The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has engaged in programming on the environment for over twenty years. Often, the environment is an issue political parties, civil society and youth choose for their democracy strengthening to build cross-party coalitions, stand up youth academies, engage civil society in policy making, and promote other important government functions. In 2021, NDI leadership identified environmental governance as a strategic priority of the Institute – a wise decision as the Institute’s environmental programming since 2015 has grown rapidly.

When Asaad (name changed to protect identity) heard that he was invited to a Madania (civilian-led) forum with other citizens in his town, Kassala, Sudan, he had to stop and think carefully about whether it would be wise to attend. Kassala, the capital of the state and a border trade hub known for its views of the Taka Mountains, was filled with intergroup tension. To Asaad, attending a forum with members of other ethnic groups sounded dangerous.

With municipal and regional council elections approaching on September 2, 2023, tensions in a number of Ivoirian cities were escalating. The country had seen a recurrence of election-related violence, including following the 2020 elections in which President Alassane Ouattara stood for and won a controversial third term as president under the Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (Rassemblement des houphouëtistes pour la démocratie et la paix, RHDP) party banner.