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Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Newsletter Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Newsletter 2014–2015 Inside This Issue 2015–2016 Fellows.............................3 2014–2015 Reagan-Fascell Fellows: AFRICA: Arthur Gwagwa .........................4 Simegnish “Lily” Mengesha......5 Pepe Julian Onziema..................6 N’yella Rogers..............................7 Negaso Solan...............................8 Tidiani Togola.............................9 Front row (L–R): Manager Zerxes Spencer, senior director Sally Blair, vice presi- dent Marc F. Plattner, executive director Christopher Walker, and senior research ASIA: and conferences officer Melissa Aten. Back row (L–R): Program assistant Mar- lena Papavaritis, research associate Elise Alexander, program assistant Hainer Si- Zin Mar Aung............................10 brian, assistant program officer Ashley Walburn Hull, librarian Tim Myers, and program officer Jessica Ludwig. (Not pictured: research associate Ayhan Ucok.) Lily Gomes................................11 Farahnaz Ispahani....................12 Dear Friends, Cu Huy Ha Vu..........................13 EURASIA: This Newsletter showcases the work of our Reagan-Fascell, Visiting, and Umed Babakhanov...................14 Hurford Youth Fellows, including activists, journalists, and scholars Dmitry Dubrovsky...................15 from Afghanistan, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Burma, Ethio- pia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Le- Altay Goyushov........................16 one, Tajikistan, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe. Prominent themes Gubad Ibadoghlu.....................17 include strengthening women’s political participation; the promise of LATIN AMERICA: ICT and social media; the challenges of religious extremism in the Mus- Rut Diamint..............................18 lim world; and the rise of resurgent dictatorships in Eurasia. MIDDLE EAST: Maliha AlShehab......................19 This year, we feature our “Democracy Curriculum” (p. 23), through Tabish Forugh...........................20 which we introduce fellows to the NED family of institutes, counter- 2014–2015 Visiting Fellows part organizations, and the ideas of leading scholars. We appreciate the Leonid Gozman........................21 contributions of CIPE, IRI, NDI, and the Solidarity Center, as they Yoshihiro Makino.....................21 welcome each cohort to discuss their work and issues of common con- Raza Rumi..................................21 cern. Freedom House, the Holocaust Museum, and the Washington Post Hurford Youth Fellows..................22 are on our roster, as are visits to Capitol Hill, the Department of State, Research Associates and Interns....22 and the Library of Congress. Fellows benefit from seminars with ex- Democracy Curriculum...................23 perts such as Larry Diamond and Francis Fukuyama, as well as with NED staff, including president Carl Gershman, vice-president Marc This Newsletter was produced by Zerxes Spen- Plattner, vice-president David Lowe, Forum executive director Chris cer, with contributions from Sally Blair, Marlena Walker, and CIMA senior director Mark Nelson. We are grateful to Papavaritis, and Elise Alexander. Opinions ex- pressed herein are those of the Fellows and do Forum senior research and conferences officer Melissa Aten, who orga- not necessarily reflect the views of the Endow- nizes this unique agenda with her signature talent and dedication to our ment or its staff. international exchange program. Pictured on the cover are NED’s 2014–2015 Fel- lows. From left to right—top row: Tabish Forugh, Sincerely, Farahnaz Ispahani, Lily Mengesha, and Dmitry Dubrovsky; second row: Zin Mar Aung, Umed Babakhanov, Cu Huy Ha Vu, and Pepe Onziema; third row: Maliha AlShehab, Negaso Solan, and Sally Blair Lily Gomes; fourth row: Altay Goyushov; Raza Rumi, Arthur Gwagwa, and Rut Diamint; fifth Senior Director, Fellowship Programs row: N’yella Rogers, Yoshihiro Makino, Gubad Ibadoghlu, and Leonid Gozman. 2 2015–2016 FELLOWS Fall 2015 Spring 2016 Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Ms. Nodira Abdulloeva (Tajikistan) Ms. Lea Baroudi (Lebanon) The Influence of Migration on Political Attitudes of Promoting Reconciliation & Peace through the Elimination Returning Migrant Workers in Tajikistan of Censorship in Lebanon Ms. Shad Begum (Pakistan) Dr. Henry Hale (United States) Strengthening Participatory Democracy in Pakistan by The Public Opinion Foundations for Democracy Engaging Pakistani and Afghan Diaspora Networks in Russia and Ukraine Dr. Gábor Demszky (Hungary) Ms. Izzah Inzamliyah (Indonesia) Without a Voice: From Social Exclusion to Active Participation Strengthening Trade Unions in Indonesia: A Manual on Strategic Organizing Mr. Lamii Kpargoi (Liberia) Strengthening Democracy in Liberia through Ms. Fatema Jafari (Afghanistan) Public Access to Information Effective Women’s Participation in Good Governance in Afghanistan Ms. Simegnish “Lily” Mengesha (Ethiopia) The Effect of the Anti-Terrorism Law on Ethiopian Media Ms. Nyaradzo Mashayamombe (Zimbabwe) (March–December 2015) Empowering Young Women to Participate in the Movement for Democracy in Zimbabwe Mr. Manoj Mitta (India) The Bottom Layer: Impunity for Caste Violence in India Mr. Andrej Nosov (Serbia) Using Multimedia Tools to Promote Peace and Reconcilia- Mr. Tilak Pathak (Nepal) tion in Post-Conflict Societies: The Case of Srebrenica Promoting Financial Transparency within Political Parties in Nepal Hurford Youth Fellows Visiting Fellows Ms. Goma Bastola (Nepal) Empowering Young Women & Girls through Civic Education Ms. Hend Nafea (Egypt) Documenting Human Rights Violations in Egypt Mr. Ateki Caxton (Cameroon) Bridging Digital Divides and Combating Marginalization Mr. Raza Rumi (Pakistan) through Youth Political Participation Pakistan’s Democratic Evolution and Extremism Mr. Makoi Popioco (Philippines) Democracy, Disasters, and Social Media Reagan-Fascell Newsletter 2014–2015 3 2014–2015 REAGAN-FASCELL DEMOCRACY FELLOWS Mr. Arthur Gwagwa (Zimbabwe) “How Citizen Engagement Can Strengthen Democracy in Zimbabwe” October 2014–February 2015 [email protected] s President Mugabe plans a succession to ensure the Apreservation of his legacy, civil society organizations “(CSOs) in Zimbabwe need to take a hard look at their role and chart a new course ahead. While CSOs have made considerable contributions to Zimbabwe’s democratic milestones—among them, the crafting of a new constitution and a reduction in orga- Mr. Arthur Gwagwa is a hu- man rights attorney who heads nized violence—recent trends indicate the Zimbabwe Human Rights a need for grassroots renewal. Origi- NGO Forum, based in Lon- nally driven by a broad volunteer base, don. Previously, he was among CSOs have become overly formalized the first lawyers to offer pro and numerous, shifting from a unified bono representation to victims strategy to single-issue research and of rights violations through the Zimbabwe Lawyers for advocacy with limited direct action. Human Rights network. Dur- To move forward, CSOs need ing his fellowship, he drafted to work with Zimbabweans in all a policy document on build- parts of the country to discover ing democracy in Zimbabwe. their evolving views, rather than relying on feedback from On January 13, 2015, he de- earlier days. To fully engage with citizens and the state, they livered a presentation at NED must champion both political and economic rights. Finally, in entitled “How Civil Society Engagement Can Strengthen dealing with regional and international partners, CSOs must urge Democracy in Zimbabwe,” in the government to live up to the democratic principles of the which he assessed the state of country’s new constitution and the regional agreements to which Zimbabwean civil society and Zimbabwe is a signatory. charted a path forward. At the end of his fellowship, Arthur ”—Arthur Gwagwa, January 13, 2015 returned to London to con- tinue his work as a lawyer and democracy advocate, including travel to East Africa. On February 20, 2015, Arthur ap- peared on the United Nations’ Talk Radio Services program “The World in 2:00.” In his remarks, he reflected on the changing nature of Zimbabwe- an politics over the past 13 years and discussed prospects for the future. AFRICA 4 2014–2015 Fellows Ms. Simegnish “Lily” Mengesha (Ethiopia) “The Effect of the Anti-Terrorism Law on Ethiopian Media: The Case of Social Media” March–December 2015 [email protected] n the post-9/11 world, Ethiopia was among many countries Ito adopt anti-terrorism bills, nominally to protect against at- “tacks. Under the pretext of maintaining stability, however, the Ethi- opian government has used the bill to crack down on dissent, sen- Ms. Simegnish “Lily” tencing some 18 journalists since the bill’s passage in 2009. While Mengesha is a seasoned jour- the traditional press was the bill’s first victim, online media have nalist who served most recent- been targeted as well. The government’s investment in surveillance ly as director of the Ethiopian equipment and the shocking arrest of the Zone 9 bloggers in 2014 Environment Journalists Asso- left many too scared to post. ciation. During her fellowship, I call on the Ethiopian govern- she examined the impact of ment to recognize the importance of Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law on social media. In recogni- free media for a vibrant society. It is im- tion of her work on freedom possible to maintain stability without in- of expression, she was invited dependent media, and it is impossible to to meet with President Barack promote development
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