Mapping of Pioneer FoRB Mentorship Groups.
Strengthening Freedom of Religion or Beliefs (FoRB) in Nigeria through Legal Support.
Search for Common Ground (Search) is seeking a consultant to conduct a mapping of the Pioneers Freedom of Religion or Beliefs (FoRB) Mentorship groups in (3) States within Northern Nigeria, consisting of Plateau, Kano, and Bauchi states. The mapping exercise will identify Tertiary Institutions and faculties of law/Departments from the listed three (3) States in Northern Nigeria. The mapping will also identify law students and experienced legal professionals with an interest in FoRB, including law professors in target states. The consultant’s research proposal should include a plan to analyze institutional level of interest in FoRB and, active participation/engagement of law professionals and professors in the context of FoRB across the states. The research plan should include analysis of opportunities and skills for mentorship on legal advocacy with a focus on FoRB, and strategies for community based initiatives for promoting FoRB in the states. Candidates’ teams should have experience in religious studies, social research, context analysis, stakeholders’ identification, mapping and analysis, evaluation experience, and data interpretation.
Context
Search for Common Ground
Search is an international conflict transformation NGO that aims to transform the way individuals, groups, governments and companies deal with conflict, away from adversarial approaches and towards collaborative solutions. Headquartered in Washington DC, USA, and Brussels, Belgium, with 52 field offices in over 30 countries, Search designs and implements multifaceted, culturally appropriate and conflict-sensitive programs using a diverse range of tools, including media and training, to promote dialogue, increase knowledge and determine a positive shift in behaviors.
Religion is deeply embedded in all aspects of Nigerian life – shaping not only citizens’ moral values, but also their moral understanding of the world, especially in times of crisis. While there are no official indicators of religious affiliation in Nigeria, most analysts say it is roughly evenly divided between Muslims and Christians. The country is believed to have the largest Muslim population in sub-Saharan Africa. It is estimated that 9% of the population belongs to other (not Christianity) or no religious groups. Religious affiliation is an important identity in the lives of most Nigerians; 87% of Nigerian citizens believe that
religion plays an important role in their life. Religious and cultural pluralism is the daily experience of millions of Nigerians. Notwithstanding the existence of religious tensions, the reality is that most Nigerians want to live in harmony with their neighbors of different faiths. A Pew Research report found that 71% of Nigerians think that it is a good thing for people of other faiths to have the freedom to practice their beliefs.
This presents risks to impact several key overall development indicators, including freedom of religious belief and religious tolerance. Search working with key stakeholders in the sectors as well as the National Human Rights Commission will be implementing a 30-month project to empower actors to prevent and address conflicts along religious lines and advance FoRB in Nigeria. The project will be implemented using a national scope to engage key actors at Regional level covering Six (6) States in Northern Nigeria.
While the geographic scope will be Northern Nigeria, Search will periodically and at regular intervals convene key legal Practitioners and FoRB advocates from the 19 Northern states in a central location and thereafter coordinate them through in-person and online engagements.
Search is recruiting for a consultant/team of consultant(s) to conduct a mapping of Pioneer FoRB Mentorship group.
Search will be implementing a 30-month project with an overall goal to reinforce the legal, social, and policy environments for improved FoRB in Nigeria.
The overall goal is supported by two (2) specific objectives and the corresponding Four (4) expected results which will guide the project’s activities:
Objective 1: The legal community supports individuals at risk of FoRB violations and violence along religious lines.
● Expected Result 1.1: Legal practitioners and advocates use their enhanced knowledge and tools to address FoRB violations.
● Expected Result 1.2: Survivors of FoRB violations access improved support services.
Objective 2: OB2: Attitudes, behaviors, and policies support greater religious tolerance and
freedom in Nigeria.
● Expected Result 2.1: Key stakeholders promote inter-religious tolerance and FoRB within and across communities.
● Expected Result 2.2: Legal practitioners, government officials, and religious leaders collaborate to address legal restrictions on FoRB.
Search will be combining an iterative series of setting up toll free lines, digital listening, capacity building, religious tolerance activities, platforms for dialogue, media programming, provide support to victims amongst others to meet the project goal and objectives. Our theory of change is premised on:
IF religious leaders, security agencies, civil society actors and other key stakeholders leverage new and existing platforms to anticipate, prevent, respond to, and address religious-based conflicts and their root drivers AND IF citizens have access to effective and trustworthy FoRB support mechanisms, AND IF capable and conflict-sensitive media practitioners enhance public understanding of FoRB THEN there will be a decrease in religious-based divisions, tensions, and violence BECAUSE citizens will be equipped to implement a holistic series of prevention, response, and support mechanisms, addressing
every aspect of the ‘violence cycle’, including both long- and short-term drivers of religiously-motivated violence.
To apply, interested candidates (individuals or teams) are requested to submit the following two
documents:
● Curriculum vitae and one example of a past baseline and/or evaluation conducted;
● A technical proposal proposing a methodology for the evaluation together with a financial
proposal for the completion of the aforementioned deliverables and a short cover letter.
Applications must be submitted on or before Thursday, 24th November, 2024