Regional Office Africa
Regional Director: Eva-Maria Köhler-Renfordt, Johannesburg
Regional Director: Eva-Maria Köhler-Renfordt, Johannesburg
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For more information on the African Regional Office,
please visit their website
www.africa.fnst.org
english
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African States on the Way to More Democracy and a Market Economy
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation supports the strengthening of the existing reform processes, the respect of human rights and the rule of law and the development of a market economy in Senegal, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The Foundation's partners are international human rights organisations, liberal parties and national economic associations.
"Africa is changing. New dynamics have developed. Africans have launched several important initiatives to overcome the problems of the continent. ... The industrial countries should recognise and seize this opportunity." German Federal President Horst Köhler used these words to underline the aims of his initiative "Partnership with Africa" that was started at the 1st Africa Conference in Bonn-Petersberg on November 5th and 6th, 2005.
With a "factory of ideas" designed as a think-tank, Horst Köhler picked up an approach which is also being followed by the Foundation and its partners in their involvement in Africa: the support of reform projects and solutions that have been developed and pushed forward by the countries concerned instead of introducing turn-key state concepts like in Bosnia..
The founding of the African Union as well as the "New Partnership for Africa's Development" (NEPAD) are encouraging signs of a new thinking on the African continent. This is also proven by the recent Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) that bears witness to successes of political management directed at growth, development and the rule of law especially in Mauritius and Botswana but also in the Foundation's project countries South Africa, Senegal and Ghana. The analysis further underlines the great importance of an inner-African exchange like the one the Foundation has been exercising for many years in its close co-operation with the "African Liberal Networks (ALN) and the "Southern African Legal Assistance Networks" (SALAN). Only shoulder-to-shoulder can liberal parties and human rights groups that are active across borders achieve a sustainable breakthrough in countries' attempt to achieve democracy.
Participation as a Principle
The Foundation's staff and its partners in South Africa and Tanzania dealt with the question of how to convey democratic ideas, experiences and methods in a manner adjusted both to the target group as well as the participants. Elections were imminent in both countries. Approximately 3.000 candidates had to be prepared for their possible political mandates in the local elections in South Africa that had been planned for the end of 2005 but then postponed to the first quarter of 2006. Approximately 350 candidates for public office and electoral management had to be trained in Tanzania.
The Foundation invited experienced African moderators as early as February 2005 to develop a curriculum for a target group-training programme of more than 60 participants. In the end, a two-tier model was adopted where at first the team of future trainers of the curriculum were themselves trained. For this purpose, the Foundation organised a total of seven "Train-the Trainer" workshops.
The second step was the direct passing-on of knowledge, whereby the methodically well prepared trainers were able -in a direct exchange with the participants- to give a first analysis of the respective future fields of action. The benefit of this method became quickly apparent. The intensive training resulted in a clearly improved preparation of future functionaries and mandate holders in both countries.
At the same time, this approach proved to be a low-cost model to offer large, decentralised groups a continual high-class level of support. This positive experience is to be implemented and further developed in the Foundation's other project countries during the coming year.
Liberal Education Policy in Ghana
A further central aspect of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation's work in Africa is the promotion of a liberal education policy. At the "Annual Liberal Lecture" in Ghana all talks underlined the central importance of a liberal education policy both in achieving the "Millennium Development Goals" (MDG) as well as to achieve the formulated aim of a "Poverty Reduction Strategy" in Ghana.
In his lecture on "Reflections on Liberalism and Education in Ghana" Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, professor of politics at Accra Legon University and participant in the German President's initiative "Partnership for Africa" once again made it clear that the expansion of the African educational system is the basic prerequisite for self determination and social participation. In his both visionary and analytical presentation, Gyimah-Boadi underlined the importance of independent education institutions, which, alongside the state monopoly on education, could help to achieve more recognition for the liberal principles of decentralisation and subsidiarity. Furthermore, he stated that it was absolutely essential for his country to give educational management clearer targets.
Apart from numerous representatives of the country's educational elite, the Ghanaian Minister of Education, the chairman of the parliamentary education committee and members of the national committee on education took part in the ensuing discussion.
"Africa is changing. New dynamics have developed. Africans have launched several important initiatives to overcome the problems of the continent. ... The industrial countries should recognise and seize this opportunity." German Federal President Horst Köhler used these words to underline the aims of his initiative "Partnership with Africa" that was started at the 1st Africa Conference in Bonn-Petersberg on November 5th and 6th, 2005.
With a "factory of ideas" designed as a think-tank, Horst Köhler picked up an approach which is also being followed by the Foundation and its partners in their involvement in Africa: the support of reform projects and solutions that have been developed and pushed forward by the countries concerned instead of introducing turn-key state concepts like in Bosnia..
The founding of the African Union as well as the "New Partnership for Africa's Development" (NEPAD) are encouraging signs of a new thinking on the African continent. This is also proven by the recent Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) that bears witness to successes of political management directed at growth, development and the rule of law especially in Mauritius and Botswana but also in the Foundation's project countries South Africa, Senegal and Ghana. The analysis further underlines the great importance of an inner-African exchange like the one the Foundation has been exercising for many years in its close co-operation with the "African Liberal Networks (ALN) and the "Southern African Legal Assistance Networks" (SALAN). Only shoulder-to-shoulder can liberal parties and human rights groups that are active across borders achieve a sustainable breakthrough in countries' attempt to achieve democracy.
Participation as a Principle
The Foundation's staff and its partners in South Africa and Tanzania dealt with the question of how to convey democratic ideas, experiences and methods in a manner adjusted both to the target group as well as the participants. Elections were imminent in both countries. Approximately 3.000 candidates had to be prepared for their possible political mandates in the local elections in South Africa that had been planned for the end of 2005 but then postponed to the first quarter of 2006. Approximately 350 candidates for public office and electoral management had to be trained in Tanzania.
The Foundation invited experienced African moderators as early as February 2005 to develop a curriculum for a target group-training programme of more than 60 participants. In the end, a two-tier model was adopted where at first the team of future trainers of the curriculum were themselves trained. For this purpose, the Foundation organised a total of seven "Train-the Trainer" workshops.
The second step was the direct passing-on of knowledge, whereby the methodically well prepared trainers were able -in a direct exchange with the participants- to give a first analysis of the respective future fields of action. The benefit of this method became quickly apparent. The intensive training resulted in a clearly improved preparation of future functionaries and mandate holders in both countries.
At the same time, this approach proved to be a low-cost model to offer large, decentralised groups a continual high-class level of support. This positive experience is to be implemented and further developed in the Foundation's other project countries during the coming year.
Liberal Education Policy in Ghana
A further central aspect of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation's work in Africa is the promotion of a liberal education policy. At the "Annual Liberal Lecture" in Ghana all talks underlined the central importance of a liberal education policy both in achieving the "Millennium Development Goals" (MDG) as well as to achieve the formulated aim of a "Poverty Reduction Strategy" in Ghana.
In his lecture on "Reflections on Liberalism and Education in Ghana" Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, professor of politics at Accra Legon University and participant in the German President's initiative "Partnership for Africa" once again made it clear that the expansion of the African educational system is the basic prerequisite for self determination and social participation. In his both visionary and analytical presentation, Gyimah-Boadi underlined the importance of independent education institutions, which, alongside the state monopoly on education, could help to achieve more recognition for the liberal principles of decentralisation and subsidiarity. Furthermore, he stated that it was absolutely essential for his country to give educational management clearer targets.
Apart from numerous representatives of the country's educational elite, the Ghanaian Minister of Education, the chairman of the parliamentary education committee and members of the national committee on education took part in the ensuing discussion.
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