ALESA is a new regional network lab working on civic participation, governance and human rights accountability in Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Accountability Lab today launches Accountability Lab East and Southern Africa (ALESA) a new regional network lab designed to strengthen civic participation, governance and human rights accountability in Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
ALESA complements the work of the AL South Africa and AL Zimbabwe Labs, which will continue contextually relevant activities at the national level. It will be a home for regional collaborative efforts that support citizens in building communities around new approaches and evidence, underpinned by a burgeoning ecosystem for change. A key objective is to bridge local and global governance efforts by elevating African insights in international policy debates and improvements by focussing on cross-border governance capacity, intergenerational knowledge exchanges, and providing local, youth-led accountability platforms on climate, digital governance, and extractives.
ALESA Director, Dr McDonald Lewanika, says the formation of the new regional body will extend global advocacy efforts on accountability and the fight against corruption in ways that are locally informed and grounded by creating platforms for learning across space and themes. “Part of what we need to challenge ourselves to do is to think beyond the electoral elements of what is called liberal democracy, to a more substantive form of democracy that speaks to and is geared towards delivering substantive outcomes,” he adds.
New, impactful partnerships
Citizens Action for Rights, Democracy and Accountability (CARDA), one of the first projects under the ALESA banner is designed to strengthen civic participation and human rights accountability in Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Tanzania. It builds on the Lab’s ongoing work with local, emergent, and community-based movements in South Africa, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Liberia, Nigeria, Niger, Somaliland, Kenya, Zambia, and Uganda. We aim to leverage civil society’s ability to work in solidarity across various human rights and accountability issues, including freedom of expression and association, civic space, digital authoritarianism and disinformation, and respect for people's rights in natural resource governance.
In addition to CARDA, ALESA will also prioritise work on climate change, natural resource governance, electoral accountability and public financial management. CARDA will also include a Human Rights and Accountability Incubator, which will initially focus on digital governance. Through training, mentorship, and collaboration with local institutions, CARDA will support innovative approaches to promoting human rights, transparency, accountability, and civic engagement. The program builds on Accountability Lab’s almost 15 year-long experience supporting changemakers who hold power to account through creative and constructive means.
The project will feature a range of activities, including supporting networks of emerging organisations and movements, developing creative and innovative educational materials, and launching campaigns such as “Make it Make Sense”. All these efforts are underpinned by a robust framework for knowledge development and utilisation in the region.
Strategic regional pillars
Lewanika explains that three strategic pillars will define this new regional work: thought leadership, platforming and convening and learning coalitions. ALESA aims to shape and advance innovative ideas, practices, and narratives that promote accountability, transparency, and integrity in governance. By leveraging Accountability Lab’s global presence, ALESA contributes to regional and global policy discourse, generates actionable insights, and connects changemakers who are redefining accountability from the ground up.
“ALESA will create inclusive spaces that bring together diverse stakeholders, from policymakers and civil society organizations to grassroots activists and community leaders, to co-create solutions and drive collective action toward good governance. These networks will also bring together government agencies, private sector actors, and civil society organizations to share insights, co-design practical solutions, and adapt successful approaches to local contexts,” he commented. By fostering peer learning and collective problem-solving, ALESA contributes to building stronger, more resilient accountability ecosystems across the region.
Through these interconnected pathways, ALESA aims to strengthen regional cooperation, enhance the effectiveness of accountability initiatives, and deepen the field’s collective impact. Its establishment is part of Accountability Lab’s broader commitment to building a connected, adaptive, and people-centred governance movement that links local action with continental and global change.
ALESA complements the work of the AL South Africa and AL Zimbabwe Labs, which will continue contextually relevant activities at the national level. It will be a home for regional collaborative efforts that support citizens in building communities around new approaches and evidence, underpinned by a burgeoning ecosystem for change. A key objective is to bridge local and global governance efforts by elevating African insights in international policy debates and improvements by focussing on cross-border governance capacity, intergenerational knowledge exchanges, and providing local, youth-led accountability platforms on climate, digital governance, and extractives.
ALESA Director, Dr McDonald Lewanika, says the formation of the new regional body will extend global advocacy efforts on accountability and the fight against corruption in ways that are locally informed and grounded by creating platforms for learning across space and themes. “Part of what we need to challenge ourselves to do is to think beyond the electoral elements of what is called liberal democracy, to a more substantive form of democracy that speaks to and is geared towards delivering substantive outcomes,” he adds.
New, impactful partnerships
Citizens Action for Rights, Democracy and Accountability (CARDA), one of the first projects under the ALESA banner is designed to strengthen civic participation and human rights accountability in Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Tanzania. It builds on the Lab’s ongoing work with local, emergent, and community-based movements in South Africa, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Liberia, Nigeria, Niger, Somaliland, Kenya, Zambia, and Uganda. We aim to leverage civil society’s ability to work in solidarity across various human rights and accountability issues, including freedom of expression and association, civic space, digital authoritarianism and disinformation, and respect for people's rights in natural resource governance.
In addition to CARDA, ALESA will also prioritise work on climate change, natural resource governance, electoral accountability and public financial management. CARDA will also include a Human Rights and Accountability Incubator, which will initially focus on digital governance. Through training, mentorship, and collaboration with local institutions, CARDA will support innovative approaches to promoting human rights, transparency, accountability, and civic engagement. The program builds on Accountability Lab’s almost 15 year-long experience supporting changemakers who hold power to account through creative and constructive means.
The project will feature a range of activities, including supporting networks of emerging organisations and movements, developing creative and innovative educational materials, and launching campaigns such as “Make it Make Sense”. All these efforts are underpinned by a robust framework for knowledge development and utilisation in the region.
Strategic regional pillars
Lewanika explains that three strategic pillars will define this new regional work: thought leadership, platforming and convening and learning coalitions. ALESA aims to shape and advance innovative ideas, practices, and narratives that promote accountability, transparency, and integrity in governance. By leveraging Accountability Lab’s global presence, ALESA contributes to regional and global policy discourse, generates actionable insights, and connects changemakers who are redefining accountability from the ground up.
“ALESA will create inclusive spaces that bring together diverse stakeholders, from policymakers and civil society organizations to grassroots activists and community leaders, to co-create solutions and drive collective action toward good governance. These networks will also bring together government agencies, private sector actors, and civil society organizations to share insights, co-design practical solutions, and adapt successful approaches to local contexts,” he commented. By fostering peer learning and collective problem-solving, ALESA contributes to building stronger, more resilient accountability ecosystems across the region.
Through these interconnected pathways, ALESA aims to strengthen regional cooperation, enhance the effectiveness of accountability initiatives, and deepen the field’s collective impact. Its establishment is part of Accountability Lab’s broader commitment to building a connected, adaptive, and people-centred governance movement that links local action with continental and global change.
For media inquiries, please contact Bathabile Dlamini on bathabile@accountabilitylab.org.
