New resource materials by CPLG Cambodia

The Committee on Free and Fair Elections (COMFREL) has just released a research report entitled Assessment of the First Term of Decentralization in Cambodia: Commune Council Performance and Citizens’ Participation, 2002-2007. The Khmer translation of a working paper series on citizen participation in local governance in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines will also be released soon, along with a case study on the experiences of COMFREL-trained women activists engaged in commune elections.

Lessons from Thailand

Through its network of progressive TAO officials, CPLG Thailand is currently compiling experiences on incorporating people’s participation and gender equality in the administration of local government organizations. These lessons will be disseminated in print and VCD formats.

New local governance modules from the Philippines

In its work on developing a learning and advocacy agenda for co-production and co-financing, IPD’s local governance team is finalizing manuals, modules and model legislation on specific themes, such as water and health. These will be available by March. The CPLG coordinating unit is also currently consolidating insights on “engendering governance” by drawing on its engagement with an urban poor community in Metro Manila lead by a women’s activist council.

New CPLG Publications Now Available

CPLG is proud to present two new materials. The first is a publication entitled Women in Politics in Southeast Asia: Obstacles, Challenges and Strategies. The second is a resource CD, which consists of a collection of articles and tools on local governance and “new” politics.   To avail of these materials please contact cplg@ipd.org.ph.

The Committee on Free and Fair Elections (COMFREL) will conduct a training course on grassroots advocacy for local watchdogs and activists in October 2007. Skills to be shared at the training include networking, negotiation, and community mobilization. Participants will also be trained on how to effectively relate with local authorities and organize meetings with commune councils. These valuable lessons will become part of a training manual on grassroots advocacy.

From November to December 2007, the Campaign for Popular Democracy will organize two study visits on participatory local planning. The two learning sites are Mae Ta in the Mae On District of Chiang Mai Province and Sai Na Wang in the Naku District of Kalasin Province. Participants will come from the southern, central, northern and northeastern part of Thailand to exchange experiences in local administration and overcoming obstacles to people’s participation at the local level.   

IPD Supports Women Urban Poor Candidates

Beginning October 2007, IPD will organize workshops in Manila’s urban poor communities aimed at supporting urban poor women who are running at the village (barangay) government elections.  The initiative is part of the efforts to strengthen the Philippine women’s movements as a political force.

Building People's Cooperative in the Urban Poor Community in the Philippines

From October to December, IPD will organize a series of activities aimed at establishing a community-based water cooperative in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City, Philippines.  The activities include management trainings and community workshops.  The initiative is part of the program that encourages citizen participation in the delivery of public services through the system of co-production and co-financing.

Provincial Consultations On The Cambodian Organic Law
COMFREL, CPLG’s partner in Cambodia, plans to hold provincial consultations on the proposed organic law on decentralization and deconcentration. The first will be held on July 25, 2007 in Battambang province and the second round will be held on August 10, 2007 in Kampong Cham province. The consultations, which target civil society organizations and commune officials, are designed to discuss issues and solicit policy proposals to the much-awaited organic law.

<back to top>

“En-Gendering” Local Governance In The Philippines
Beginning July 2007, IPD, together with segments of the Philippine women’s movements, will launch an initiative aimed at transforming local politics by making local governance gender-sensitive and responsive. Viewed as an “experience-based development of discourse”, the initiative is part of the efforts to revitalize the Philippine women’s movements. The pilot project will be set in an urban poor village in Metro Manila. It will combine political leadership formation among women urban poor, women’s groups engagement in local governance processes including service delivery, and policy advocacy at the local and national level.

<back to top>

Democracy School In Thailand
Partly as a response to the current political conjuncture, CPD will cautiously organize democracy workshops from July to September 2007. The democracy “schools” will be held in the four regions of the country. Targeting both local government officials and leaders of the people’s organizations, the workshops are aimed at developing awareness on participatory democracy and governance and strengthening the political capacity of people’s sector.

<back to top>

Gender Budget Training In Indonesia
ICW, in partnership with the The Asia Foundation, will conduct gender budget training among women’s groups in Bengkulu in July-August, 2007. The activity is part of an integrated initiative of implementing a “deliberative democracy” project in Bengkulu. The project includes citizens’ engagement in village planning and budgeting as well as local policy advocacy.

<back to top>