Welcome to NICE
The National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) is a government of Malawi project funded by the European Union (EU). It was officially launched on 6th February 1999, just prior to the country’s second multiparty general elections.
The project aims at encouraging Malawians to actively participate in public life through awareness initiatives and capacity building.
Our Objective
NICE has gone through two successful phases. Phase 1 was from February 1999 to June 2000 and Phase II from July 2000 to June 2006. Currently NICE is in Phase III which is running from July 2006 to December 2009.
In the currently running phase, NICE aims at strengthening of the democratic process and increasing good governance in Malawi, by providing civic education (CE) on a permanent basis.
Our Values
NICE is implementing a variety of programs aimed at promoting awareness and internalization of democratic principles and values in local communities. We exist to provide civic education which is characterized by the following values.
- Continuous and permanent civic education for all Malawians.
- Impartial and objective civic education that assists people in obtaining the correct information that will help them make informed choices.
- Professionalism that requires total loyalty and commitment to the projects goals and values that focus on the interests of the project and not any individual.
- Walking the talk of transparency and accountability and strict adherence to the values of good governance in NICE and all those we work with.
- Needs-based civic education activities that respond to the prevailing needs of the people.
Our Achievements
For the time that it has been in existence, the following are some of the achievements of NICE.
- Establishment of countrywide offices and information resource centres.
- Supporting establishments of a vibrant outreach structure, comprised of well trained community based civic educators working on a voluntary or semi-permanent basis.
- Enhanced commitment to political tolerance especially in districts where multiparty committees were formed.
- Successful mobilization of people in 1999 and 2004 presidential and parliamentary elections.
