Think Creative Fall 2023

Dispatches

updates from around our world

The new USAID Ethiopia Civic Engagement Activity expands Creative’s work in the country, where Creative currently implements the USAID READ II Education Recovery Activity.

Business Development // Ethiopia Civic Engagement Activity & FURAT III New wins in Ethiopia and Syria

Creative was recently awarded two new pro grams in Ethiopia and Syria that will address civic engagement and governance. Funded by the USAID, the Ethiopia Civic Engagement Activity is a four-year program to strengthen civic and community-based actors’ abilities to engage in policy analysis, advocacy, dialogue and collective action for peaceful, democratic change. In Syria, The U.S. State Department’s Support ing Local Governance and Essential Services program is a three-year cooperative agreement to make public operations more responsive, transparent and accessible to citizens living outside the regime’s control in the northeast ern part of the country. Strengthening civil society in Ethiopia The Ethiopia Civic Engagement Activity will use a collective impact approach in which civil society raises citizen-defined issues in an iterative process. “This new program supports civil society as it continues to grow and play a vital role in shap ing Ethiopia’s future by pressing for more mod

ern governance, contributing to the peaceful resolution of the country’s complex conflicts and representing the diverse groups that make up this dynamic country,” says Leland Kruvant, Creative’s President and CEO. The Ethiopian Civil Society Organization Council, with more than 3,900 members, will bring together a cross section of organizations and individuals—including youth, women, traditional leaders, faith-based organizations, diaspora and others—to co-create activities, while simultaneously building their organiza tional skills, comity, connection and trust. Along with implementing partners VNG International and the Center for International Private Enterprise, the USAID-funded pro gramwill create up to 20 clusters in key parts of Ethiopia which will promote issue-based partnerships and inclusive dialogue that leads to improved governance. Supporting governance in Syria Popularly known as FURAT III, the new program derives its name from an Arabic word that means “sweet water,” which is also used

by Syrians to refer to an area of the Euphrates Valley. FURAT III’s predecessors, FURAT and FURAT Plus, were implemented by Creative and local partners. The new programwill emphasize marginalized communities—including women, youth and religious and ethnic minorities—to promote a more inclusive societal structure. In addition to building the skills of local governance actors, the programwill also work on restoring and providing essential services, supporting firefighting teams throughout the region to enhance emergency preparedness and response capabilities, promoting better coordination and transparency regarding the governance processes, and engaging with communities to foster active participation, inclusion and awareness of local governance initiatives. “FURAT III allows Creative to fulfill the U.S. strategy in Syria to support the stabilizing effects of good governance to better the lives of people in northeastern Syria,” says Richard Jaskot, who lead’s Creative’s Stabilization Practice Area. n

Photo by JimHuylebroek

8 | Think Creative | Fall 2023