On September 9-13, 2017 Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law convened over 40 fellows of our Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program who are part of the Omidyar Network Leadership Forum’s (ONLF) global community in Tunis, Tunisia. The Program marked its 13th year this summer and has 325 alumni members located across 81 countries. To date, we have convened 8 ONLF workshops, but this was our first global meeting of the ONLF community and is an exciting opportunity to bring together all our generations of fellows to connect, engage and envision ways of advancing democratic development.
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.
Keynote Address
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.
Houssem Aoudi ('16, Tunisia)
Andriy Shevchenko ('09, Ukraine)
Selima Ahmad ('12, Bangladesh)
Selima Ahmad is president and founder of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI), which represents the interests and supports the initiatives of women entrepreneurs. As a successful businesswomen herself with long-standing experience in the private sector, Ahmad took the initiative to form a chamber of commerce devoted exclusively to facilitating the advancement of women entrepreneurs. Ahmad convinced and mobilized women entrepreneurs, the government, and development partners of the need to create the BWCCI. She has developed 3,000 women entrepreneurs by planning, designing and facilitating different programs.
Rafael Marques de Morais (‘16, Angola)
Belabbes Benkredda (‘16, Algeria)
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."