Preparing the Next Generations of CSO Leadership
A vibrant civil society is critical for achieving human progress and creating healthy and just societies. However, this cannot be realised without having visionary and strong, healthy civil society organisations (CSOs) with the conviction to defend civic spaces. Leadership is the cornerstone of any such organisation, and initiatives designed to protect and defend civic spaces require leaders that are dedicated and well-equipped.
Through the Civil Society Innovation Fund (CSIF), the French Development Agency (AFD) has been providing financial assistance for the Emerging Civil Society Leaders Fellowship, a programme carried out by the Civil Society Resource Center (CSRC). The Fellowship programme is designed to train and nurture young leaders who are eager to help the sector grow and who wish to pursue future career goals in CSOs. Over the past three years, twenty passionate young leaders—mostly women—from the universities of Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, and Hawassa have been selected to join the programme. These young people have participated in a number of different professional and personal development opportunities, such as receiving continuous mentorship support, completing several trainings, and obtaining a formal work placement with a host organisation, to gain first-hand experience in the sector. Most of these fellows have benefited greatly from the programme in terms of increasing their understanding of the sector in the national context, developing their talents, and preparing them for professional careers in civil society organisations.
One of the fellows is Misganaw, who learned about the fellowship programme while a fourth-year law student at Hawassa University. Through the fellowship, Misganaw participated in several training courses including Introduction to CSO Operational Context, Project Cycle Management, Proposal Writing, Advocacy, Constituency Building, Human Rights Approaches, Gender Mainstreaming, and more. He was then given a job placement opportunity with another CSIF consortium partner, Mizan Young Lawyers Center (MYLC) as a Human Rights Volunteer, where he gained valuable work experience. Misganaw reflected: "I (was) pleased to participate in two award-winning projects at MYLC that were successful. I am now more equipped and ready to face obstacles in the real world because of the (Fellowship) opportunity”, Misganaw is now currently engaged as a part-time project officer at Setaweet, another CSIF partner, in Hawassa.
Another fellow is Rediet, who after successfully completing the programme is now employed as a project officer at the Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders Center (EHRDC), another CSIF partner organisation. She recently took part in a review and learning session where she effectively presented project lessons and learning from EHRDC to senior leadership and project staff from CSIF partner CSOs. Rediet said she was well-prepared for her current role by the Fellowship programme.
In addition to helping these professionals get closer to their career aspirations by providing them with real-world job experience, the programme is also a testament to the collaboration between CSIF partner organisations, including MYLC, Setaweet and EHRDC, who hosted Fellows and at the same time benefitted from the relationship with these young future leaders.
According to Henok, Acting Executive Director of CSRC, the cooperation between CSIF partner organizations, both within and among consortia, has been a great success. “Since these organizations share a common goal and are familiar with the CSIF programme, we gave them priority for fellows' placements. It was a huge success, in my opinion.” Without the consortium arrangements, such fruitful collaborations would not have been feasible.