went on to draft "watchdog"-style reports, monitoring the extent to which government implemented CEDAW provisions following Mauritania's signing in 2007. ¶34. (U) Many of these hard-won victories were eroded by the most recent coup. Currently, there are no women hakems or walys, the Ministry of Women and the Family was decommissioned, the few women who are elected receive little party support, and the recent nomination of a woman for Minister of Foreign Affairs was initially blocked by an influential imam. Mauritanian society, particularly in the country's rural areas, is organized according to strict tribal hierarchy that is dominated by men and in which women continue to grapple with the persistence of deep-seeded cultural norms and customary traditions, including forced early marriage and school abandonment, which hinder women's ability to actively participate in public life. ¶35. (U) The overarching challenge of effectively engaging women in politics in Mauritania crystallizes into three main themes: access to opportunities; information; education; awareness of women about their rights and responsibilities; and transcending restrictions to women's full participation in political, civic, and social life. ¶36. (U) The women of Mauritania are far from passive - the country's vibrant civil society and plethora of women's rights NGOs demonstrate that Mauritanian women want to raise awareness of women's issues and work together to create opportunities for political leadership and favorable policy change. Although there are few female mayors, in many communities women are the leaders and managers because most male representatives do not even reside in the constituency they are supposed to represent. Recent activism on the issue of female genital mutilation (FGM),for example, demonstrates that there is urgency and interest in the women's rights agenda in Mauritania by political, civic, and government actors. ¶37. (U) These efforts constitute a promising step forward, but require the support and coordination of women in politics, government, and civil society. Due to the country's size and scattered population, women's groups face difficulty in connecting with one another and fostering vital linkages, with women in political parties and government administration. The relative political stabilization since election in July, 2009, provides an opportunity for women to aggregate their voices. -------------- SUMMARY OF PROPOSED PROGRAM -------------- ¶38. (U) NDI proposes a 12-month program with the following objectives: - Strengthen the ability of a diverse group of women to cooperate on the development of advocacy initiatives on issues of concern to Mauritanian women; - Assist a coalition of women party and civic activists to organize and engage Mauritanian women to better understand their political rights; and - Enhance the public perception of women as leaders capable of developing policy recommendations and advocating at the national level for reform. ¶39. (U) NDI would work with an informal, but established group of women MPs, political party members and civil society organizations to build a flexible coalition structure aimed at increasing women's political participation in Mauritania. The Institute would also seek to draw on Mauritanian resources and experience, by partnering with the Reseau pour la Promotion Citoyennete (RPC),a national network of civic organizations with demonstrated experience in convening community dialogues on citizen rights and responsibilities. NDI would engage the RPC to both share their experience with this nascent women's coalition, and also leverage their contacts to raise the profile of the coalition and its aims. -------------- PROPOSED ACTIVITIES -------------- ¶40. (U) A core group of Mauritanian women would take part in t a pilot program to create the tentatively named, "Mauritanian Women's Coalition" comprising women leaders representing the spectrum of political parties and civil society organizations across the country. many of these women have worked with NDI on previous initiatives to support women's political participation - including oversight of governmental implementation of CEDAW - and represent a wide range of political perspectives. NDI staff and the Institute's partner, the Reseau pour la Promotion Citoyennete (RPC),would develop training modules designed to build the capacity of women's leadership skills. ¶41. (U) NDI has already proposed the women's coalition concept with an established network of women activists, politicians and journalists in Mauritania. Based upon those discussions, inaugural members of the women's coalition might include the following women: - Aminetou Mint Maouloud, ADIL Party, Aleg district MP - Kadiata Malick Diallo, Union des Forces du Progres (UFP), national list MP - Mariem Mint Bilal, Rassemblement des Forces Democratiques (RFD),national list MP - Aminetou Mint Moctar, Association des Femmes Chefs de Famille (AFCF) - Sy Lalla Aicha, Comite de Solidarite avec les Victimes de la Repression (CSVR) - Mariem Mint Haimoud, l'Union Pour la Republique (UPR),Atar district MP - Fatimetou Min Mohamed Yarba, l'Union Pour la Republique (UPR),Nema district MP - Mintata Mint H'Deid, le Parti Republicain pour le Renouveau Democratique (PRDR),Nouakchott district MP - Aichetou Mint M'Haiham, Public Administration staff - Maalouma Mint Bilal, ADIL Party, national list MP ¶42. (U) Coalition Establishment and National Launch: NDI would organize three sessions where the women within the proposed coalition would gain the skills necessary to identify obstacles to women's participation in Mauritania and to develop strategies to overcome these challenges. Examples of other successful collective approaches to be studied would include the Moroccan moudawana reform process, Jordan's Women Helping Women organization and NDI's "Win with Women" initiative. ¶43. (U) Session One - Coalition Structure: This session would facilitate the development of the coalition structure through the formation of a steering committee for the coalition which would serve as the focal point for organizing and outreach. Other topics for the session would include: examples of coalition structure and decision-making; strategic planning; internal and external communications; consensus building and conflict resolution; and managing resources and fundraising. At the end of this session, the coalition should have: coalition bylaws; communications strategies; and membership recruitment criteria. Coalition members would also design an action plan that will provide the basis for informing women about the coalition and recruiting action teams across the country. ¶44. (U) Session Two - Strategies for Sustainability: NDI staff and RPC leadership would work closely with the coalition leadership throughout the duration of the program, providing guidance for further developing the organizational structure, including fundraising to encourage sustainability. This assistance would be outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NDI and the coalition leadership. As part of its support to the coalition,, the NDI would provide access to its resource facility, opened in 2006 to create a space for political parties and CSOs to share information, network, find resources and participate in NDI-sponsored workshops. The center provides NDI's partners with access to computers equipped with high-speed Internet, printers and photocopying services. A French and Arabic library houses manuals on political party management, organizational development, conflict-resoulution and advocacy along with other related reference and news materials. NDI would also provide support through two online tools - the Aswat portal for activists and reformers in the Middle East; and iKNOW politics, an online workspace designed to serve the needs of elected officials, candidates, political party leaders and members, researchers students and other practitioners interested in advancing women in politics. ¶45. (U) Session Three - Roadmap for Action: The coalition would officially launch following a third strategy session which would provide practical training in leadership skills, strategic communications, advocacy, message development and delivery and media relations. At the end of the session, coalition members would have a draft action plan that would provide the basis for dialogue with government officials, and acts as a road map for project implementation. ¶46. (U) Raising Awareness and Identifying Concerns: Following launch, the women's coalition would conduct visits to key districts throughout Mauritania. During these outreach visits, coalition members would engage community leaders to build support for coalition priorities and women's participation generally. Women from the coalition would also conduct roundtables with women from each community to: 1) present principles of CEDAW and Mauritanian laws pertaining to the rights of women; 2) consider practical application of key legislation and other factors influencing women's political participation, and 3) discuss the main priorities of women and key challenges they face in participating in public discourse. Participants would be limited to 30 per rountable and would include women MPs and municipal council members, women political party activists, as well as heads of local branches of women's organizations. The roundtables would occur every other week and would take place in a different district or area each time. Exact venues would be determined based on the community's interest level as well as availability of local centers and meeting places. RPC members would work with the women's coalition to identify local civil society partners who could co-sponsor roundtables, help recruit participants, and share successful techniques for facilitating community dialogue. In addition to directly addressing the lack of information available to Mauritanian women in rural areas, these roundtables would allow women to voice their opinions about their roles in communities - an important step to building confidence and a key building block for building women's leadership potential. ¶47. (U) Following each roundtable, the women's coalition leadership would compile information gathered in the session to build a centralized collection of information which would provide a snapshot of women's concerns throughout Mauritania. Over the three months during which the roundtables would be held, the coalition leadership would gain the skills needed to advocate and advance women's interests in issues in their local communities collectively, strategically, and effectively. The emergence of common ground and shared intentions among the participants of these events will build confidence and creative energy within the coalition leadership. ¶48. (U) Setting priorities and Advocating for Reform: Taking into consideration the legislative timetable, NDI would aid the coalition to conduct a public outreach campaign and national conference in Nouakchott. This conference, which would be scheduled to overlap with the fall parliamentary session, would convene parliamentarians, senior government officials, political party heads and national civic leaders to provide a venue for the coalition to present a report detailing outcomes from the national roundtable series. In this two-day conference, plenary sessions on key challenges facing women would be followed by presentations by international experts on tested policy remedies for these challenges, with closing remarks from coalition leadership with their recommendations for reform. This conference will be held in cooperation with RPC and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),which are currently working on an advocacy initiative to raise the quota for women on national lists to 30 percent. Following the conference, RPC would disseminate the report to its network of civic associations throughout the country and encourage local support for advocacy efforts undertaken by the coalition in Nouakchott. ¶49. (U) Coalition members would also engage in a series of meetings and presentations to parliamentary groups and relevant commissions to share recommendations for policy reform. Such interaction would not only raise the profile of women's issues within the parliament, but would also increase women's access to the parliamentary elite who dominate the debate on issues such as the economy and finance, defense and security and international relations. At the same time, coalition leadership would hold meetings with political parties to allow members to demonstrate their ability to contribute to the party and provide a vehicle to not only promote the inclusion of women but also build their structures/platforms on broader issues that the coalition is addressing. At the end of the parliamentary session in February 2011, NDI will assist the coalition in organizing a national information day, coinciding with International Women's Day on March 8. The event will include women from throughout the country who took part in the outreach roundtables. They will share progress made during the three previous months of advocacy efforts in the capitol and NDI and RPC will work with the coalition leadership to garner national and local media for broad coverage, with a focus on radio and television given their national reach. -------------- EVALUATION -------------- ¶50. (U) Objective 1: Strengthen the ability of a diverse group of women to cooperate on the development of advocacy initiatives on issues of concern to Mauritanian women - Women from political parties, civil society organizations, and government form a coalition to create political space for women, engage them in constructive policy dialogue, and ensure their input in political decision-making. NDI would sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the coalition and evaluate through on-site observation, training and workshop reports, and media monitoring. - The coalition develops into a self-sustaining structure that can continue to advocate for women and raise awareness of key women's issues beyond the grant period. NDI would evaluate this based on ongoing communication with participants and media monitoring of coalition activities. ¶51. (U) Objective 2: Assist a coalition of women party and civic activists to organize and engage Mauritanian women to better understand their political rights. - Coalition leadership work across sectors to raise awareness of the CEDAW principles, application in Mauritania, and methods for enhancing its enforcement in the country. - Program participants identify priority issues on which women want to advocate for change, through regional roundtables on CEDAW and women's issues. - Information gathered at regional roundtables is used to inform action plans and strategies for outreach. ¶52. (U) Objective 3: Enhance the public perception of women as leaders capable of developing policy recommendations and advocating at the national level for reform. - Coalition leadership organize campaigns through public outreach including media and direct contact employing such tactics as letter-writing campaigns, letters to the editor, interviews and roundtable dialogue events. - National media outlets cover the Coalition launch and national events convened to highlight the priorities of women and key reform points. -------------- NDI TECHNICAL AND MANAGEMENT CAPACITY -------------- ¶53. (U) The National democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) is a nonprofit organization established in 1983 working to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide. Calling on a global network of volunteer experts, NDI provides practical assistance to civic and political leaders advancing democratic values, practices and institutions. NDI works with democrats in every region of the world to build political and civic organizatins, safeguard elections, and to promote citizen participation, openness and accountability in government. ¶54. (U) The Reseau pour la Promotion de la Citoyennete (RPC) is a national network consisting of 16 Mauritanian civic organizations representing human rights groups, syndicates, press associations, professional associations and service provision organizations. The RPC's goals are to provide civic education through a community dialogue format throughout the country and to raise awareness on the part of Mauritanian citizens about their rights and responsibilities as citizens. ¶55. (U) This twelve-month program would build on the foundation of NDI's previous support of women's initiatives, civil society an political parties in Mauritania. Thought its work, the Institute has established relationships with and identified women politicians, activists and journalists from whom the Institute would be able to select a core group that NDI will work closely to develop the Mauritanian Womn's Coalition and carry-out its activities. ¶56. (U) Program Management: NDI's Country Director and existing staff in Nouakchott would have primary responsibility for managing the program, coordinating communications between NDI and Coalition leadership, conducting outreach and creating an action plan. In addition, NDI would engage RPC leadership as well as other NDI experts in the region with expertise in promoting women's political participation who would support the establishment of the Women's Coalition. The Institute's headquarters in Washington DC< would provide additional administrative support. -------------- GRANT MANAGEMENT -------------- ¶57. (U) This grant would be managed by Embassy Nouakchott's Political Officer. -------------- BUDGET -------------- ¶58. (U) The budget proposed for the following program is as follows: Administrative $14,864 Contractual $27,597 Programming $37,603 NDI Indirect rate $19,936 Total : $100,000 -------------- CONTACT -------------- ¶59. (U) For any questions regarding these proposals, please contact Nitza Sola-Rotger, Political Officer, at sola-rotgern@state.gov. BOULWAR