To address this, Amideast created BLADI (Building Local Associations for Development and Innovation), a two-year project, funded by the U.S. Department of State, that would aim to build the capacity of individual CSOs operating in vulnerable regions by improving their organizational and project management capabilities, enabling them to better serve youth and the communities in which they live.
Interest in the program among Tunisian CSOs was high. Amideast received applications from more than 250 organizations representing all 24 Tunisian governorates. Twenty CSOs were selected to embark upon a four-month training and incubation phase, during which each underwent a needs assessment and received tailored coaching focused upon five fundamental aspects of organizational capacity: program delivery, financial management, human resource management, external relations and communications, and management and governance.
For 11 of the organizations, the training led to funding to carry out subprojects that they would design and implement in order to address the needs of beneficiaries in their communities who might be at risk of radicalization. Launched in mid-2019, the subprojects were successfully completed by November 2020 despite disruptions due to COVID-19.
By project’s end, marked by a virtual closing conference in December 2020, it was clear BLADI had realized its goal of empowering CSOs to successfully implement impactful programs and have the capacity to develop and implement projects to benefit youth and their communities.
BLADI VIDEOS
The impact of the BLADI project and the 11 subprojects has been captured in 12 engaging videos, which can be viewed on the Amideast YouTube Channel.
