Afghanistan

Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL)
$75,000
To raise awareness of democratic principles and organizational management; and to strengthen the managerial capacity and leadership skills of civil society leaders and public servants. AIL will conduct five democracy and women’s rights courses and eight leadership workshops for 175 and 280 participants respectively. The workshops will be conducted in cities of Herat, Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, and Bamyan and will target civil society representatives and middle managers in public service.

Afghan Media Resource Center (AMRC)
$94,700
To promote independent journalism, strengthen the role of media in monitoring the political and reconstruction processes and to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Afghan Media Resource Center. AMRC will produce and distribute 2,000 copies of its daily newspaper. AMRC will increase areas of coverage at the national and provincial level and increase number of newspapers printed and distributed. Institutionally, AMRC will diversify funding, increase its number of full-time staff and convene an independent board of directors.

Afghan NGOs Coordination Bureau (ANCB)
$53,000
To promote best practices in NGO management among ANCB members and to build links within the Afghan NGO community, the government of Afghanistan, and international community. ANCB will conduct 24 workshops on NGO management, democratic values and practices, human rights, women’s rights, citizen’s empowerment, and freedom of expression. It will also publish 2,800 copies of a quarterly magazine, “Paiwastoon”, covering NGOs and civil society news and featuring informative articles and editorials about democratic transition and the role of civil society.

Afghan Women Services and Education Organization (AWSE)
$36,450
To raise awareness of women’s rights, gender equality, and the role of women in supporting democratic transition in Afghanistan, and to encourage women to participate in political life in their communities. AWSE will conduct a training-of-trainers workshop for 20 Afghan men and women in Ghazni province. Subsequently it will conduct 16 follow up workshops in four districts for a total of 400 men and women participants. AWSE will conduct a onetime training for Shura members of Ghazni on election and civic education.

Afghan Women’s Network (AWN)
$47,400
To engender a greater understanding and respect for fundamental human rights amongst Ministry of Interior officers in the gender affairs office and to build the capacity of these officers to better protect women’s rights under the laws of Afghanistan. AWN will educate officers working in the Family Response Units (FRU), which help women filing charges against individuals committing acts of violence. Four trainings will be conducted on fundamentals of human rights. AWN will develop policies and procedures that FRU officers can use when assisting victims of domestic violence.

Afghan Women’s Resource Center
$48,500
To strengthen communities through the establishment of civic councils and to inform communities and their leaders about the role of women in decision making on the local, provincial, and national levels. AWRC will support efforts of three civic councils to achieve success and sustainability as advocacy agents for their communities. AWRC will further continue conducting a series of knowledge-sharing workshops in communities in five Afghan provinces to raise awareness of the means and breadth of civic engagement.

Afghanistan Development Foundation (ADF)
$33,300
To raise public awareness of human rights, gender equality, and pluralism; and to encourage political participation of citizens in the district of Bagrami, on Kabul’s eastern outskirts. ADF will hold 10 four-day civic courses for 200 male and female participants. Courses will cover the fundamentals of human rights, democratic institutions, elections and political representation, and women’s rights.

Afghanistan Human Rights Organization (AHRO)
$64,100
To raise awareness of women’s fundamental rights under the laws of Afghanistan and to develop a culture of refusal and legal reprisal against perpetrators of gender-based violence in the communities of Jawzjan, Balkh and Baghlan provinces. AHRO will set up two legal teams to raise awareness of women’s fundamental rights under the laws of Afghanistan, introduce means of prevention and defense against sexual abuse in three provinces of northern Afghanistan, and provide legal assistance to at least 220 victims of gender-based violence.

Afghanistan National Participation Association (ANPA)
$150,000*
To raise public awareness of the electoral processes and role of citizens and civil society in a democratic election and to encourage voter registration and voter turnout and promote civic participation in the presidential elections. ANPA will produce and broadcast 50 half-hour weekly radio programs about the presidential elections and citizen participation and 50 weekly public opinion talk shows about the upcoming presidential elections in fall of 2009 to be broadcast by 51 independent radio stations throughout Afghanistan.

Afghanistan Rehabilitation Development Agency (ARDA)
$38,000*
To raise awareness of human rights and the rule of law in returnee communities, and to build community members’ capacity for civic engagement and representation. ARDA will conduct nine five-day civic education courses, each targeting 25 adult returnees from Pakistan and internally displaced people in Nangarhar. The courses will cover citizenship principles, the means of governance in Afghanistan, the essentials of the country’s constitution, and respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms.

Afghanistan Study Center (ASC)
$45,000
To raise public awareness about democratic values, women’s rights, human rights, and political participation; and to strengthen the institutional capacity of ASC. ASC will conduct 14 civic education workshops on human rights, democratic values, political participation, women’s rights, and national unity in rural areas. Workshops will target opinion makers, teachers and community leaders; and approximately one-half of the participants will be women. In addition, ASC will conduct two one-day seminars in cities in Laghman and Kabul provinces on national unity, peace and stability.

Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)
$1,372,065
To promote democratic dialogue in Afghanistan by improving understanding of economic issues among policy makers and business leaders and to assist youth in strengthening their business skills. CIPE will provide training in free market economy to the members of parliament and technical assistance on advocacy and management to business associations. CIPE will further expand its Tashabos youth entrepreneurship program to additional schools and add a 12th grade curriculum.

Cooperation Center for Afghanistan (CCA)
$128,200
To promote citizen participation in 2010 parliamentary elections, to promote women’s rights from an Islamic perspective and to engender practices of non-violent conflict resolution in divided communities. CCA will conduct assemblies in central Afghanistan to initiate cooperation for the upcoming parliamentary elections, run a media campaign to promote issue-based campaigning and provide technical assistance to women candidates running for parliament. It will also hold educational meetings on legal rights for women, publish a quarterly women’s magazine, and conduct research on customary practices towards women in tribal communities. Finally, CCA will map ethnic-based conflicts in central Afghanistan, train local Shura members and civil society leaders on conflict resolution and conduct community outreach to promote non-violent practices in conflict situations.

Cooperation for Peace and Unity (CPAU)
$47,000
To enhance community based approaches to conflict resolution over pasturelands in central Afghanistan. The CPAU will conduct a three-phase project to resolve long-standing conflicts between settled ethnic Shi‘a Hazara and migratory Kuchi Pashtun Sunnis over disputed grazing lands in Wardak and Bamiyan provinces. CPAU will research and document the parties’ differing perspectives, engage leaders from each community in planned discussions, and report back to their respective community stakeholders on peaceful approaches to resolve their disputes.

Educational & Training Centre for Poor Women and Girls in Afghanistan
$45,000
To raise public awareness about democratic values, women’s rights, human rights, and political participation; and to promote civic and political participation among youth. ECW will conduct rights awareness workshops for community members. The workshops will cover human rights issues, women’s rights, children’s rights, violence against women, and conflict resolution issues. Three workshops on the same themes will be held for high school students. ECW will select the 25 most committed persons among the workshop participants in each province and assist them in forming three “youth associations for democracy” (YADs).

Hasht-e Subh Daily
$84,600
To strengthen independent journalism and the role of media in government accountability and oversight in Afghanistan. Hasht-e Subh will expand its media coverage to Herat province, establish a local office in Herat, print and distribute 1,400 copies of a local edition of its daily newspaper, and enhance the coverage of relevant political, social, and legal issues that other papers will not cover. It will also provide a year-long internship for two students from Herat University’s journalism faculty to improve their journalistic skills.

Health and Development Center for Afghan Women
$55,109*
To raise awareness of the fundamentals of democratic governance, human rights, and the rule of law. HDCAW will produce and distribute 10 issues of a 32-page magazine in Dari and Pashto on democratic governance and civic participation in eight Afghan provinces. In addition, HDCAW will produce two street dramas for public awareness and promotion of political participation in population centers in six central provinces.

Khorasan Legal Services Organization (KLSO)
$48,000*
To raise citizens’ awareness of their rights and access to Afghanistan’s judicial system, and to support Afghanistan’s fragile judicial system and the effectiveness of its emerging legal profession. KLSO will provide free legal assistance over a four month period to women and other marginalized groups. KLSO will also publish and distribute 300 copies of a monthly bulletin on challenges facing citizens in utilizing Afghanistan’s legal system, targeting the courts’ staff, civil society organizations, universities, lawyers associations, and the relevant government offices.

Legal and Cultural Services for Afghan Women and Children (LCSAWC)
$49,600
To raise awareness of democratic values, women’s rights and gender equality to engender greater respect for the rule of law and supporting legal institutions in Afghanistan. LCSAWC will conduct a four-day training-of-trainers (TOT) session for 12 teachers from Balkh province on human rights. Afterwards, TOT graduates will conduct 12 four-day workshops for a total of 600 men and women in five districts of Balkh province in northern Afghanistan. In addition, LCSAWC will provide free legal advice to 300 women and young girls.

Modern Organization for Development of Education (MODE)
$43,000
To strengthen the ability of women in leadership positions to present and advocate more effectively; and to build the institutional capacity of MODE. MODE will set up an office in Kabul, develop a manual on effective communication skills, and conduct four manual-based, three-day trainings for a total of 60 women leaders in Kabul and Nimroz provinces.

Oruj Learning Center
$49,500
To promote Afghan women’s participation in the workforce by building leadership, management, communications and advocacy skills and to build the capacity of the Afghan Women’s Leadership Institute. Oruj Learning Center will select students and trainers, and develop training manuals and curriculum. It will conduct leadership trainings for 100 women focusing on building skills that are useful in the job market. It will be complemented by communication, advocacy and lobbying trainings and a capstone internship program in the second year.

SABA Media Organization (SMO)
$60,000
To raise public awareness of civic duties and rights and the legal and technical aspects of Afghanistan’s electoral system. SMO will produce and broadcast radio and television programs throughout 20 Afghan provinces. In addition, SMO will utilize the material gathered by its research team and the translation of the Human Rights and Election Handbook prepared by the Center for Human Rights in Geneva to publish and distribute 5,000 informative handbooks on electoral laws and procedures.

Social Services for Afghan Women Organization (SSAWO)
$45,100
To promote women’s rights in Nangarhar province and to raise awareness about the compatibility of women rights’ with Islam. SSAWO will conduct workshops and roundtable discussions on women’s rights in Islam targeting students, teachers, civil society activists, government employees, the business community, and women associations. SSAWO will conduct a seminar on women’s rights in Islam for 50 students and professors from the Shari‘a law and journalism faculties of the University of Nangarhar. SSAWO will produce television and radio programs for increased outreach.

Training Human Rights Association for Afghan Women (THRA)
$37,000
To raise awareness of democratic values, women’s rights, and the role of women in supporting democratic transition in Nangarhar province; and to encourage women to participate in public life and promote women’s rights in their communities. THRA will conduct awareness raising workshops on human rights and access to justice, targeting local decision-makers including mullahs, teachers, and members of provincial and Shura councils. THRA will organize a one-day symposium in Jalalabad on women’s rights under Islam and women’s engagement in political life.

Welfare Association for Development of Afghanistan (WADAN)
$417,000
To encourage voter turnout and issue-based electoral decision making, to raise awareness of democratic values and practices among community leaders, and to develop the institutional capacity of the National Maliks Association (NMA). WADAN will facilitate NMA meetings and develop its voters’ mobilization and advocacy work. WADAN will also conduct civic education trainings for community leaders in provinces in north and eastern Afghanistan. WADAN will organize regional meetings for members of NMA to develop advocacy campaigns and offer technical assistance to candidates for the 2010 parliamentary elections.

Women Activities and Social Services Association (WASSA)
$68,400
To enhance leadership skills of women civil society leaders and to promote coordination and collective action between civil society organizations in Herat. WASSA will provide leadership training for 150 women on management, advocacy, communication, conflict resolution, public relations, and networking. In addition, it will organize monthly meetings for civil society organizations in the province to initiate dialogue and facilitate coordination between them on shared public concerns in the province, finalized by an advocacy campaign.

Women and Youths for Peace and Development Organization
$40,000
To inform religious leaders in Kunduz and Takhar provinces about responsible leadership, human rights, and the rule of law. Women and Youth for Peace and Development Organization will conduct seminars for religious leaders. Seminars will focus on the role of religious leaders in guiding their communities, human rights from the viewpoint of Islam, women’s rights in family law, and domestic violence in addition to leadership, accountability and means of conflict resolution.

Youth Educational Services (YES)
$35,100
To build the capacity of young leaders and raise youth’s awareness of human rights, democratic values, and political participation. YES will conduct 10 two-week civic education courses for 2,250 students of five high schools in Shirzad District in Afghanistan. The courses will be complemented by computer skills and English language classes. YES will also establish student associations in each school to promote active citizenship and youth engagement.

* Indicates Department of State funding beyond NED's annual appropriation

The grant listings posted here are from the 2009 Annual Report, published in June 2010.