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Leadership and Democracy in Africa

iLeda LogoThe initiative for Leadership and Democracy in Africa –  iLEDA –  aims to strengthen democracy in Africa by preparing a new generation of civic and political leaders to be effective agents of change. The initiative does so by providing cutting edge training to our different target audiences.  

iLEDA’s training focuses on strengthening democratic leadership throughout the continent by fortifying democratic values, skills and knowledge of citizen leaders, of civics, of political leaders, of young people with potential, of political party youth wings and more. At the centre of our appreciation of democracy stands the citizen. No healthy democracy exists without space for and initiative by the citizen. Whatever one’s role in society, everybody is a citizen first and foremost. So, our training focuses on citizen agency, on constructive and collaborative relations between (local) governance structures and citizen representations, on political organising, on peaceful resolutions to conflict and elections, on governance challenges, on sustainability challenges, on hard political skills, on some theory and much more. Experiential learning, study circles, participatory learning, projects and field trips are all central to our methodology.

iLEDA offers several training products, all with a different target audience in mind, all with a different curriculum, whilst all working towards the same goal: a prospering democratic Africa with active citizens and representatives of peoples at its heart. iLEDA is currently running the following projects::

  • iLEDA School for citizen leaders
  • iLEDA Academy for a new generation of democratic political leaders
  • iLEDA Services offers tailor-made consulting on training, democracy education and leadership
  • iLEDA Network offers trainees follow-up support and peer-to-peer sharing in addition to a growing continental network of democratic practitioners

 

Founding partners

 NIMD
 Africa Forum

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Follow iLEDA's staff here.

Resources

  • Idasa interview: Paul Graham on leadership in South Africa Idasa interview: Paul Graham on leadership in South Africa
    [Notícias e Avisos]

    03 Mai 2012In an interview with SABC's Interface program of 15 April Idasa Executive Director Paul Graham speaks of the challenges to political leadership in South Africa. ...

  • Little to celebrate on democracy day in Malawi
    [Artigos]

    21 Set 2011By Max Sullian and Joy Mwandama, community organisers from Zomba, MalawiIt’s hard to believe that Africans - Malawians in particular - have got the power ...

  • Active citizens key for healthy society
    [Artigos]

    26 Jul 2011The local government elections in South Africa may be long over, but Idasa aims to dispel the myth that citizens have now fulfilled their civic ...

  • Democracy means being who we want our government to be
    [Artigos]

    26 Jul 2011Voting and electing our representatives is no guarantee that they will “deliver for all”. We as citizens need to be co-creators of the society in ...

  • Bem-vindo à Revista iLEDA 1ª Edição/Abril 2011
    [Boletins Informativos]

    12 Mai 2011Bem-vindo à primeira Revista iLEDA! A revista será enviada para a nossa rede alargada em todo o continente africano. Esta rede consiste em antigos formandos, ...

  • Idasa’s lack of service delivery study goes far
    [Notícias e Avisos]

    06 Mai 2011The survey by Idasa that showed that only 1 in 10 South Africans are satisfied with service delivery was featured in You magazine. Read here. ...

  • Working for the common good
    [Artigos]

    29 Ago 2010"Democracy is not something you believe in or a place to hang your hat, but it's something you do. You participate. If you stop doing ...

  • Leaders that can make a difference
    [Artigos]

    20 Jul 2010Democracies do not function well without leaders. But democracies do not function well with only a chosen few providing leadership either. Common citizens can be ...

  • Who will insure Africa?
    [Artigos]

    19 Jul 2010A reflection on a speech by President Museveni of Uganda at an NIMD Conference held in May, 2010.    By Patience Zonge   Coming face ...

  • Citizen leaders in Malawi eager to work on community organising
    [Notícias e Avisos]

    15 Jul 2010In April 2010, Idasa’s iLEDA programme completed the last week of the iLEDA School citizen leadership training course in Malawi. 29 out of 30 participants ...

  • From Idea to Action
    [Kit de Ferramentas]

    08 Jun 2010There are many problems and challenges in the world today, including in South Africa, such as poverty, unemployment and meeting basic human rights such as ...

  • Citizen engagement with local government
    [Artigos]

    30 Mai 2010Fighting for democracy might not save your life but it may well have economic benefits, this is according to observations over the past two years ...

  • Visit to democracy schools in Malawi
    [Artigos]

    25 Mai 2010iLEDA Volunteer Amy Eaglestone from the Netherlands visits Idasa’s iLEDA School for citizen leadership for democracy in Malawi. She travelled to the southern African country ...

  • Creating safe communities - dealing with crime
    [Kit de Ferramentas]

    07 Mai 2010Crime affects everyone in South Africa. We all want to live in peaceful communities. Creating them is not only the work of the police, but ...

  • Idasa’s iLEDA visits KID Schools for Democracy in Indonesia
    [Artigos]

    30 Abr 2010By Noxolo Mgudlwa   Reflecting on a study tour to Indonesia where we visited two Komunitas Indonesia untuk Demokrasi (KID) schools, one should mention some ...

  • Banana leaves, fiery sambal and democracy in Indonesia
    [Artigos]

    09 Abr 2010Idasa’s iLEDA visits Schools for Democracy in Indonesia   On the first floor above a diner that offers local delicacies wrapped in banana leaves and ...

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  • Idasa responds to Land Bank announcement

    19 Ago 2011The Public Expenditure and Smallholder Agriculture Project in African democracy institute, Idasa, has welcomed the Land Bank’s commitment to spend 1 billion rands on emerging farmers in the next two years as a move to unlock the long-term potential growth of agriculture as one of the pillars of South Africa’s economic development. Please read attached [...]

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Highlighted Programme

Accountability (ANSA)

The Affiliated Network for Social Accountability (ANSA)-Africa is a leading African advocate of citizen involvement in demand-side governance initiatives. ANSA-Africa Secretariat is hosted by Idasa.

More about this programme »

African Charter on Democracy

The African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance was adopted by the African Union in January 2007. Idasa is working with the African Development Forum to promote the Charter which encourages sustainable democracies in Africa, and has recently launched a project to build constituencies of support for the Charter in ...

More about this programme »

Economic Governance Programme

Idasa's Economic Governance Programme (EGP)aims to put the politics back into economics – to address the current democratic deficit in the way that decisions are made about economic policy.

More about this programme »

Electricity Governance

Idasa leads a consortium of South African civil society organisations and research institutes in the local chapter of the Electricity Governance Initiative (EGI). The consortium aims to improve governance of the electricity sector in South Africa.

More about this programme »

Global Transparency

Idasa’s Economic Governance Programme (EGP) is part of the Global Transparency Initiative (GTI) - a network of civil society organisations promoting openness in International Financial Institutions (IFIs) such as the World Bank, the IMF, the European Investment Bank and Regional Development Banks.

More about this programme »

Programa de Governação e SIDA

Programa de Governação e SIDA (GAP) da Idasa visa fortalecer a boa governação para combater os efeitos do VIH/SIDA, ao instituir a advocacia baseada em evidências, e promover o reforço das capacidade e a cidadania activa, tendo como alvo as Organizações Intergovernamentais (OIG) e respectivos actores não governamentais regionais. As ...

More about this programme »

Leadership and Democracy in Africa

iLEDA - the initiative for Leadership and Democracy - is a democracy training programme for political and citizen leaders from across Africa.

More about this programme »

Political Governance Programme

The Political Governance Programme (PGP) aims to build and strengthen democratic institutions and relationships between elected representatives, appointed officials and citizens in order to enhance meaningful engagement between governments and citizens.

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Political Information and Monitoring Service

The Political Information and Monitoring Service (PIMS) provides insights into the South African legislative process in order to promote an open and accountable executive and strong, independent parliament.

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Private Funding for Political Parties

In South Africa, there is currently no regulation of private funding to political parties.  What this means is that donors can give as much as they want, in secret, to the political party of their choice. This lack of regulation of party funding may allow efforts of the wealthy to ...

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Right to Know campaign

The proposed Protection of Information Bill, being debated in South African parliament has generated much discussion among the public and the media, as people fear for media freedoms and their right to access information.

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Safety and Security Programme

This programme aims to promote citizen safety, largely by researching and promoting crime interventions at local level.

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Southern African Migration Programme

The Southern African Migration Project (SAMP) provides information regarding cross-border population migration, and promotes public awareness of the role, status and contribution of foreign immigrants of African origin in South Africa.

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Special Projects

In addition to its main programme areas, Idasa also has special projects.

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SITO Portugese

The States in Transition Observatory (SITO) facilitates understanding of challenges faced by African countries experiencing a democratic deficit, by providing analysis of political developments in countries in transition.

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USA Office

"Friends of Idasa" is Idasa's US office and builds support in the United States for Idasa and its programmes.  As with Idasa's other offices, our US office aims to influence the discussion surrounding democracy and governance in Africa in order to raise awareness of Idasa’s work and help to mobilize ...

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Youth Zones

Youth Zones is a project that uses soccer to make a difference in the lives of young people living in vulnerable communities in Southern Africa

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