The Evolution

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WANEP

• The Evolution

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Presentation Outline

• Idea Conception 1990 1997
• Formative Years 1997 - 1999
• Historic Partnerships 2004
• Growth and Development 2005 2010
• Consolidation 2010
  2012
• Sustainability 2013 -
  2015

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Conception 1990 - 1997

• As a result of the civil wars in the region,
  especially the Liberia and Sierra Leone wars
• Youth bulge
• Inter-communal violence that threatened Ghanas
  fragile democracy
• Sierra Leone CSO movement against military rule
  which saw the ousting of the Armed Forces
  Revolutionary Council
• Small arms proliferation and collapse of states

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WANEP PROBLEM TREE COLLABORATIVE PEACEBUILDING
IN WEST AFRICA
WANEPs First Problem Tree Analysis
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Achievements Challenges of the Era

• Achievements
• The understanding of the strength and
  satisfaction in African solution to African
  problems and by African people
• The awakening of local capacities
• First ever regional in character CSO
• Able to raise funding support
• Concept included on the agenda of the
  Reconciliation conference in Caux, Switzerland
• Feasibility study conducted across West Africa

• Challenges
• Starting and building an African org to respond
  to African problems
• Development of programs to respond to identified
  issues
• Concept of peacebuilding network - new resulting
  in conflicting expectations from individuals and
  organizations
• Travel difficulty in region
• Poor communication infrastructure in region
• Transiting from Activism to Constructive
  Engagement of the State

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Formative Years 1997 - 1999

• WANEP officially launched in Accra, Ghana on
  September 10, 1998
• 7 Countries (Ghana, Cameroon, Sierra Leone,
  Benin, Togo, Nigeria, and Liberia) in attendance
  (The initial study to establish WANEP with
  Winston Foundation Grant 60,000 was in these
  countries)
• Joint proposal developed with Institute for
  Justice and Peacebuilding of the Eastern
  Mennonite Varsity, Nairobi Peace Initiative and
  group of West Africans
• 1st Funding of 200,000 secured from Winston
  Foundation for World Peace

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Achievements Challenges of the Era

• Achievements
• WANEP Launch
• 6-year Core Funding from CORDAID
• Professional and Technically endowed Regional
  Secretariat
• Establishment of first phase of National Networks
  (7)
• 1st thematic program developed Non-Violence
  Peace Education (NAPE)
• Decentralized Administration

• Challenges
• Overwhelming human security issues in region
• Inadequate Financial support
• Managing Donors interests e.g., CORDAID
• Weak National Networks
• Abuse of decentralization by National Networks
• Managing national networks with their diverse
  interests

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Historic Partnerships

• Institutionalization of WARN in 2000
• In 2002, WANEP entered into a historic
  partnership with ECOWAS
• WANEP and ECOWAS signed MOU in 2004, renewed for
  another 5 years in 2009.

• Project-based partnerships with
• USAID
• Government of Finland

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Achievements Challenges of the Era

• Achievements
• Attracted Support from multiple international
  donors including EU, Oxfam USA/GB, AWDF, Warchild
  Canada, CORDAID etc.
• WANEP in collaboration with CRS won the
  competitive USAID RFA to support ECOWAS Capacity
  in Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention (CBP 1
  and 2)
• West Africa Peacebuilding Institute (WAPI)
  launched in 2002
• Growth of national networks from 7 to 11 (Benin,
  Burkina Faso, Cote d Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana,
  Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone,
  Togo)

• Challenges
• Ad-hoc initiatives
• Increased demand for Early Warning in the region
  due to high security threats
• Huge peacebuilding demands from Liberia and the
  whole of Mano River region
• Fragile West African states without conflict
  management structures
• Limited core funding
• Expectations from Stakeholders including CRS,
  ECOWAS, USAID, Network members

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• Growth and Development

• 22 full-time regional staff in place
• National Networks established in all 15 ECOWAS
  member states
• Commencement of Project alignment to a 5-year
  strategic plan
• Growth and development of professional
  peacebuilding staff (professional trainings and
  other capacity building programs instituted)
• Supporting peacebuilding infrastructure

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Achievements Challenges of the Era

• Challenges
• Pressure from Donor to Restructure regional
  office
• Ineffective representative boards
• Inadequate organizational systems
• Dormant National Networks
• Adherence to policies and procedures
• New peace and security challenges
• Working with state bureaucracies
• Perception of CSOs intention by state agencies
  

• Achievements
• 15 National Networks in place
• International Recognition and acceptance
• Supported and resourced National Infrastructures
  for Peace including establishment of National
  Peace Council in Ghana
• Partnership with Strategic State Institutions
• Facilitated dialogue and mediation in many
  countries in the region
• Supported the conduct and management of election
  processes in many countries in the region

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2013 to 2015 Problem Tree Analysis
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Consolidation

• Consolidation of Regional Office
• - Office restructured
• - regional team established to
  include
• Zonal Coordinators and ECOWAS
  Liaison
• to support National Networks and
  partners
• National Networks re-invigorated with established
  systems such as Network Accountability, Learning
  Planning System (Nalps), WANEP Sustainability
  Index (WSI), etc.
• Establishment of professional Boards
• Expansion of partnership base through Joint
  Financing Agreements (JFA)

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Achievements Challenges of the Era

• Achievements
• 15 National Networks in place
• Improved systems and team
• Providing support to ECOWAS, AU, GPPAC and other
  national, international and intergovernmental
  organizations and CSOs
• Satisfactory funding base
• Commencement of strategy base programming
• Record low staff-turnover
• - Only 2 Executive Directors (EDs)
  since 1998
• - Out of 4 Programme Directors (PDs), 2
  still in organization
• - At least 10 staff have spent 14 years
  in
• WANEP
• - Staff have returned
• - Staff who left have gone to higher
  positions or are still in peace work e.g. Lemah
  Gbowee, Takwa Suifon, Levinia Addae-Mensah, Ecoma
  Alaga etc.

• Challenges
• Increasing Pressure to support other
  organizations in region
• Abuse (and confusion) of decentralization by
  National Networks
• Transparency/accountability issues
• Resistance in establishing professional boards by
  some Networks
• Project based plans
• Emerging complexities of managing a Network

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Sustainability

• Change from 3 year project planning to 5-year
  Strategic planning
• Establishment of Reliable/sustained core funding
  (JFA)
• Institutionalization of bi-annual General
  Assembly
• Leadership and influencing role in human security
  in West Africa
• Establishment and institutionalization of
  Succession Plan

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Achievements Challenges of the Era

• Achievements
• Produced over 500 professional peacebuilding
  practitioners in WA and beyond
• Key player in major global peacebuilding efforts
• -regional secretariat and chair of GPPAC
• -member of AUs ECOSOCC
• -special consultative status with UN
• (ECOSOC)
• -chair of JAES
• -Member of International Curriculum
  Development Group
• Over 550 member organizations across West Africa
• Published key resources for Peace Education,
  Election Management, Policy Briefs, etc.

• Challenges
• Poor Human Security standards in many countries
  in Region
• Emerging human security threats in region
• Weak National boards
• Weak governance structure in some National
  Networks
• Poor transparency
• accountability
• Increasing international demand for technical
  support

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2015From Sustainability to Vision 2020Ensuring
Early Response to Early WarningHOW DO WE
POSITION OURSELVES AS STAFF IN THE EMERGING
ERA?How do we actively involve all Member
Organizations for a Reinvigorated WANEP?