Following their revolution in 2011, Libyans embarked on the difficult task of transitioning to a democratic society. However, gaps in citizen knowledge about their new political process remained a challenge. In addition, civil society organizations, which played a major role in the drafting of a constitution, lacked the technical experience needed to fulfill their role in the new democracy.
Funded by the U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative, Creative’s Libyan Engagement and Governance through Applied Learning (LEGAL) project sought to strengthen the ability of civil society organizations to build regional and national consensus and to influence Libya’s formal constitutional drafting process.
Through local partners in Libya’s historic regions of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezzan, LEGAL formed regional advocacy committees and citizen public forums that brought Libyans together to discuss local and national issues and develop an advocacy plan for articulating these concerns to the drafting bodies. These committees and public forums ensured that citizens—particularly women, minorities, and populations outside major urban areas—were engaged, heard, and drove the drafting of the new constitution.
Creative had already begun issuing grants to civil society organizations. In spring 2014, the program conducted workshops for Libyan civil society organizations, delivering modules to 40 participants from across the country on consensus building for constitution-making, advocacy methods, women’s rights, and youth development. LEGAL also trained delegates of Libya’s Constitutional Drafting Assembly on the process of constitution writing.
