2009 Annual Report

2009 Central and Eastern Europe Grantee Spotlight:
MJAFT! Movement

Albania held its first free elections in 1992, but the legacies of a brutal dictatorship and state collapse — as well as the intractable problems of corruption, inefficient institutions, polarized politics and a lack of government accountability and transparency — continue to hinder the country’s democratic transition and beget a feeling of helplessness.

The Mjaft! Movement was started in 2003 by young Albanians and for young Albanians to confront these challenges. In Albanian, “Mjaft!” means “Enough!” As one founder put it, “Mjaft means enough to corruption, bad government policy, and, most significantly, civic apathy.”

A NED partner since 2006, Mjaft! has been on the front lines of civic activism in Albania with dozens of clever campaigns to raise public awareness about problems such as blood feuds, corruption, domestic abuse, trafficking and pollution. One campaign compelled the government to increase spending on education by 10 percent; another forced the Minister of Interior to resign after he physically assaulted a journalist.

For these and similar achievements, Mjaft! was awarded the UN International Civil Society Award in 2004. Today, with 10,000 members, thousands of volunteers and 18 civic and student clubs throughout the country, Mjaft! is Albania’s largest and most effective NGO. It is playing a key role as an advocate, watchdog, whistleblower and “people’s ombudsman.”

Mjaft!'s clever campaigns have caught the public's attention and galvanized support for improved and more transparent government policies.

Prior to the June 2009 parliamentary elections, Mjaft! used Endowment assistance to establish the “Coalition for a Clean Parliament” (http://parlamentipaster.com/cfare.html). It was modeled after the successful project of another NED grantee, the Romanian Academic Society, which built a civic coalition to promote the integrity of Romania’s 2004 elections. Using this model and a network of 24 investigative journalists, the Mjaft!-led Coalition researched the background of each candidate for involvement in illicit or unethical activities such as corruption, fraud, organized crime, conflicts of interest, or nepotism. The Coalition found 21 percent of the potential candidates to be unfit and ran a landmark nonpartisan campaign to have them removed from party lists. Of the 165 candidates investigated, 25 were dropped from official candidate lists.

Mjaft! also used Endowment assistance to launch an independent radio station, RadioAktive, to encourage debate and activism on issues facing Albania’s young citizens. For the last two years, the station has produced a series of groundbreaking programs examining the country’s political and social situation, which contributed significantly to the audience’s ability to hold decision-makers accountable ahead of the 2009 elections. RadioAktive broadcasts over an area with some 1.5 million people and has built an audience of dedicated young listeners. Mentioned regularly in the media and praised for its originality, RadioAktive has been recognized as an important new contribution to Albania’s airwaves and media landscape.

“Mjaft! has played a pioneering role in overcoming the negative legacies of the past, and demonstrating the real power citizens possess in a democracy.”

Through innovative campaigns, materials and media, Mjaft! continues to find new ways to involve its target audience in issues important to the country’s democratic growth. As former U.S. Ambassador Marcie Ries has noted, “Mjaft! has played a pioneering role in overcoming the negative legacies of the past, and demonstrating the real power citizens possess in a democracy.”