Afaf Al-Muntaser, 43 years old, holds a university degree in software engineering. After a short experience in the field of Military Industrialization, she began her career in 2014 with the municipalities as a collaborator until she became director of the Planning Office in Souk Jomaa Municipality in Libya. Since I started working at the municipality, my foremost concern has been developing the geographic information system in the region. I started receiving training by Libyan experts. Then, the International Center for Innovative Local Governance CILG VNG International gave me the opportunity to be trained by very qualified experts who guided us in mastering this system. This training allowed me to identify the fundamental elements in the implementation of a Geographical Information System, namely fieldwork. After this first training, I returned to Libya and worked on developing planning in my municipality. Meanwhile, I was hoping that I would have a second training opportunity with CILG-VNG to answer the remaining outstanding questions regarding my work. I was fortunate at the end of last year to participate in another training with the center in Tunis. Indeed, the training experts answered my questions regarding road network analysis and field surveys. The experts also continued to...

"This workshop taught me how to work with municipal laws and understand the principle of participatory approach in the preparation of the Annual Investment Plan 2020. For instance, I discovered that the minutes must be drafted after each meeting with the municipality in order to document the decisions taken at the meetings and it must be sent to everyone concerned. I also managed to formulate during this workshop my next project which aims to develop the role of civil society within the municipality. In Beja, we have about 315 associations but only 18 of them are in contact with the administration of the municipality. The objective of my project is to create a platform containing the database of the existing associations to facilitate contact among them and expand the associative network of the municipality of Beja. Seima Ben Youssef, 35 years old, vice president of « Cheese Association and Heritage Promotion » and one of the beneficiaries of the technical training workshops on the implementation of the participatory approach in the process of preparing the Annual Investment Plan 2020 (PAI) in Beja.

Ahmed Omar Mataouaa, a 57-year old family man, has been a civil servant for years before devoting himself entirely to civil society in 2011. Elected as a municipal council member of Nalout in 2014, he organizes and facilitates trainings. Capacity building of youth is a key issue for him. “I have always been convinced that Libya needed experts and leaders who would handle the needs of society and think about post-conflict thorny issues. After the Revolution, the absence of the state forced us to empower ourselves and that is exactly this mission that has been haunting me for years,” explains Ahmed. In this perspective and since 2012, Ahmed Matouaa has participated in many trainings and workshops organized by CILG VNG International on various themes. “VNG is very supportive of many municipalities in Libya. At my personal level, I learnt so much working with its experts and participating in its trainings. This is the only organization which understands that the future would only be better with a good local governance,” he concludes.

a 49-year old mother of three children, is a civil society activist in Zouara and a former elected official of her municipality. A natural therapist for 20 years, Zitouna has also worked as a lawyer for several years. In 2014, a female friend of hers gave her the idea to run for the first municipality elections in her city. “At that time, I was not very motivated to take a seat in the municipal council even though at the same time I was very concerned and passionate about local governance. But thanks to the support of the people surrounding me, I ran then won and I am proud of that…” recalls Zitouna, who was elected as a member of the municipal council in 2014. “Since I was elected, I have been welcomed with open arms by the members of CILG-VNG International. I took advantage of several trainings and workshops which helped me build my capacities and master the concept of local governance. With CILG-VNG International, I discovered the experiences of other countries, which enabled to see closer how women can participate effectively and equally in local decision-making,” says Zitouna who despite her resignation from the municipal council continues to follow...

a 28-year old mother of three children, has been elected to the municipal council, in Zolton, since 2014. After studying Law and International Relations, Faiza started looking for a job, in 2012, while also being active in civil society. When it was time for the municipality elections in 2013, Faiza’s father, a civil servant, encouraged her to run for the seat reserved for women. “No woman ran in the elections in my commune. However, I had all of the support of my family and friends to run as a candidate. So I had this responsibility to represent all the women in my community. But, that was not all. My responsibility was to push for a mindset change,” explains Faiza. Once on the municipal council, Faiza has become committed to a gender perspective. “My dream was to create a center dedicated for women and children. I proposed the idea to the municipal council which immediately agreed to make it a reality. But, due to a lack of resources, we dedicated only one room to the women and children of Zolton with little regular activities, » says Faiza, president of the Center of Capacity-Building for Women and Children in Zolton. Then she...