Assessment On The Impact Of Arab Spring

Project background:   The Arab network for Child Rights (Manara) is a non-profit regional network formed by civil institutions and networks working in the child rights field. Effective Arab regional efforts have established “Manara”, seeking access to all children in the Arab countries through local partners working in the childhood field and knowledgeable about the status of children in their own countries.   As part of a regional project, an ‘Assessment of the impact of the Arab Spring on Human rights organizations’ should be conducted by the end of 2014.     Responsibilities and Requirements   -       Conducting field visits to civil society organizations in Lebanon for interviews. -       Conducting Skype calls with civil society organizations in the Middle East and North Africa region for interviews. -       Deliverables must be submitted in English. -       All the process will be in line with SCI Guidelines and staff coaching. -       All final deliverables should be submitted on the 15th of December 2014.     Objectives and Outputs   This assessment is used to gain an understanding of the extent to which human rights organizations were affected by the Arab Spring, and how they were being able to operate within the previous and current social and political situation.   This assessment will be answering the following questions: Has the Arab Spring improved the human / child rights situation within the MENA Region? Has it given space for civil society to grow in countries or to be suppressed in others? What are the issues that rose during this period and how governments and societies dealt with it? It is also used to assess how the changes were done progressively and to examine the root causes behind them and to find out what actions should be taken in order to address these issues.   This assessment will describe the context of the MENA Region, with particular focus on child rights organizations and the lives of children; paying attention to political, economic, and social dynamics that affect the wellbeing of the child and human beings.   Findings and conclusions from this assessment will provide the baseline data and framework for Manara Network’s next programming in the MENA Region.     Methodology:   -       Planning the course of the assessment in accordance with the respective stakeholders. -       Benchmarking previous studies in order to find and follow best practices. -       Design of the interview questions and methodology and the selection criteria. -       Conducting interviews with beneficiaries, civil society organizations and national stakeholders, with a special focus on child rights. -       Compiling all data from interviews and other assessments and studies done in the Arab world.         Essential Competencies required   Good communication skills. Fluency in both Arabic and      English. Good writing skills in English,      especially rights focused approaches. Wide Knowledge of the CRC and human rights treaties.