Having introduced a multiparty system only in 2006, Uganda is still a relatively young democracy. Since independence the country had mainly experienced arbitrary rule of law, accompanied by violent coup d’états. Hence the majority of citizens still lack a deeper understanding of democratic principles and processes. That is why our projects aim at providing civic education to various stakeholders in Uganda.
Activities in Uganda include:
The National Catholic Commission for Peace and Justice (NCCPJ) is a department of the Catholic Secretariat of Uganda and thus subordinated to the Uganda Episcopal Conference. NCCJP conducts various programs dealing with relevant socio-political and social issues like Good Governance, peace and conflict transformation, work in the informal sector and civic education. The latter includes the program Deepening Multiparty Democracy which is implemented together with HSF.
NCCJP operates several branch offices in various decentralized levels in the country and is thus capable of having a tight contact to the citizens and a strong bond of trust. At the same time, the Catholic Church of Uganda maintains a close contact with the parliament and decision makers, transmitting the voices from the grass root level to the top.
MoIaNG was founded by in 2006 with the vision to promote an educated, participative, peaceful, unified and productive civil society in Uganda in order to enable sustainable development. National Guidance as a process facilitates and provides a strategic focus so that Ugandans consciously build a common understanding and make informed choices on issues of national importance. In this regard, the Ministry is the only government body that is simultaneously responsible for political and voter education. HSF is collaborating with the institution in the area of civic education at schools.