Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit - http://www.fnst.org [Druckversion]
Political Parties and NGO's Working Together in Tanzania
FNF - East Africa
Participants of the report back workshop from CUF and TYVA
A series of report-back workshops have been carried out by the International Academy for Leadership (IAF) alumni who were sent to Germany by the FNF- East Africa Office. Recently representatives from the liberal political party Civic United Front (CUF) and the liberal youth organization the Tanzania Youth Vision Association (TYVA) gathered to share experiences gained by their representatives, Mr. Erick Ongara (TYVA) and Mohamed Nur Mohamed (CUF). The two representatives participated in the IAF workshop "NGOs and Political Parties" in Gummersbach in Germany.
Working Together
FNF - Tanzania
Text der neuen Seite.
Political Parties and NGO's Working Together in Tanzania
FNF - East Africa
(L-R) Mr. Mohamed Nur Mohamed (CUF), Erick Ongara (TYVA) and Mr. Ibrahim Suffian participant from Malasia.
The report- back workshop was an eye-opener for the participants who often consider each other as rivals and do not always complement each other. A burning debate on political parties’ and NGOs' responsibilities brought the participants to an agreement that NGOs and political parties complement each other. In order to make a real change they should work closely and at some point NGOs should act as political parties’ think tanks.
CUF and TYVA are now working on possibilities of working together on some of their activities in order to reach their common objectives. A long term partnership is considered of benefit to both sides. CUF participants agreed that TYVA has strong and experienced facilitators, viable existing programmes and has an advocacy power that can be utilised positively. On the other hand, CUF has strong leadership, wide coverage and is an active liberal party with good grass root interactions.
The majority of the participants were of the view that the two parties (CUF and TYVA) should capitalise on the fact that they can work together. There is a greater possibility of reaching a wider group/community by channeling their ideas through advocacy and policy processes if they strategically work together. It was also emphasized that they can both concentrate on their separate programmes to maintain their autonomy and so that one is not swallowed by the other.
