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Founded Febraury 25th, 2011 in response to the call for democracy in Libya, the New Libya Foundation serves to nurture democratic foundations through the building of Libyan civil society from the ground up. The most vital element of a new Libya is a society that is able to determine the course of its future, and contribute in setting the priorities of its governing body. No call to democratic governance can be realized until people organize to address their concerns and aspirations.

The Libyan people have taken on the cause of building their nation and empowering citizens. The New Libya Foundation is working to provide the resources and means necessary to build the civic institutions of the new Libya and generations to come.

Our Mission
Nurture the successful development of civil society organizations in Libya through training, education, access to resources and financial assistance. Our vision is broad with our immediate focus on: Civic engagement, inclusiveness, and association.

Announcements

In Loving Memory of Intissar Elhsairi

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Prominent civil society activist, Intissar Hsairi (front row center in pink), was assassinated in her vehicle along with her aunt last night. The motive for the assassination remains unknown, and those responsible are still at large. At the time of her assassination, Intissar was reporting to the home of family in critical need of food and monetary aid.

Intissar was a prominent and outspoken activist, and humanitarian who had more than 8,000 followers on her personal Facebook Page, the most popular social media outlet in Libya. Ms. Hsairi was outspoken about the protection of freedom of expression, freedom of association and culture. She was a member of Tanweer Organization for Culture and Arts, an organizational member of the Civil Society Incubator Center. At the Center, Intissar planned events such as book fairs, and one particularly memorable and fantastic comedy night – the first of it’s kind in Tripoli.

We extend our deepest condolences to her family, and to Tripoli’s activists, most of whom knew her well. It has been an honor working with Intissar, and a privilege to continue and promote the causes she championed with renewed commitment.

We ask our civil society peers to work toward a unified government in order to achieve security, and to continue the progress of our democratic transition.

When we exit this violent time our history, we will have women and men like Intissar to thank for our freedoms, and ultimately our dignity. As you read this, please pray that her soul and loved ones be in peace at this time.

Events

One Year Ago…

One year ago today,  the New Libya Foundation and partners launched the “Roghata” Community Based Urban Planning Charette Program for sustainable development. Thank you to videographer Mohamed Al Yacoubi for this tribute.

Fund Raising

Kilimanjaro Climb Fundraiser

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New Libya Foundation fundraising mission takes Aya Bey, Rami Rasamny, Rayan Rasamny, and Rihab Elhaj through a seven day climb to the summit of Kilimanjaro. 100% of the Funds raised from the climb were used toward the rebuilding of homes damaged by the 2014 civil war.

Research & Development

World Wildlife Federation Launches program in Libya

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Incubator member, The Libyan Wildlife Trust, is partnering with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to begin the implementation of the “WWF Mediterranean Program: Enabling NGOs to Shape the Future of the New Libyan Democracy”. The project will be implemented in Tripoli and Albayda with the participation of local CSOs, local governments, media and local donors. The purpose of the program is to identify Libyan CSOs active in environmental and sustainable development to build their capacity and support their advocacy work, to develop networks of CSOs working on environmental protection, and to assist CSOs in advocating on a local and state level. The project will also seek to establish ties between networks in Libya, Tunis and Morrocco working on environmental and sustainable development.

 

To learn more about the Libya Wildlife Trust, please visit their website:

https://www.facebook.com/LIBYANWILDLIFETRUST?fref=photo

Research & Development

In Loving Memory of Salwa Bugaighis

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Tribute by NLF Staff: She was an inspiration. Here she is supporting one of our initiatives just last week. She believed that investing in the people around her was important and tried to bring good people along with her toward success. She embodied the soft, visionary and hopeful leadership that Libya craves today. Her life is not a loss as we will continue to stand for the things she became a symbol for; Inclusiveness, reason, justice, compassion and peace. May her lovely soul rest in the peace and dignity she lived to provide for others.

Announcements

Launch of Goodwill Charter Media Campaign

The Goodwill Charter Campaign was successfully launched today, June 19th, with exclusive interviews with the campaign team on four major television networks, including the state network “Al-Wataniya”, the more conservative “Al-Nabaa”, the more liberal leaning “Al-ahrar”, and Al-Assema. The campaign was surprisingly received with support across political factions, despite the charter taking hard political positions on contentious issues such as the nature of the State, the role of women and minorities in the state, the separation of powers and the elimination of armed factions.

The Goodwill Charter is a 17 article social contract between voters and the candidates of the House of  Representatives. The charter reflects what the Libyan public and civil society believe ought to be the priorities of the House of Representatives to be elected on June 25th. Candidates who sign the charter are given airtime with their constituents through television and radio interviews, spots on social media, and through SMS/Text messages to their constituents.

To read more about the charter in English, visit the “Goodwill Charter” page under the programs tab, or www.Almithaq.ly to view the campaign (in Arabic).

Announcements

Almithaq Ad Launch.


Appearing on Al Naaba, Libya Al Ahrar and Alassema through July 20th. Much gratitude to Mr. Mohamed Alakkari and the ArtTech team for this generous contribution.

Announcements

Importance of Political Dialogue

We regret the cancellation of the 5th Networker, scheduled for Saturday, June 14th. The event was to bring together opposing armed factions and moderators as a precursor to the June 19th political dialogue hosted by UNSMIL and the National Dialogue Preparation Committee.  Unfortunately, the dialogue has been undermined by parties that made unfounded accusations about the head of the UNSMIL mission.

As we enter into the next congressional elections June 25th, it is imperative to remember that though electoral gains can shift drastically from election to election, stability and cooperation is dependent upon the inclusion of all political parties in the transitional roadmap. Inclusivity and dialogue are means by which Libya can establish the political pluralism necessary for a transparent and accountable governance process that represents all Libyans. It is also central to disarmament and the building of security institutions.

We encourage all Libyans to remember that our demands are all the same; safety & security, freedom from persecution and full rights and freedoms, education, healthcare, infrastructure, employment opportunity, a clean environment and good infrastructure. These demands are neither guaranteed by the warring factions, nor are they a point of contention. We urge civil society and activists to refrain from “siding with” any party in conflict, and to continue to advocate for the fundamental needs of the Libyan people by demanding all parties cease fighting and enter into dialogue.

Events

CSOs Meet Elected Officials on Transparency and Accountability

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Saturday, April 26th, Members of the GNC Mr. Ala Mgarief of Benghazi, and Mr. Musa Faraj of Jdabya, as well as Ms. Saida Berween of the Ministry of Local councils, dialogued with civil society organizations and private sector actors on the topic of “How to implement measures for transparency and accountability in governance for the next House of Representatives and Local Councils” at the 4th Networker Event of the Civil Society Incubator Center.

The following are observations and outcomes from the dialogue:

- The General National Congress began work with very limited capacity, thus measures for transparency and accountability were not immediately made a priority.

- The public had lost trust in the GNC within weeks of their mandate, indicating that trust was very difficult to establish/maintain given the political environment and history.

- The GNC did not immediately recognize the huge threat of lost trust and credibility that was apparent as soon as citizens called for the election, rather than selection of the Constitutional Assembly within weeks of the GNC’s election.

- Though the lack of trust in the GNC was evident early on, there were no measures taken to earn the trust of the public, including measures for accountability, transparency, and better means of representation. The reason for in-action on such measures was likely due to the GNC’s failure to recognize the role of trust in democratic representation, and the function and benefits of accountability and transparency measures in governance

- Until today, citizens do not know if their elected representatives go into work, how their representatives vote on various laws and decisions, outcomes of discussions within the assembly, outcomes of discussions within committee meetings, who committee members are, how an item is placed on the agenda of the GNC, how the national budget was allocated for 2014, how it was spent in 2011, 2012, 2013, how citizens can reach their local representatives, how citizens can communicate their hopes and priorities for the State through their parliamentary representatives.

- The lack of transparency and accountability has lead to the existence of a non-democratic process implemented by an elected body, leading citizens to become less responsive to elections, and the proposition of democracy. More dangerously, they have become less responsive to the rule- of-law at large.

- Without the above measures and precedence in transparency, accountability and representation at the highest levels of government:

- There remains little to no opportunity to implement such measures in the public and privatesector, allowing social, political and economic corruption to spread indefinitely.

- There remains little to no opportunity to build credibility and trust in the state to the extent required to attract loyalty of security forces, and activate disarmament initiatives, allowing the state to enjoy a legitimate monopoly on power.

- There remains no opportunity to enjoy stability to the extent required to attract local and foreign investment.

- Because representative bodies typically respond to a strong demand from the “street” or citizens, the implementation of transparency and accountability measures requires a strong demand from the Libyan public and civil society. Civil society has very limited capacity at the moment.

- The GNC members in attendance noted that few groups approach the GNC with the intent or capacity to summon such a demand, and no strong demand has yet been made from “the street”. Because this demand is not a priority coming from organized civil society groups and the public, the matter of transparency and accountability has yet to be made a priority within the governing body of the GNC.

- Unless Libyan civil society and the public make very clear demands for measures toward transparency and accountability in the next House of Representatives and local councils, such governing bodies are likely to suffer from the very same perceptions of corruption, apathy and partisanship which plagued the GNC, and has left the nation in relative anarchy.

- If the Libyan public desires a better governance process (and not just new people in parliament) it must be prepared to collectively demand greater means of accountability and transparency in the next House of Representatives, and local councils, and see such measures through to implementation as a matter of priority.

Mr. Ala Mgarief, Mr. Musa Faraj, and Ms. Saida Berween have agreed to engage with any person or group in civil society willing to advocate for such measures.

Special thanks to  event volunteers, Mr. Ehab Masmos, Ahmed Albayas, Othman Anwar, Abd Alrauf Alsherief, Anas Alsaraj, and Amir Abu Sen, without whom the events are not possible. Lastly, we’d like to thank USAID for their generous and responsive support of the Networker.

Events

Meet the Constitution Makers from Tripoli

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April 5th, Tripoli’s democratically elected Constitution Drafting Assembly members presented their vision of what the constitution making process should look like, and addressed questions posed by Networker guests. Two of the five assembly members chose to decline the invitation just minutes before the event, presumably out of a desire to remain out of the spotlight until they are more acquainted with their new position.  Former Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. Mustafa Abushagour, and independent member of congress, Mr. Musa Faraj had been attending as guests when they kindly accepted an invitation to join the panel at the request of other guests.

The lively discussion was one of the first public appearances of elected CDA members and explored some of the most contentious topics in the constitution, giving rise to some heated debates. The Tripoli CDA members emphasized a public will to ensure a central role for Islamic Sharia in the constitution, as well as explicit protections of the rights and freedoms of all citizens with emphasis on women and minorities. Dr. Mustafa Abushagour emphasized the importance of distinguishing between demands for federalism and a call for greater decentralization, the later being a desire shared by all Libyans.

Once the floor was opened to questions and discussion several guests representing a wide range of constituencies, including student unions, minority groups and youth, presented their hopes for the constitution. The open forum stimulated a discussion on what is a “right” and what is an unsustainable privilege of residing in an oil rich state.

The event ended in a roof-top dinner reception where guests continued the dialogue.