PTF Celebrates the International Day of Democracy

Supports youth in demanding good governance, transparency, and the rule of law in developing democracies

Image by Youth for Social Development

Over the past 14 years, the Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF) has supported civil society activists in developing democracies working to engage citizens in the demand for good governance. Our experience has proven the value of this year’s International Day of Democracy theme – “engaging young people on democracy.”

We’ve worked with the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM) in india to encourage citizen demand for corruption-free service delivery, Youth Agenda (YAA) in Kenya to promote action against petty corruption in education systems through SMS, and the Assembly of Youths for a Sustainable Environment and Development (ASYOUSED) in Cameroon to empower local communities to reduce corruption and improve its governance outcomes at the local level.

These overwhelming positive experiences have influenced our ongoing support of youth activists and movements around the world. Our current portfolio of grantees include the following:

• Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR). In partnership with Serbian CSO – the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM) – the Bosnian and Croatian country chapters of YIHR are implementing an innovative project aimed at developing a regional network for trial monitoring in corruption cases. Read more.
• Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Government (CCAGG). In the Philippines, CCAGG is building the capacity of the members of its youth affiliate—the Young Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good Government–to train local communities on participatory planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation. The trained youth facilitators are also encouraging and assisting the establishment of local citizen groups to enhance the sustainability of project activities. Download the latest progress report.
• Youth for Social Development (YSD). YSD has just completed a survey on “relief accountability” immediately following Cyclone Phailin’s landfall in india to explore levels of corruption. YSD’s study also explored best practices at the international level in the context of disasters to help help policy makers, civil society organizations, communities to replicate or adopt such practices by customizing to their needs. We’re now working with YSD to scale-up this important work. Download the project completion report and survey results.

PTF is engaging youth at home as well. Wondering how you or someone you know can get involved? Attend the PTF/ADB sponsored event at the World Bank’s Youth Summit on October 7th, intern with us, or simply get in touch to share your views and explore volunteer opportunities.