Civil society plays a crucial role in the functioning of a democratic society, often operating as a watchdog to keep governments to account and to advocate for the interests of different sectors of society.
For civil society leaders to be able to carry out their role effectively and efficiently, to give policy input and work together with local administrations, it is vital that a good understanding of democratic decision-making processes exists and that mechanisms are becoming established to cooperate with democratically elected politicians on moving the Bangsamoro region forward either as an Autonomous Region or a Federal State.
To ensure that the transition, when it happens, will be peaceful and constructive, it is essential to work with both political decision-makers and democratic forces in civil society at this point in time, so that trained and informed leaders are in place to manage the transition in a peaceful and democratic way and help prevent a crisis from erupting in the Bangsamoro political entity.
It is in this light that the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Philippines in partnership with the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) implement the 13-month project on Democratic Leadership and Active Civil Society Empowerment (DELACSE) in the Bangsamoro. This project is the phase two of the EU-funded project, Democratic Party Development in the Bangsamoro (DEPADev) – a Bangsamoro Political Party Building initiative, implemented by the same consortium.
DELACSE Bangsamoro aims to:
• contribute to democratic processes and peace in the Bangsamoro political entity (either Federal State or Autonomous Region); and to
• prepare decision-makers and civil-society leaders for active engagement in the new political framework in the new Bangsamoro political entity by enhancing leadership abilities.
The following are the Project’s desired outcomes:
• Trained politicians and civil society leaders are able to assess, plan, adapt, and update the policies and mechanisms needed for a Federal (or Autonomous) Bangsamoro region, considering any transitions from newly-established Philippine government.
• Members of the target group are capacitated to formulate and articulate comprehensive policy inputs vis-à -vis the Bangsamoro Transition Commission and actors that shape current reform efforts.
The following are the specific activities of the Project:
• Basic Leadership Seminars
For all the target groups, a basic knowledge of the political system, the importance of political participation and the formulation of policy input is essential for competent participation in public life.
• Advanced Leadership Seminars
The knowledge acquired in the basic leadership seminars needs to be deepened to enable the participants to give qualified and substantive inputs to the Bangsamoro Transition Commission.
• Lecture Series
A series of lectures on the evolving political reforms and institutions in the Philippine context (e.g. on federalism, electoral reform), bringing together decision-makers from the national level and stakeholders from Muslim Mindanao.
• Training of Trainers
In order to ensure sustainability of the objectives and results of the action it is necessary to train individuals who can continue delivering knowledge about Bangsamoro political system and the importance of political participation.
• International Study Tour
The study tour will feature selected leaders from previous activities and will also serve as preparation for the formulation of a post-project sustainability strategy. The aim is to deepen their knowledge within the European democratic context for their own political context in Muslim Mindanao.
