Definition of a Civic Lab
The Lab is a community institution that provides a safe space for all civil society actors with their different talents and backgrounds. The lab is active in four areas, including civic education, media, arts and technology, through training programs, open discussions, interactive activities, encouraging cultural and intellectual production, improving ideas and supporting initiatives.
The Labs are based on four pillars:
- Civic education: aims to familiarize youth and participants with their rights, develop methods of civil resistance to protect rights, fight corruption, and create ways to control the authority. It will work through training workshops, discussions, forums and campaigns. In order to achieve the highest degree of positive public participation and enhance opportunities for democratic transformation.
- Media: developing media at the grassroots and youth level through workshops and community productions.
- Technology: We seek to establish a new experience in technology through laboratories, workshops and events. We consider technology a gateway to developing youth skills and expanding their creative horizons.
- Arts: includes music and visual arts of all kinds. It focuses on providing a creative atmosphere for production and holding events to spread the culture of arts and consolidate its role in communicating positive messages to society.
The idea of the Labs
the non-partisan revolutionary bloc participating in the revolution is the basis of the new democratic civil society, and it needs rehabilitation through institutions other than the parties, and under the management of the revolutionaries themselves because this guarantees their independence and continuity.
Basic Principles : We adopt the following principles of good democratic governance as revolutionary values that guide our work:
- Transparency: It represents a basis for building a relationship of trust between us.
- Participation: Providing fair opportunities that reflect societal diversity to ensure the rights of individuals and groups.
- Accountability: The rule of law can only be achieved through its application to everyone.
- Equality: Cultural, religious, gender and intellectual diversity are the basis of equality in society.
Our motto: #Watch_Build_Resist
We are watching: to protect the revolution from theft, corruption and deviation from the basic principles for which the revolution was founded, and to protect freedoms, rights, equality, the right of citizenship and the independence of the judiciary.
We build: building the human being and the nation by developing, raising awareness and contributing to all aspects of life and development in all cities and regions.
We resist: We resist any deviation from the course of the revolution and we resist corruption in all its forms and any infringement of rights and freedoms based on race, tribe, gender or religion. We resist all forms of dictatorship, individual or institutional authoritarianism.
Labs financing
We aspire for each state/region to have an independent laboratory. Currently, there are five factories in East Darfur state “Al Daein”, Gedaref state “Gadarif”, Khartoum state in “Bahri”, “Omdurman” and “Khartoum”. The factory obtains financing for the purpose of establishing and providing the initial needs such as rent, furniture, water, electricity… There are constant efforts to attract financing for workshops, projects and events. The lab started with personal donations of membership and then was able to obtain funding from several bodies and organizations: DT Global, the European Commission, Save World, Youthform and Nuwaidah. The laboratory has collaborated with the Goethe-Institut, the Gothenburg Film Festival, the Ministry of Information and Culture, Welfare and Health.
Work teams
Each lab is built on three main teams: the civic education lab, the arts and culture lab, and the media and technology lab. Each group has clear long- and short-term goals.
Lab Projects
Each lab carries out independent local community projects based on the interests of active membership and according to the needs of the region. And each project is managed internally with complete independence according to the nature of the project. Each lab shares the details of its projects with the rest of the labs to benefit and exchange experiences and resources.
Management offices:
The membership of each core task force and local project appoints a coordinator by vote. The teams and projects united assign a financial logistic and networking officer for each plant. Those elected make up the office of management. It has a management office for each lab consisting of: a financial logistic officer, a networking official, a civil training lab coordinator, a media and technology lab coordinator, an art lab coordinator and a coordinator for each project. As for organizing, approving plans and regulations, it is through a meeting of all the administration offices.
Planning and Follow-up Office:
To improve the work, the management offices are a planning and follow-up office. The role of this office is to set the vision, which are the basic principles and priorities. And then follow up the work, publish reports and develop a vision for the general strategy to be approved by the administration offices. The Planning and Follow-up Office consists of: Report Writer, Networking Officer, Project Coordinator, Laboratory Coordinator, Program Coordinator, and General Accountant.
