Certain political characteristics shared across partner countries in the region undermine further development towards such societies. These include legacies of discrimination and distrust, one party dominance and a lack of meaningful engagement between citizens and decision makers.
Central to the project of enhancing the quality of democracy in partner countries as well as consolidating democracy’s hold in the region is the growth of legislatures into robust institutions that are responsive, representative of the concerns of citizens, and able to hold the executive to account.
The foundation believes that the facilitation of informal engagement between political actors, civil society and citizens, as well as support that seeks to deepen existing participation mechanisms are key to building a culture of responsive governance, political accountability and transparent decision making.
As such, the programme focuses on:
- Supporting (especially marginalized) citizen engagement and participation in democratic institutions
- Facilitating informal engagement platforms between civil society, academia and decision makers
- Promoting critical research and reflection about democratic establishments.
As gender equality is a central tenet of all HBF programmes, the Democracy programme works towards the vision of institutions which are not only representative, but also substantively responsive to issues of gender relations.
For more information, please contact Keren Ben-Zeev, Democracy Programme Manager: keren'at'boell.org.za
- This paper deals with the broad basic infrastructural needs and backlogs faced by many South African schools, which include the supply of water; sanitation; electricity; libraries; laboratories and computer centres. There still exists major inequality in access to basic resources in our schools. This is reflected in the disparate results between poor and privileged schools, with the latter performing better across the board. more»
We can't afford not to - Costing the provision of functional school – - This paper pursues three closely related objectives: to review the field of international and local research which, particularly over the past two decades, has pointed to the positive causal relationship between functional school libraries and improved learner outcomes; to contextualize the current state of affairs in South African schools; and lastly, to provide detailed cost estimates which can be used as the basis for a comprehensive implementation plan. more»
- This article attempts an analysis of Women’s Ministries (structures on the level of the executive) that are normally tasked with the implementation of policy and legislation. It does so by looking at the experience of Women’s Ministries in the north, as well as in Africa. It also reflects on the more recent histories in the north of the dismantling of gender machineries as a consequence of gender mainstreaming. more»
- Namibia held its Presidential and National Assembly elections on 27 and 28 November 2009. As expected, the ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) won a sweeping election victory. The atmosphere throughout the electoral process was tense and put to the test several features of the country’s democratic culture. This issue of Perspectives offers some reflection on these and other issues around Namibia's 2009 elections. more»