Tell us about OSIWA. Its mission and vision; its strategic objectives and focus areas.
Established in 2000, Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) is a member of the global network of Open Society Foundations. OSIWA is a West African organization led by a Board made up of West Africans and managed by West African staff. Our goal is to promote open societies in West Africa, societies where democracy, good governance, the rule of law, basic freedoms, and widespread civic participation prevail. In the course of our work we seek to achieve 3 primary objectives, namely, a) Strong governance institutions and strengthened civil societies that are democratic, transparent, accountable, and intolerant of impunity; b) Equitably distributed gains from natural resource exploitation and an effective delivery of public services and; c) Robust support for and protection of the rule of law, fundamental rights, citizenship and groups exposed to discrimination.
First proposed by the French philosopher Henri Bergson and popularized by Karl Popper, the concept of 'Open society' is about inclusiveness, tolerance, transparency, equality, diversity and freedom. For the foundation, it is an ongoing process through which we ensure that citizens, including the vulnerable and marginalized, have an opportunity to have their voices to be heard. We live in pluralistic societies made up of people from different backgrounds, beliefs and orientation. Our difference must not divide us. We must be willing to accept and even celebrate those differences. For us, all persons should count equally.
OSIWA covers West Africa, but has specific programs in ten countries namely, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
Just three months left before a presidential election in Côte d'Ivoire. OSIWA is often seen in the field of elections, in this election what role will you play?
As elections continue to be a reason for contention and instability in the sub-region, OSIWA has provided support for the management, voter education, observation and monitoring of elections in almost all the countries that it works in. Our aim with our election support is to increase the effectiveness of election management bodies; heighten citizens' participation and monitoring of elections usually through the use of the Election Situation Room (ESR) and work to reduce major threats on elections management.
You intend to put in place in Côte d'Ivoire, a monitoring platform for the next elections. What is it and how does it work?
OSIWA is not involved in the actual setup of this platform. We are supporting a group of CSOs, led by the West Africa Network for Peace building (WANEP), to set up an election situation room (ESR). The traditional election observation systems have no ability to track activities and reactions throughout the electoral process, especially during the election. The "Situation Room", is a platform for collecting real-time information in the field of an election, analyze and react immediately through recommendations. Thus information regarding challenges experienced during an election process can be tracked in the situation room, while alerting the authorities for a solution to be found quickly. It is complementary to traditional election monitoring missions.
The first OSIWA supported ESR was implemented in 2011 in Nigeria. We have since supported ESRs in Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone and in Nigeria again during the last election. One of OSIWA's objectives is to promote citizen participation in the processes of decision making.
You support approximately 25 organizations and institutions in Côte d'Ivoire including CEI and OLPED for the next presidential election. What explains this interest in the upcoming presidential and this involvement?
We are not directly involved in the organization of elections. Not all the 20 organizations we support in Cote d'Ivoire work on elections.
To increase the chances of successful elections, OSIWA has been working alongside both state and civil society stakeholders. With the Coalition de la Societe Civile pour la Paix et le Developpement Democratique and the CEI, OSIWA is working to ensure that citizens' voices and contributions are effectively considered in the electoral reform process and the ongoing reform on the electoral code is carried out. Reseau Femmes Cote d'Ivoire Experience is targeting women and youth specifically across 25 communes, as a pilot initiative, to engage them in the election process. There is also media actor and election observer training, with partners such as the Conseil Constitutionnel and the Observatoire de la Liberte de la Presse, l'Ethique et de la Deontologie, on how to disseminate existing laws and ensure the regulation of principles and policies is an inclusive process. And finally, an Election Situation Room (ESR) with the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding in Cote d'Ivoire, which will rely on a technical and operational platform and 1500 observers.
When a democracy is strong, it is primarily because the people are empowered. When citizens are not sufficiently involved in important processes such as elections, and no longer trust their institutions, we cannot genuinely say we have a democracy. That is why we support initiatives aimed at strengthening citizen engagement and action. In the past, elections have been the source of numerous conflicts in West Africa. It is our hope that initiatives such as the Election Situation Room help ensure freer and more transparent elections, resulting in fewer and fewer election-related conflicts.
OSIWA supports civil society organizations as well as state institutions. Why this approach?
This two-pronged approach is part of OSIWA's uniqueness. Strategic complementary engagement with state agencies and organized citizen groups is key for any positive and meaningful social change. OSIWA continues to pursue its role as a "facilitating institution"; one that brings people together in the community and coordinates efforts with key constituents - individuals and organizations who have demonstrated shared commitment to open society values, either through past successes, common values, or likeminded future goals. We seek to support civil society to play a meaningful and constructive role in its engagement with government and in the development of the society.
How are these efforts and projects changing the lives of Ivorians? On what basis is OSIWA able to say its interventions in the country are having a positive impact on the lives of citizens?
In 2014, OSIWA provided support to Association de Soutien à l'Autopromotion Sanitaire Urbaine (ASAPSU) to support prevention efforts against the spread of Ebola. This project was in line with the national prevention strategy against the disease. In Abidjan, Guiglo, Yamoussoukro and Touba, medical staff was trained to provide adequate services in a safe environment; workers and community representatives were also trained to raise awareness and to encourage communities to declare possible suspect cases. We hope that the project contributed to ensuring that health workers and the communities are well prepared and this helped prevent the spread of Ebola from neighboring countries.
With funds from OSIWA, Organization nationale pour l'enfant, la femme et la famille is raising awareness on women's rights and promoting their participation in decision-making processes in Mankono region.
We also support Association des Femmes Jusristes de Côte d'Ivoire (AFJCI) to facilitate women's access to justice through legal assistance particularly in Yopougon and Abobo.
These are just a few examples of Ivorian CSOs who work to change people's lives, and we support these initiatives.
Away from elections, we have provided support on transitional justice and community reconciliation, women's rights - we support Plateforme de la Societe Civile pour la Paix et la Democratie and Association Jekawili, two organizations collaborating to build social cohesion through community education programs and using film, live theatre and the radio to raise awareness in schools across Gbeke and Hambol - and natural resource transparency - we work with Social Justice and also with the EITI/PWYP platform to produce and disseminate a guide on understanding the extractive sector and initiated a newsletter that monitors and reports on the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility.
The area of local governance as well has also been of interest to OSIWA in Cote d'Ivoire. You have now provided more than 550 million CFA francs to organizations. What do you expect from them?
Many West African countries are characterized by an over-centralization of power at the national level. Legal frameworks and policies for decentralization are lacking and, where they do exist, are poorly implemented. Where some semblance of governance exists at the local level, there are few mechanisms to ensure the actual delivery of services and even fewer mechanisms to monitor, evaluate and report (i.e. maintain checks and balances) the performance of local leaders. Often, citizens have little awareness about the responsibilities and duties of their local government - this and the consistent lack of performance or delivery of public services has resulted in apathy and weak citizens' participation. In engaging at the local governance level, OSIWA is seeking to boost citizens' participation in governance processes at the local level by strengthening the functionality of local governance structures and processes for effective service delivery.
How does OSIWA work? What mechanism does the foundation use in deciding areas of interventions and organizations to support?
OSIWA plays a multiple roles. It is an advocate and grant-maker. The Foundation works through a unique combination of grant making, advocacy, partnership building and technical support. Each year, the foundation sets specific objectives and launches a call for proposals. OSIWA primarily awards grants to local organizations based in West Africa. In rare and limited circumstances, it provides support to West Africa-based international organizations with a strong commitment to transfer knowledge to local groups they partner with. It also provides grants to government institutions as well as regional and sub-regional organizations working in its core priorities areas. OSIWA will continue to help direct and collaborate with other actors and work towards designing and building relevant partnerships that help move our programmatic goals and objectives forward.
We provide support to organizations that submit good proposals through our annual call for proposals. Annually, many governments, universities and csos submit innovate projects to us. Out of the hundreds of proposals we receive each year, a number of projects are selected following our rigorous grant selection process. Due to limited resources, we cannot support all the projects we receive.
OSIWA operates in 10 countries in West Africa, has offices in 5 countries but not in Côte d'Ivoire. So why hold a Board Meeting in Abidjan?
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Every year, OSIWA holds one of its three annual Board meetings in one of the countries it works in. We are in Côte d'Ivoire because we work here and we presently have about 25 ongoing projects in the country.
Since 2011, we have provided grants worth over 1,650 billion CFA francs to support projects on issues of equality and inclusion; combating violence against women; good governance and democratic practice; natural resource revenue transparency and transitional justice.
The Board Meeting provides an opportunity for our board members to meet with existing partners and engage them on the work they do with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of the situation on the ground. Additionally, on the back of the board meetings, being in Côte d'Ivoire allows us to meet with and discuss some of the challenges our partners are facing and try to find ways to address them.
What are some of the challenges OSIWA faces in West Africa?
West Africa continues to face significant democratic and developmental challenges as a consequence of weak governance, poor leadership and, in some case, lack of public institutions capable of performing necessary checks and balances. Security developments continue to cause grave concern, fuelled by persistent corruption and impunity. Widespread poverty and hunger, youth unemployment, lack of access to essential public services, non-inclusive political processes, and mismanagement of resource revenues all pose serious threats to the stability of a sub-region in a seemingly permanent state of volatility and conflict.
However, West Africa has made remarkable progress on democratic and economic development as well as regional integration such that even with these challenges, there are clear opportunities and indicators of ways to improve and expand the governance spaces nationally and sub-regionally. In spite of its limitations, CSOs in many countries have emerged as a structure capable of popular mobilization to promote better governance and check government excesses. There is an increasing appetite for reform by some West African governments, providing an entry point for CSO involvement. These reforms include the creation of watchdog institutions and mechanisms of accountability such as anti-corruption commissions, independent electoral commissions, human rights commissions, media regulation authorities, which despite their limitations are increasingly open to civil society engagement. ECOWAS has also increased its influence in member States' internal democratic processes, which has provided space for civil society participation in national standards setting, litigation, and institutional reforms.
This interview was originally published in the Fraternité Matin Newspaper on 8 July, 2015.
