Cooperation with Civil Societies in Africa and the Near and Middle East (ZANMO)Ta’ziz partnership with the countries of North Africa and the Middle East

Cooperation with Civil Societies in Africa and the Near and Middle East (ZANMO)Ta'ziz partnership with the countries of North Africa and the Middle East

The Federal Foreign Office supports democracy-building and reform processes in North Africa and the Middle East. The newly established Ta'ziz partnership for democracy will support future projects in Iraq, Lebanon, Tunisia and the Sudan.

As a follow-on programme to the longstanding Ta'ziz Partnership for Democracy (formerly the Transformation Partnership with the Arab World), the German Government is continuing its support for democratically minded civil-society actors in the MENA region via the Cooperation with Civil Societies in Africa and the Near and Middle East (ZANMO) programme. At the same time, it is expanding this cooperation geographically to include all countries of the Near and Middle East and Africa.

In many of these countries, it is important to protect and retain the remaining spaces for civil society and to offer these civil societies a reliable partnership. Furthermore, such support boosts democratic resilience in fragile or increasingly authoritarian contexts, including in the face of disinformation and targeted interference by authoritarian third countries, thus helping to foster political stabilisation in the participating countries and in the region.

Content may encompass the entire spectrum of political, media policy and socio-economic projects within the context of Germany's cultural and societal diplomacy. Funded projects should aim in particular to build the capacities of civil-society actors and expand contacts between them, as well as to strengthen the pluralism of information, opinion and the media. Further funding priorities include promoting identity-defining elements, a dialogue on values and freedom of education and research. The idea is also that funded projects will increase the participation of young people, women and disadvantaged sections of the population. A high level of local content in and regional impact of the projects is a further aim.

Civil-society NGOs and independent media and cultural institutions in the target countries and in Germany are eligible to apply for and to receive funding.

Examples of projects

1. Since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Syria continues to face many challenges. Coming to terms with the most severe human rights violations that occurred during the civil war is not only a legal task, but also something the country's society as a whole must tackle. The Federal Foreign Office is supporting NGOs in this regard, for example by funding a travelling exhibition of photographs depicting the experiences of those who were affected by forced disappearances and arrests under the Assad regime. Bringing the suffering of these victims to light gives people the opportunity to engage in dialogue and also helps Syrian society become stable and inclusive.
2. Civil society in the Sahel is constantly under pressure as a result of authoritarian political trends and terrorist threats, among other things. At the same time, there is a lack of further training on the opportunities and possibilities of digital transformation. Nor are there sufficient forums for dialogue on the impact of digital transformation on society, politics and the media. Via workshops and networking events, the Digital Sahel project helped civil-society actors in six countries in the region to develop and implement their ideas on digital projects with an impact on society, for example in the fields of culture, ecology, and equal rights for women and marginalised groups.

Further information

• Federal Foreign Office Funding Concept on Cooperation with Civil Societies in Africa and the Near and Middle East (ZANMO)(in German)

• Further information on applying for project funding(in German)

Additional content

Federal Foreign Office Funding Concept

Keywords

• Middle East and Maghreb
• Tunisia
• Lebanon
• Iraq
• South Sudan
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