EU -Uganda Media Development Foundation

Details

Created on 07 February 2011

“Strengthening Civil Society, Media and Local Councils’ Capacity to Promote Political Pluralism, Democratic Participation and Representation at Local Government Level.”

Uganda Media Development Foundation (UMDF) was founded in 1994 by a group of journalists with a common vision of a pro-active media that participates in the democratic and development processes in the country.

UMDF advocates for an independent, pluralistic, free and informed media to act as a platform for democratic discourse among its citizens. Its membership consists of experienced journalists and professionals working in the media and corporate communications sector with a common desire to strengthen the media’s role as a forum for democratic exchange of ideas in society.

UMDF is undertaking a project in partnership with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) on “Strengthening Civil Society, Media and Local Councils’ Capacity to Promote Political Pluralism, Democratic Participation and Representation at Local Government Level”. The project started in January 2009 with funding from the European Union (EU) and the Delegation of the European Commission to Uganda through the European Union’s Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) programme for Uganda will last for (18) eighteen months.

Objectives:
1. Assist civil society to develop greater cohesion and capacity in working on political pluralism, democratic participation and representation;
2. Promote responsiveness and accountability of political leaders; and
3. Strengthen the capacity of selected civil society, local councilors, as well as media representatives in promoting and monitoring the state of political pluralism, democratic participation and representation at the local government level.

Areas of operation:
The objectives are pursued through organizing activities including workshops, dialogues, meetings with selected target groups in seven (7) districts including Masaka, Mbarara, Kasese, Arua, Soroti, Gulu and Mbale.

Project target groups:
The project targets three groups; civil society organisations, district local councillors, and journalists in print and electronic media.

The first target group are civil society organisations working in the field of promoting political pluralism and democracy at the local government level in Uganda. A total of 10 organisations are targeted to participate in the action including those CSOs that are already in partnership with KAS namely, Action for Development (ACFODE), Foundation for African Development (FAD) and Women Together for Development (WOTODEV). In total 100 CSO members selected from among programme managers, key staff and trainers are targeted to participate in the activities of this action.

The second target group includes district local councilors from 7 districts where the action will be implemented. The districts include Masaka, Mbarara, Kasese, Arua, Soroti, Gulu and Mbale. In this target group a total of 140 district councilors with 20 from each district are targeted.

The third target group includes journalists from the print and electronic media under media clubs selected from the different regions of Uganda. The press clubs include Gulu Press Club (GPC-North), Ankole Media Club (AMEC-West), Eastern Uganda Press Club (EUPC- East), and South Buganda Journalist Association (SOBUJA – Central). A total of 175 journalists, 25 from each of the seven districts are targeted. UMDF, under the terms of the partnership, is specifically in charge of this target group.

Main Activities
The project has four main activities which include:

Development, publication and launch of a handbook on the concepts of political pluralism, democratic participation and representation.

KAS and UMDF contracted an expert who conducted desk studies and field research in the districts of Gulu and Mbarara. On the basis of findings from the research, a handbook was developed, published and launched on 7th May 2009. The handbook contains definitions and descriptions of the concepts and will be distributed for use and as reference material to the target groups.

Training Workshops for civil society, media and district councillors

3 training curricula are in the process of being developed from the handbook. By use of these curricula, training workshops will be held for Civil Society, Media and Councillors in the districts. The trainings will focus on the concepts of political pluralism, democratic participation and representation at the local government level. Training activities will start in June 2009 and run until December 2009. Heads of participating organisations will receive training schedules in advance.

Assessing and reporting about the State of Political Pluralism and Democracy in the Districts.

With expert assistance, an index will be developed for use in assessing the state of political pluralism and democracy in the seven districts. The assessments will be conducted by research teams constituted of representatives of participating organisations selected from those to have undergone training under the project. The teams write and present district reports to be discussed locally within the districts. The seven districts reports will be merged into one report that shall be published and launched at the national level. Assessment activities will run from January 2010 to June 2010.

Establishing a network for civil Society, media and Local councillors to exchange best practices in promoting political pluralism, democratic participation and representation at the local government level.

A networking platform will be established for participating institutions (including Civil Society, Media and Councillors) together with other organisations engaged in democracy promotion to share information and best practices in their work. Networking will be in the form of holding meetings and email communication through a group mail.

Expected Results
Increased capacity and knowledge by civil society organisations and district councillors of their roles and responsibilities to work on political pluralism, democratic participation and representation at local government level

Journalists are aware and take over responsibility of their role in the political process and have been trained in political reporting and how it relates to the concept of political pluralism, democratic participation and representation.

Indexed information on the state of political pluralism, democratic participation and representation at the local government level in 7 districts of Uganda published

Of specific interest to UMDF are the media practitioners are empowered with the relevant professional skills and consciousness to enable them act effectively as a link between the different centres of power in society and the citizens, as the citizen’s watchdog. This is done through trainings on political reporting, as well as empowering journalists with research skills to investigate the state of the three concepts.