Angola Evaluations
 | Together for the Best – Uniting Angolan Youth for Political Dialogue“Together for the Best: Uniting Angolan Youth for Political Dialogue” is a 24-month project, funded by USAID aimed at promoting political dialogue among Angolan youth and seeks to explore current trends in Angola in order to leverage the potential of youth, both male and female, to contribute to the resolution of political conflicts and support the quest for collaborative solutions to the challenges faced by the country. This study shows that Youth are organized in formal and informal groups. Formal organizations (political parties, non-governmental and governmental organizations, churches, humanitarian and community associations, student organizations, as well as sociocultural and sports organizations) and informal organizations/groups occasionally organize in some neighborhoods to implement sport and culture-related activities with the scarce resources they have. Formal organizations tend to play a more important role in the community, as they are better organized (with articulated missions, objectives and goals, they implement their activity under an agenda and they are well structured) than informal ones, who may play a positive or negative role in influencing youth (as they are not structured and they do not implement their activities under an agenda, with no missions). There yet remains great potential for developing relationships and collaboration among youth across political parties. With pressure for youth participants to follow their party ideology, many youth see their peers from other parties as rivals. The main dividing line across youth from different political parties is related to Angola’s Liberation Movement history and political formation. The parties MPLA, UNITA, and FNLA have had different influences since the beginning of the armed conflict, which is why each of them has divergent beliefs; as the majority of people grew up influenced by the ideologies of their political party, that influence is Since the dividing line across youth from different political parties still exists, youth need more space for political dialogue to overcome this barrier and build up confidence, trust and harmony. |
 | Kamba de Verdade: Piloting a Campaign for Positive Male Role Models in the fight against SGBV in Luanda – Final EvaluationAngola, according to the United Nations, is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman. This report presents the result of an internal evaluation of the Project “Kamba de Verdade”, which piloted a campaign to promote Positive Male Role models in the fight against sexual and gender based violence in the Luanda Province. “Kamba de Verdade” (“Good Friend”) mobilized young men by celebrating positive values and behaviors. With optimistic tone, the program highlighted positive examples of men engaging in partnerships with women, and demonstrated healthy practices. The program activities created a new set of effective methodologies and tools available to work to prevent SGBV in Angola. The report demonstrates how Kamba de Verdade had a transformative effect upon the attitudes and behaviors of participants, lasting with them and their social networks. The report also contains conclusions and recommendations, including expanding educational, economic, and HIV awareness initiatives. This evaluation was conducted by SFCG and funded by USAID.
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| Positive Male Behavior Barrier Analyses in LuandaIn Angola as in many countries, violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women. This has led to domination over and discrimination against women by men. This study helped SFCG in developing a positive masculinity barrier analysis which aims to understand the underlying issues and community attitudes about positive masculinity in selected communities in the Luanda province. This will enable SFCG to identify at what level (psychologically, socially, culturally, structurally), the obstacles preventing change towards enhanced positive masculinity. In line with our programming strategy to support the fight against sexual and gender-based violence and in line with SFCG Angola’s program strategy to strengthen women’s leadership, the overall goal is to promote healthy attitudes among Angolan men related to SGBV and HIV/AIDS. This overall goal is supported by two specific objectives: the first one being to promote positive attitudes among men aimed at shifting social norms about SGBV with the second objective to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS and its relationship to positive male behavior.The results of this phase will enable SFCG to identify messages that can create an inspirational media campaign (a set of eight short film clips, comic book and radio spot) captivating men and drawing them into a more positive place as well as to develop knowledge, messages to shift attitudes.
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| Positive Masculinity: An approach for the Angola Context – Literature ReviewSexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is a multidimensional issue that results from and is propagated by various aspects of community life and society. The aim of this literature review is to develop a synthesis of best practices in social norms change programs promoting positive masculinity in comparable contexts around the world with a specific focus on Sexual and Gender Based Violence. This document adopts the inclusive terminology employed by the World Health Organization, which defines sexual violence as “any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic women’s sexuality, using coercion, threats of harm or physical force, by any person regardless of relationship to the survivor, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work”. Gender-based violence and forced sex are highly prevalent in the region: In Angola, according to DHS (U.S. Department of Homeland Security) data indicates that 27 percent of ever-married women reported being beaten by their spouse/partner in the past year; this rate reaches 33 percent of 15-19 year-olds and 35 percent of 20-24 year-olds.
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| Angola Avante! Baseline evaluation reportAs the European Union-funded project “Non state actors and local authorities together for the development of Angola” was launched in April 2013, SFCG conducted an internal baseline evaluation in partnership with three local organisations: Associação de Solidariedade e Desenvolvimento (ASD), Liga de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Social (LADS) and Fórum das ONGs Angolanas (FONGA). The baseline evaluation was conducted in the “Angola Avante!” project’s three target provinces: Cabinda, Huila and Luanda. The evaluation had two main objectives: (1) inform the program by collecting data on the present-day situation of the basic social services; and (2) collect pre-intervention indicators, against which the success of the project will later be measured. The data was collected via a survey (852 people surveyed) and interviews with over 50 key informants in all three provinces.
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| Youth Conflict Resolution Centers – Case StudyAs a result of the 27-year conflict, almost two generations of youth in Angola have missed important opportunities that prepare them to enter successfully into adulthood. The war caused long-term disruptions to the social systems and infrastructure that typically support youth. But, it is important also to recognize that the conditions affecting the youth continue to affect the generation before them. In a survey produced by SFCG Angola team as part of this project, the following challenges have been identified as the most prominently faced by the community.
The methodology for this case study focused on obtaining an initial image of the level of comprehension and retention of knowledge amongst the students of the school association based on the concepts studied during the trainings, as well as to assess whether the knowledge and knowhow has been effectively passed on from one group to another, in order to ensure the self-sustainability of the project goals reached through the activities, trainings and workshops provided. Therefore in this era of peace the Angolan government is aware of the pressure that these demographic trends exert and is coming up with policies to mitigate them mainly through efforts to create jobs and opportunities of the urban populations.
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| The School Parliament Final Evaluation
The School Parliament is a project founded by the European Union and implemented by SFCG in partnership with IASED (Institute for Democracy and Electoral System in Angola). Originally created with the aim of promoting greater positive and constructive youth interaction in the democratic process within the country, the project also educates young people about the practices and principles of democracy and creates a safe forum for dialogue between authorities and young parliamentarians on issues of governance, human rights, and electoral processes. The School Parliament was the stepping stone for the creation of the Youth Conflict Resolution Centers, a project funded by BP-Angola to support youth as actors in peace building and community engagement. The initial finding of the evaluation survey with relevance to the technical concepts covered throughout the project that were understood and retained by the school parliament deputies, the key findings showed that 47% were able to identify good governance as transparency, government accountability and active citizen participation to decision-making processes.
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