US embassy cable - 03SANAA331

UNCLAS SANAA 000331 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/PPD:DMACINNES AND JDAVIES, NEA/RA:BKEARY, NEA/ARP: 
MMILLER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM, KPAO, AFIN, KWMN, PHUM, YM, DEMOCRATIC REFORM 
SUBJECT: FINAL REPORT: DEMOCRACY SMALL GRANT FOR THE CIVIC 
DEMOCRATIC INITIATIVES SUPPORT FOUNDATION (CDF) 
 
REFS: A) STATE 187026 B) SANAA5295 
 
1. (U) Summary : The Civic Democratic Initiatives Foundation 
(CDF) conducted the "Democratic Initiatives Enhancement 
Program: Voter Registration Education Project". It was a 
media project campaign aimed to inform the people that their 
old voter registration cards were no longer valid and 
encouraged them to participate in the new registration. The 
project has also raised awareness of targeted groups about 
the importance of their registration in the coming 
parliament election and to encourage male support for 
women's registration. The campaign used radio, newspapers 
and pamphlets, which were distributed to community local 
leaders. This media project was based on three studies 
conducted in preparation for a voter registration education 
program. CDF conducted fourteen-week voter registration 
education media campaign and a series of voter education 
workshops from August to October 2002. 
 
2. (U) Media Campaign: CDF designed the program for 
awareness-raising to have multiple strategies. For example 
this program used national and local radio, newspapers and, 
in the second component, direct contact with local council, 
tribal, and religious leaders. 
Each of the two activities targeted a particular audience. 
The radio drama and comedy episodes' main audiences were 
rural women. For maximum outreach, each episode was 
broadcast three times during the weekend twice each day. 
Newspaper advertisements targeted the educated population of 
major and secondary cities, thereby reinforcing at the 
governorate levels the radio programs. The ads advised 
readers that their old cards are invalid and urge support 
for full family registration. 
 
3. (U) Radio Drama and Comedy Series Broadcasting: CDF 
assisted six radio stations to produce a series of four 
episodes. Each episode broadcast twice a day, three times a 
week which made it clear that the old registration cards 
were no longer valid and it stressed the importance of all 
sectors of the community registering for the coming election 
(targeting all Yemenis 18 and older with particular 
attention to rural Yemeni and women). CDF used the most 
popular radio program such as Kalam Fi al-Samim in 
Hadramout, Ma Yesah Ela Asahieh in Aden, kalam Mozon in 
Hodeidah, etc. Each station provided CDF with an evaluation 
and impact assessment at the end of the project. These 
indicated that the message of the project reached audiences. 
All programs were broadcast in local dialects within the 
context of drama or comedy, therefore reaching the target 
audience, particularly the illiterate ones. 
 
4. (U) Newspaper Announcements and Articles: Twelve weekly 
newspapers carried three-inch two-line announcements during 
August.  Some ads were accompanied by articles. The total 
newspaper run was 114 weekly and 70 daily announcements and 
more than 18 articles. The ads had slightly different 
messages each week in order to attract more attention. The 
articles carried the message that the old registration is no 
longer valid, and motivated readers to encourage all family 
members, in the rural or urban areas, to register. 
 
5. (U) Community Leaders Pamphlet: 50,000 copies of the 
pamphlet were printed and distributed all over the country 
through local councils and CDF volunteer network for 
official and traditional community leaders including 6,664 
district level local council members and tribal and 
religious leaders. The pamphlets covered areas where no 
radio or TV transmissions are available.  The pamphlet 
conveyed the message that the old cards are no longer valid 
and provides information on the election terminology for the 
new registration with reference to the election law. 
 
6. (U) Outcome:  Project's positive impact was more than 
expected probably because it was one of only two projects 
addressing the voter registration issue early on. CDF was 
aware that registration is not enough; therefore, this 
project worked on voter education to encourage Yemeni 
voters, especially females, to vote in the 27 April 2003 
elections. The project used voters' education in the general 
context of comedy, drama and explanatory newspaper articles 
instead of plain direct educational statements. The main 
target audience for the project were villagers and women, 
groups which historically receive the least attention from 
media and public awareness programs. 
HULL