1. Summary
Radical changes in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region, which recently commenced with popular uprisings in Tunisia and subsequently in Egypt, give cause for new thinking regarding the focus and direction of the Institute. This does not mean the need to work for increased understanding between the peoples of Europe on the one hand and the peoples of the Middle East/North Africa on the other, will lessen. Sweden must be a leading country in supporting democratisation in Egypt and SwedAlex is well suited to be an instrument in this work in that it is located in the country.
Previously, the Institute operated in an environment where there was no genuine interest and commitment on the part of governments to issues concerning democracy and human rights. However, these circumstances appear to be about to change and the window of opportunity that has now opened should therefore be utilised in an appropriate way through initiatives for dialogue in several areas and at different levels of society. In the next year or two the Institute will concentrate its activities in the first instance on democracy and human rights with special emphasis on Egypt. The reason for this focus is on the one hand the size of the country and its enormous needs but also its strategic position and importance for development of the region as a whole. With the Egyptian context as the starting point, the regional dialogue between the Middle Eastern and North African countries and also with Europe will continue to be important in the Institute’s activities. Changes in this work will chiefly consist of an increased proportion of local activities and bilateral agreements between Egypt and Sweden. Prevailing political developments in the region call for flexible planning that can be readily adapted to political change and risk of conflict.
2. The assignment
• The mandate of the Swedish Institute in Alexandria is to promote increased contacts between Sweden and other European countries as well as Egypt and other countries in the Middle East and North Africa.• In its activities the Institute shall deal with issues that are of importance for political, economic and social developments in the region or for the relationship between the countries in the region and the surrounding world, or which contribute to increased mutual understanding in the areas of culture and religion.• The Institute shall promote the Euro-Mediterranean partnership in the EU.• The Institute shall promote the objectives for international development cooperation laid down by the Swedish Riksdag.
3. The Vision
SwedAlex’s vision is a peaceful world where democracy and respect for human rights prevail and that people in Europe and the Middle East and North Africa should understand each other’s differences and values.
4. Overall objectives and priorities
Cooperation with the MENA region shall contribute towards fulfilling the goal for Sweden’s development cooperation, that is to say create the preconditions for poor people to improve their living conditions, and also the goal for Sweden’s policy for global development (PGU), to contribute to a fair and sustainable global development. The two PGU perspectives, the perspective of poor people on development and the rights perspective, shall characterise this cooperation. The need to prevent and counteract corruption must be integrated in all efforts.In accordance with the Swedish Government’s priorities for development cooperation in the MENA region, SwedAlex will work for democracy and human rights and also promote gender equality and the role of women in development.
The overall objectives for activities include
- Strengthened democracy and increased respect for human rights- Increased understanding between populations in Europe and the MENA region- Increased political, social and economic development in the MENA region
It is essential to stress that the Institute’s dialogue efforts also comprise the Gulf States. The lack of democracy, human rights and not least the situation of women mean that cooperation with these countries is important. The Institute thereby deviates somewhat from the Government’s strategy for MENA which is that cooperation shall be limited to countries that are defined as developing countries by the OECD Development Assistance Committee, DAC. However, it is important to point out that the Institute does not finance organisations but is a platform for dialogue. The Gulf States cannot be left out of this dialogue.
Planning and implementation of Swedish efforts shall be in line with the principles for aid effectiveness of the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Actions. In concrete terms this means that within each area of cooperation Sweden must pursue and contribute to more effective donor coordination and a greater focus on results.
5. Cooperation sectors
Democracy and human rights
In accordance with the Government’s strategy for development cooperation with the Middle East and North Africa, democracy and human rights are central themes in which the focus is on the promotion of gender equality and the role of women in development. In the area of human rights, SwedAlex supports efforts to get more women in decision-making positions and involved in politics, legislation and the media. There are differences between the countries in the region and hence good examples from certain countries that have made more progress on these issues can be used to stimulate development in others. Cooperation should be designed to create synergy effects between efforts in the different areas and long-term development cooperation.
In order to underpin the forces that are today demanding democratic development and reforms SwedAlex must function as a platform for dialogue and in this way support the process by strengthening political parties and making efforts to achieve a democratic party structure, build conflict management capacity and cooperation between parties, develop a party political agenda and stimulate civic participation. This platform has a clear link to already ongoing activities at the Institute concerning for example women in politics and the participation of young people in the development of society.
The media and journalists play an important role in processes of change. During the period SwedAlex will engage journalists and writers in its activities and also support initiatives that enable journalists from Europe and MENA to meet and discuss in order to learn from one another.
The level of education and adult education in MENA is generally of low quality. In order to contribute to a democratic development, it is essential to promote transparency, participation, acceptance of responsibility and critical thinking in the education system. Individuals who are taught and encouraged to question will to a greater extent demand participation in matters concerning social progress and politics. Questions concerning education and adult education ‒ formal and informal learning ‒ are central areas for increasing an understanding of democracy, citizenship and human rights and also for the inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue and understanding between the populations of Europe and MENA. SwedAlex considers education to be a tool to counter racism, violence, extremism, xenophobia and intolerance. Politicians, teachers and educationists, mentors and leaders at the local level as well as civil society, youth organisations and the media are important target groups. SwedAlex intends to cooperate in this area with the Anna Lindh Foundation which is already involved in education issues in the region and also with the South Centre of the Council of Europe which is a major actor in Europe and the Middle East regarding these issues. Cooperation will primarily concern the role of education in the promotion of democracy and human rights.
Objectives for work on democracy and human rights1. Greater understanding and knowledge of the value systems that govern countries in MENA and Europe
2. Increased respect for human rights in MENA
- Increased respect for freedom of speech- Increased rights for women- Abolition of capital punishment
3. A democratic development in the region that embraces all levels of society
- Increased civic participation in the development of society and in the political debate- Increased participation of women in politics, legislation, decision-making and public life- Among young people, increased participation in and commitment to social development and politics. 4. Extended build-up of capacity and networks
- Strengthened networks and cooperation between organisations, institutions, activists, academics, decision-makers and journalists, etc. who are engaged in questions concerning democracy, human rights and gender equality
6. Implementation
In order to achieve the set objectives, SwedAlex will continue to create meetings, which will in most cases be carried out in cooperation with other actors in Europe and/or MENA, among others the Anna Lindh Foundation, the League of Arab States, Sida and Biblioteca Alexandrina. The meetings are planned to take place at SwedAlex and also in other venues chiefly in Egypt and Sweden. To maintain a high level of quality it is essential to have cooperation partners of good repute and for this reason it is envisaged that European institutes and foundations with experience of activities in MENA will be valuable in future work.
During the period of activities, SwedAlex will also work to achieve better understanding between the peoples of MENA and Europe through a transfer of knowledge and create interfaces between people from the two regions. By creating dialogue, organising workshops, debates and lectures, SwedAlex will spread knowledge of Swedish governance through state and local government administration. In the first instance, information about party and trade union systems are planned for Egyptian equivalents in order to illustrate a functioning democratic social order.
Certain cooperation projects already initiated will continue (for example, “Women in politics”, “Arab Women Think Tank”, “Societies in transition ‒ the search for citizenship”) while it is planned others will be implemented with as yet unidentified co-organisers in certain cases. Work on building up a network of academics, decision-makers, free thinkers and debaters, journalists, etc. in both MENA and Europe is in progress but is time-consuming and, among other things, involves a certain amount of travel. In order to make visible and spread knowledge about SwedAlex, it is envisaged that the Director, Deputy Director and the two officers responsible for programmes will take part in seminars, etc. which are arranged by other organisers and coincide with the Institute’s field of activities. New work methods are being planned together with the media in order to reach a wider audience than has been the case up to now.
It is the Institute’s ambition to arrange or coordinate two major meetings (seminars, conferences, workshops) as well as at least one smaller discussion opportunity each month (except during the summer break). Supplying thoughts, ideas and standpoints is good but not sufficient. Participants in meetings return to their respective countries with new impressions and ideas but it is difficult to judge how much these add to the respective participant’s own activities. SwedAlex therefore plans to produce reports after meetings have been carried out. It is difficult in intellectually driven work to measure profit and loss, however to facilitate the continuation of initiated efforts to influence or transfer knowledge it is desirable to follow up work to the greatest extent possible by using the meeting reports in an appropriate way. An example of this is the approach used in connection with the seminar on capital punishment. In 2008 cooperation was initiated with Penal Reform International (with headquarters in Amman), which led to what is known as the Alexandria Declaration. A further meeting took place at SwedAlex in the autumn of 2010 at which a decision was taken to create a “toolbox” for activists and civic organisations for their efforts to influence. As the next phase in work to achieve in the first instance a moratorium on and ultimately the abolition of the death penalty, a seminar at SwedAlex is planned during 2011, which will include a run-through of how the tools included in the “toolbox” can best be used in the different MENA countries. During the period of activities the Institute will also aim for similar approaches with step-by-step activities in other areas.
7. Follow-up
During 2011 SwedAlex is planning to make an evaluation of implemented projects. It is the Institute’s ambition to make annual evaluations of activities. Methods and routines for this work will be developed.
8. Current situation and activities planned for 201l-2012
During 2009 and 2010 the majority of initiatives related to gender equality issues and women’s participation in society. The dialogue was primarily with representatives of the region and with relatively few European participants. In future some activities will be located in Sweden in order to increase an understanding in Sweden of the forces that govern societies in MENA and in this way more easily identify areas where Swedish initiatives can be of most use. Hence, Swedish participation in the dialogue will increase.
SwedAlex will continue to work in the field of human rights in which gender equality, above all work to promote women’s participation in politics and public life, support for work on family legislation in the region and implementation of UN conventions are of central importance (and in line with the Government’s strategy for MENA). What is known as the Alexandria Platform was built up over the past two years as a secure and protected space for politically active women. SwedAlex intends to supplement this platform in order to support efforts to strengthen political parties in new democracies and work for a democratic party structure. During the period SwedAlex plans to continue to support Arab Women Think Tank, a forum for research and strategies for women’s development in MENA. SwedAlex will support the development of shadow reporting concerning CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women) in the region. Conferences for this purpose give civil societies working in human rights an opportunity to share their observations and experience regarding national implementation of CEDAW in the respective country.
Work with the media as an overall theme in all areas of activity will continue and be developed.
The dialogue on values in MENA and Europe will continue during the period. SwedAlex is planning a follow-up in Alexandria in October 2011 of the dialogue on ideas that was arranged in Rome in 2009 by Ambassador Ulla Gudmundsson during Sweden’s EU Presidency. Representatives of different faiths (Catholic/Protestant/Coptic, Shia/Sunni Muslim and Jewish faiths) will be invited to this meeting.
Together with the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul, SIDA, Cairo University and the Swedish Research Council, the Institute has been planning for some time a seminar on identity and citizenship, addressed to researchers (historians, sociologists, political scientists, etc.) within the framework of the project “Societies in transition”. It is planned that this cooperation between European and Arab researchers will continue and be followed up during the period of activities.
A new initiative concerning town planning which fits in under the heading democracy will be taken during 2011 in cooperation with the Centre for Art and Architecture with the participation of representatives of the management of Alexandria’s Governor’s Office, town planners, architects, public health authorities, the education system, etc. The intention is to get political decision-makers to cooperate with people (men and women) in different areas on a specific issue that concerns the city’s inhabitants.
The participation of young people in democratic development is an overall theme that concerns several of SwedAlex’s fields of activities. A holistic effort will give young people more space on the Institute’s agenda during the period of activities. A bilateral exchange programme between Egypt and Sweden will start in the spring. The aim is to create a platform for young people to exchange experience of their role in politics and to increase political awareness and promote the participation of young people in the future.
Regarding the overall objective of contributing through dialogue to increased understanding between Europe and MENA, cooperation is currently in progress with the Anna Lindh Foundation (inter alia education issues), the League of Arab States (inter alia the media), the Euro-Med Human Rights Network (the judiciary), the Council of Europe (diversity), the Swedish Research Institute and Cairo University (citizenship and identity), Woman to Woman (inter alia women in politics), Biblioteca Alexandrina (inter alia youth policy) and the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul (the project “societies in transition”). Furthermore, the Institute has initiated discussions concerning cooperation with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance IDEA, and the Danish-Egyptian dialogue institute DEDI with its headquarters in Cairo. 9. Communication objectives
Communication efforts during the period will primarily focus on increasing knowledge about activities both in Sweden and MENA and developing the Institute’s website and use of social media (facebook, twitter) in order to reach out with information. The Institute will make efforts to become a frequent actor in the media regarding issues pertaining to democratic development and human rights in MENA and particularly in Egypt and in the dialogue between Europe and MENA. In the near future SwedAlex will issue a first monthly Newsletter which will be distributed electronically.
SwedAlex will make efforts to reach out to the following target groups:
a) Universities, colleges and research institutesb) Media and opinion-mouldersc) Political parties d) Government and parliamente) Sidaf) Non-governmental organisations and networks
The anticipated result of communication work during the period is a broader knowledge of the Institute’s activities in the target groups and an increased number of visitors to the website and social media channels. During the period communication work will focus on Europe (primarily Sweden) and target groups in MENA (primarily Egypt).
Birgitta Holst Alani