On September 10-12, 2017 the Omidyar Network Leadership Forum....
convened its first global workshop in Tunis, Tunisia bringing together over 45 alumni of the Stanford Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program. Tunisia was selected as the site for the global workshop so fellows could learn from the case of a democratic transition in the Middle East and from the individuals who were central to the process. During the course of the workshop, participants heard from Stanford faculty and Tunisian leaders who have been central to the country’s political and democratic transition– current Members of Parliament, the EU Ambassador to Tunisia, the first Prime Minister after the Jasmine Revolution, and members of the former Ben Ali regime.
The keynote address was delivered by Rached Ghannouchi, who is the current leader of the Islamist party – Al Nahda – which currently holds one of the largest majorities in the Tunisian parliament.
Alumni of the Summer Fellows were represented on panel discussions that focused on the themes of closing spaces for civil society, how to make democracy deliver inside government, as well as in shorter talks where alumni shared a specific model or organizational project with the network. In addition to these larger panel discussions were smaller regional breakout sessions that were led by a Stanford faculty member and provided a deeper exploration of regional trends.
Two case studies were also taught by Erik Jensen and Francis Fukuyama – the first was a case of legal reform in Bangladesh and the other focused on administrative decentralization in Peru. Finally, faculty delivered more traditional academic style lectures on timely subjects that included; the rise of global populism, the phenomenon of digital disinformation, and a more general overview of democratic trends in the Middle East today.
Informal events provided alumni the opportunity to reconnect with one another, meet new fellows and broaden their global network. The global workshop also provided the occasion to launch the ONLF Women’s Network, something that alumni have been interested in pursuing for a long time in an effort to advance some concrete projects to support the advancement of gender issues.
Thanks to a successful partnership with a local events production firm – Wasabi – the conference proceedings were livestreamed to reach a much wider audience and recorded for more permanent distribution. CDDRL is happy to share and post our workshop content in an effort to share this rich experience with our alumni community and beyond.
We want to thank and acknowledge our local Tunisian partner Wasabi, a media and communications company dedicated to creating platforms for public debate, community building, and open expression, with a specialization in event management, public relations, and video production.
In addition, we would also like to acknowledge the European Union for their support and partnership.
This conference is sponsored by the Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm based in Silicon Valley that was started by Pierre Omidyar, the founder of e-Bay. Omidyar Network has supported our alumni programming since 2011 when the Omidyar Network Leadership Forum initiative launched.
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The agenda feature a mixture of academic sessions, TED-style inspirational talks, workshop sessions, and site visits to local organizations. Informal events will also help to build our community and strengthen our network.
The agenda and videos of the sessions are available here.
Thanks to a successful partnership with a local events production firm – Wasabi – the conference proceedings were live-streamed to reach a much wider audience and recorded for more permanent distribution. CDDRL is happy to share and post our workshop content in an effort to share this rich experience with our alumni community and beyond.
Videos of the sessions and interviews are available here.
We encourage fellows to use social media throughout the workshop to share the contents of the sessions with a wider audience. We encourage you to see our Instagram @draperhills as well as to use the workshop hashtags listed below, both on Twitter and Facebook.
You can also see our content during the conference via @stanfordCDDRL
Workshop Hashtags:
#ONLFGlobal
#ONLFDisrUPt
#disrUPt
Photo Credit: Hamdi Ayadi
Snapshot of the Program
Full Program
During the course of the workshop, participants heard from Stanford faculty and Tunisian leaders who have been central to the country’s political and democratic transition– current Members of Parliament, the EU Ambassador to Tunisia, the first Prime Minister after the Jasmine Revolution, and members of the former Ben Ali regime. The keynote address was delivered by Rached Ghannouchi, who is the current leader of the Islamist party – Al Nahda – which currently holds one of the largest majorities in the Tunisian parliament.
Thanks to a successful partnership with a local events production firm – Wasabi – the conference proceedings were livestreamed to reach a much wider audience and recorded for more permanent distribution. CDDRL is happy to share and post our workshop content in an effort to share this rich experience with our alumni community and beyond. Click here to access.
Belabbes Benkredda (‘16), Algeria
Rafael Marques de Morais (‘16), Angola
"Corruption is the main weapon of oppression in Angola, and it has been institutionalized and glamorized. I disrupt it by investigating top corrupt officials. I expose their delinquency through social media, by reminding people of the laws of the land such individuals break, and how they have destroyed the social fabric of Angola. I have helped to change the narrative on corruption, by creating a public space where it is viewed for what it is: a crime."
Rafael Marques de Morais is a CDDRL Draper Hills Summer Fellowship alum (Angola, '16). Morais is an investigative reporter and anti-corruption activist, founder of http://www.makaangola.org.
Oludotun Babayemi (‘15), Nigeria
"Connected Development's “Follow The Money” project started in Nigeria in 2012, and is an initiative that tracks government spending and international aid to rural communities. Since 2012, it has had a direct impact on 152,822 lives in 31 rural communities in Nigeria through demanding government accountability from its growing network of 1,256 members. Using a combination of grassroots (town hall meetings, focus group discussions, advocacy meetings) and online activities (online and social media storytelling -Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp), it tracks whether government funds officially allocated to health, education and development projects do in fact reach their targets."