Bringing the Constitutional Debate to Far-West Nepal - July 2009
Radio station Shuklaphanta FM is bringing Nepal's constitution-writing process to rural communities in the far west. The station, with OTI support, organized and broadcast live programs to inform residents about the ongoing political transition and give them opportunities to provide their Constituent Assembly representatives with feedback on constitutional topics.
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Promoting Good Governance in Eastern Terai - July 2009
As Nepal's transition to peace moves forward, citizens who have had little say on community development decisions are beginning to find their voices. And in the eastern Terai district of Siraha, OTI-supported local partners are helping residents identify development priorities and communicate their wishes to local government officials.
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Engaging Youth through Radio - June 2009
B FM, an eastern Terai radio station that serves the youth demographic, held a series of live call-in shows on national and local issues. The programs, which received OTI support, sought to link young people and decision makers and increase positive youth participation in Nepal's political transition.
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Radio Connects Citizens to the Constitution-Writing Process - May 2009
Radio Palung, located in Makwanpur district, south of Kathmandu, has benefitted from a series of OTI grants that have increased broadcast reach, helped the station produce a weekly program that focuses on constitutional issues, and linked residents to their elected officials.
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Mobilizing Youth for Local Development Initiatives in the Terai - May 2009
Peace in Nepal is heavily dependent on community involvement in, and ownership of, the peace process. And as youth involvement is essential to ensuring community buy-in, OTI has supported Youth Mobilization Committees, which identify and take on small community-focused development projects.
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The Power of Radio: Siraha Station Steps Up for Peace - May 2009
Radio Samad, a station in the troubled Terai region of Nepal, used lessons it gained through an OTI-support activity to help defuse intercommunal tensions. The station hosted an on-air discussion between opposing leaders and stopped a dangerous situation from getting out of hand.
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Supporting the Constitution-Writing Process in Nepal - March 2009
To increase transparency and public knowledge of Nepal’s constitution as it is being drafted by the Constituent Assembly, OTI grants helped establish a media resource center, install an internal broadcasting system, and create a constitutional resource center.
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Increasing Government Accountability through Radio - March 2009
Radio stations in Nepal's Terai region, partnered with OTI, are broadcasting a new interactive program that allows local government officials to discuss the country's pressing transitional issues directly with the people they serve. The program often prompts quick action on problems with government services.
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Empowering Citizens with Knowledge of Charters - November 2008
Every Nepalese government office has a Citizen Charter (CC) describing the services the office is required to provide and the activities it has planned. To provide Nepalese citizens with information about government responsibilities and engage them in civic processes, OTI partnered with Sahakarya Nepal to teach residents—adults and youth—about CC provisions.
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Youth in Action: Supporting Peace and Reconciliation - September 2008
Youth participation is a key element in motivating Nepali communities to support the peace process; at the same time, young people are under a great deal of pressure to join the ranks of armed groups, political parties, and politically affiliated youth groups. Accordingly, OTI supported local partners to train and mobilize 265 youth peace volunteers in 125 village areas and four municipalities in the central Terai.
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Engaging Youth in Community Development in the Eastern Terai - August 2008
Working in four sensitive districts in the eastern Terai, OTI established Youth Mobilization Committees (YMCs) in 150 village areas and empowered the YMCs to consult with communities to identify pressing small-scale development needs as a way to empower young people and provide opportunities for them to engage in positive development efforts.
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Journalistic Initiative Connects the Terai and Hill Regions - August 2008
Journalists in the Terai region of Nepal are often criticized for failing to keep their stories impartial and for inaccurate reporting on issues that concern the Madhesi people, the predominant ethnic group of the fertile lowland. To moderate the biases in the media that fuel tensions and to promote mutual understanding, OTI organized an interethnic exchange program for 10 Madhesi and 10 Pahadi journalists.
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Community Radio Debuts in Remote Humla District - June 2008
To increase opportunities for residents of the remote Humla district to participate in Nepal's peace and transition processes, OTI provided support to establish Radio Kailash in Simkot, which is broadcasting seven and a half hours daily to 17 village areas and more than 20,000 listeners across the district.
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Youth Observe Second Anniversary of Democracy - May 2008
Young people, who were instrumental in reinstating democracy during Jana Andolaan II (People's Movement), have played both positive and negative roles in the ongoing transition. Accordingly, to educate youth on democratic practices, political tolerance, and nonviolent means of political expression, the Social Organization for Liberal Volunteer Engagement Nepal, with OTI assistance, held a cultural and awareness-raising event on the second anniversary of Jana Andolaan II.
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Citizens Respond to "A People War" - April 2008
Photographs from the book "A People War"—a collection of 172 images that capture Nepal's 11-year conflict—were shown at 31 locations around the country. Local NGO nepa~laya exhibited the photos to serve as a collective memory of the dark decade so that efforts for truth and reconciliation are continued and a return to violence is avoided.
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Sharing the Message of Peace in the Eastern Terai - April 2008
In the months before the April 10 Constituent Assembly elections, Nepal's eastern Terai experienced a wave of criminal violence and civil disturbances that threatened to delay the polls for a third time. In response to the increased unrest, OTI provided support to a nongovernmental organization to engage residents positively in the peace process through commercial, cultural, and educational events.
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Supporting Nepal's Historic Constituent Assembly Election - April 2008
With the successful execution of the Constituent Assembly (CA) election on April 10, 2008, Nepal's political transition has passed a critical milestone. Voter turnout was around 60 percent, and the CA will be tasked with drafting Nepal's new constitution. OTI worked closely with Nepal's Election Commission to support several successful election-focused projects.
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Peace Traveler Program Bridges Rural-Urban Media Divide - February 2008
Aiming to increase awareness of the transition process in Nepal's troubled eastern Terai, OTI provided support for a unique radio program that sends teams of bilingual radio journalists to rural areas to record citizen concerns and questions on pressing political issues. The recorded comments are then played on the air and addressed in the studio by a panel of local experts.
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Peace Rallies Diffuse Tensions in Eastern Terai - January 2008
In the months leading up to the scheduled November 2007 elections, communal violence spiked throughout Nepal's eastern Terai region, as protesting groups openly harassed the Pahadi (people with ancestral ties to Nepal's hill areas) living in the southern plains along the border with India. In an effort to inspire peace, OTI provided funding for a well-known Nepali human rights NGO to hold a series of rallies promoting communal harmony.
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Democratizing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement - December 2007
As the foundation document of the peace process, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) outlines the rights and responsibilities of all key actors during the transition phase. Since January 2007, OTI has supported several grassroots CPA-awareness-raising activities, some of which have been successfully replicated.
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Strengthening Security and the Rule of Law - November 2007
The Terai, a region of flat, fertile lands that borders India, has seen a proliferation of armed groups that claim to fight for the causes of ethnic populations. In order to enhance security, promote order, and increase cooperation between civil society and local government, OTI supported the United States Institute for Peace as it held a series of dialogues in six critical Terai districts.
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Engaging Youth in the Peace Process - October 2007
With OTI support, the Association of Youth Organizations Nepal launched a campaign on March 28, 2007, to positively engage Nepali youth in the peace process. The grant provided training on peace building to 126 young people—including 46 young women and youth from marginalized groups—who then organized 25 district-level Youth Peace Dialogues.
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Identifying Issues of the Madhesh and the Role of Media - September 2007
Although they constitute about one-third of the population, Nepal's Madhesis have historically been marginalized from the country's political, economic, and social life. With OTI assistance, a local NGO facilitated—in seven critical Terai districts—day-long district-level dialogues aimed at building consensus on the key Madhesi issues and demands.
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Informing People about Transition through Comedy - July 2007
To raise awareness of the issues the country faces during its political transition, and to promote positive attitudes that can influence the peace process, OTI has provided support for a TV series featuring Nepal's leading comic duo, MaHa. The show focuses on pertinent transition issues, such as the plight of displaced people, inclusiveness and social harmony, human rights abuses, and elections.
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Reaching Out to Rural Areas through Mobile Radio - June 2007
Following the restoration of democracy in 1990, Nepal experienced a media boom. In geographically remote areas, however, the media has not established a strong foothold, and many radio-blind areas have a negligible media presence. To address the need for a platform for discourse, Antenna Foundation Nepal created Doko Radio to bring radio to remote areas.
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Raising Dalit Awareness of the Constituent Assembly - May 2007
Dalits are traditionally the most marginalized people in Nepal, with Hindu custom placing them at the bottom of the caste ladder. And although they comprise an estimated 15 percent of the population, the Dalits have minimal representation in governmental bodies. With OTI assistance, the Nepal National Dalit Social Welfare Organization organized a Constituent Assembly awareness campaign.
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Supporting Students for Peaceful Protests - April 2007
Despite the positive momentum toward peace, Nepal's transition has been crippled by countless demonstrations organized by a wide, and continuously expanding, variety of groups. Starting on March 13, 2007, with OTI assistance, the Social Organization for Liberal Volunteer Engagement Nepal conducted a 2-day workshop on demonstrating more peacefully and reducing damage during protests.
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Music Promoting Diversity and Unity in Nepal - March 2007
Ozomatli, the two-time Grammy Award–winning American band, performed for the first time in Nepal on the theme of "Different Instruments but One Rhythm–Together We Can Make a Prosperous Nepal" as a way to celebrate Nepal's diversity and emphasize the need for communal harmony as the country works toward a sustainable peace.
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Rapid Response to Election Commission - February 2007
In January, registration teams started deploying to Nepal's 75 districts to begin registering voters for the Constituent Assembly elections. Late in the evening on January 22, OTI received an urgent request from the Election Commission for the procurement of equipment essential to the voter registration process.
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Launch of Live, National, Toll-Free Call-In Talk Show in Nepal - January 2007
After 11 years of an armed insurgency that severely limited public discourse in Nepal, there is a need to increase public awareness and participation in an open debate on a range of important social, political, and economic issues. On January 1, 2007, the Antenna Foundation, with OTI assistance, launched a live call-in radio show to bridge geographic boundaries, increase the reach of the national debate, and effect positive change.
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