International Development Projects - 2026-05-17 11:48:16 PM - all published projects English

CA-3-P006528001 2026-05-15T06:32:54 This project aims to empower and raise the voice of Kenyan women to become leaders in building and governing a more peaceful and equitable Kenya through the use of media for social change. The project works to produce a 26-episode reality television series, called Ms President, where women are selected to act as presidential candidates and engage on issues such as women’s rights and the empowerment of women, adolescent girls and girls in politics, peacebuilding, reconciliation, and social cohesion. In parallel, the project facilitates media practitioners’ ability to change media content to portray women as leaders in their communities and to challenge discriminatory social norms that continue to depict women as inferior to men. It also strengthens the capacity of the selected women presidential candidates in the reality television series to have more effective messaging and to act as influential political leaders and change agents for gender equality in Kenya. In addition, the initiative partners with civil society and women’s rights organizations post-production and use the television series as a way to increase dialogue among civil society actors, local and national conflict resolution and peace-building groups, as well as government officials about women’s leadership roles in peacebuilding in three counties in Kenya affected by insecurity and violent extremism. Closed 2018-12-20T00:00:00 2020-12-31T00:00:00 Kenya 100.00% Media Focus on Africa Democratic participation and civil society 15.00% Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions 10.00% Ending violence against women and girls 50.00% Preventing violent extremism 25.00% 240000.00 The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased leadership positions for women who have participated in the show; and (2) increased effectiveness of civil society actors, notably the media, in promoting and supporting women leadership in their communities, in peacebuilding and in preventing violent extremism. Results achieved as of the end of the project (December 2020) include: (1) Media Focus Africa screened 26 episodes of the television (TV) show, which attracted an estimated average of 3.5 million viewers per week; (2) broadcasted on Kenya’s main TV channel, the show significantly increased the leadership and influence of the top five Kenyan women contestants. They built a campaign team, campaigned in different parts of Kenya’s capital, and participated in a live televised debate before the final episode where the audience (147,099 people) voluntarily voted for their choice of Ms President using text messages; (3) 67% of women and young women contestants in the reality television series expressed an increase in their self-confidence in public speaking,in their sense of empowerment and in being more effective agents of change in their communities; (4) 597 contestants and audience members (of which 51% women) reported having taken political and civic leadership positions in their community and other counties in Kenya after the end of the series; and (5) after the show production and broadcast, three local civil society organizations used the show to implement community focus group discussions in counties affected by conflict and violence to promote women’s leadership roles in peacebuilding and inclusive governance. Project-type interventions Bilateral Aid grant excluding debt reorganisation Global Affairs Canada WGM Africa Unsolicited Proposal Gender equality Participatory development and good governance 129792.00 110208.00 2019200026 Media Focus on Africa 0.99 239999.01 129792.00 86208.00 24000.00