2nd National Learning Exchange with Accountability Frontliners

2nd National Learning Exchange with Accountability Frontliners

Iloilo City | 6-9 January 2022

 

Government Watch (G-Watch), in cooperation with Accountability Research Center (ARC),  is undertaking an initiative to learn with, from and for accountability frontliners. Entitled Accountability Frontliners Learning Initiative (AFLI) in the Philippines, the aim of the said effort is to reflect, learn, document and share the innovative, adaptive and/or effective approaches employed by G-Watch during the pandemic.

 

Well before the global pandemic, the transparency, participation and accountability (TPA) field was already heading towards an impasse. A decade ago, during the heyday of optimism about the TPA agenda, the big question was how to get accountability. Now the most pressing question is “how can accountability agendas and rights defenders survive the pandemic, closing civic space and rollback of past partial wins?”

 

In the face of both the ongoing shrinking of civic space and the pandemic, questions of how to bolster the staying power of frontline organizers become even more urgent. Several ARC partners have much to share about their creative and innovative responses. Given the challenges that its partner organizations currently face, ARC has created an initiative to facilitate conditions for collective learning from the reality of grassroots activists, together with them, and for the benefit of activist organizations themselves.

 

In September, G-Watch released a report and audio visual presentation on its learning exchange held last February 2022 that convened G-Watch accountability frontliners and leaders all over the country to learn about their experience in sustaining monitoring amid pandemic and the fascistic policies of the government of then President Rodrigo Duterte. Despite the dim situation at the national level, G-Watch has been able to sustain its monitoring work. During the pandemic, G-Watch had accomplished the following:

    • Sustained monitoring that held government to account
    • Continued awareness-raising and dialogues on TPA
    • Sustained engagement with government and civil society partners
    • Added and trained new volunteers
    • Generated government response and actions that aim to improve public services/ programs
    • Consolidated scattered local work for knowledge development

 

Right after monitoring pandemic services, G-Watch accountability frontliners have begun monitoring the state of local transparency, participation and accountability (TPA), particularly engaging the mandated local participatory bodies in the local government units, namely: local school board (LSB), local health board (LHB), local development council (LDC) and others. (See here for the tool used and here for the documentation protocols.)

 

On 6-9 January 2023, G-Watch and ARC will be holding a 'Learning Exchange with Accountability Frontliners' to discuss the state of local transparency, participation, and accountability (TPA) in the Philippines. Key G-Watch accountability frontliners from all over the country will be convened to process their monitoring and engagement of local participatory bodies.  
 
The event will also serve as an opportunity for the participants to learn about Theory of Change (ToC) and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework to prepare for an upcoming health rights organizing project that will scale and further advance learning with, from and for frontline accountability and rights defenders. 
 

For more info, contact G-Watch.

 

Email: government_watch [at] yahoo.com

Text/ call: 0917-1860298

Website: www.g-watch.org

Facebook: @gwatch.ph

Twitter: @gwatch_ph