In partnership with DAI-UK Aid, the Institute for Democratic Education and Advocacy (IDEA) launched a university-based initiative to bring students back into democratic conversations and build peaceful academic spaces in Punjab. Implemented from October 2018 to December 2020 with a budget of PKR 5.2 million, the project focused on organizing panel discussions and interactive sessions that empowered student voices and rebuilt trust between students, societies, and institutions.
IDEA’s approach was rooted in student involvement. Through peacebuilding activities such as discussion forums, poster exhibitions, and cultural performances like songs and spoken-word speeches, students were encouraged to share their views openly and respectfully. Many of these events were led in collaboration with professors and supported by student societies that had not been active for years. The initiative helped revive and strengthen those societies, giving them structure and a renewed sense of purpose.
In addition to these on-campus events, the project played a vital role in enhancing collaboration between faculty, university stakeholders, and civil society. With over 10 universities engaged and more than 2,000 students participating, the effort transformed passive learners into active advocates for peace within their communities. Students were not just attendees but hosts, presenters, and facilitators — owning the space and the conversations.
In an effort to promote social harmony and peaceful coexistence on university campuses, the Institute for Democratic Education & Advocacy (IDEA) initiated a comprehensive project focused on youth-led peacebuilding in Punjab. Launched alongside earlier work in 2018, and concluding in December 2020, the initiative was supported with a budget of PKR 5.6 million and focused on cultivating tolerance, inclusivity, and conflict resolution skills across student groups.
The project was designed to directly respond to growing polarization, misunderstanding, and occasional conflict observed among university student bodies. Recognizing that campuses are shared spaces where young people from different regions, sects, and social identities come together, IDEA saw an opportunity to nurture peace through conversation, art, and leadership.
Implementation began in October 2018 with the coordination of universities, department heads, and pre-existing student clubs whose activities had slowed in recent years. The project’s first phase included orientation and training for selected student ambassadors and society leaders, giving them the tools to organize events that reflected grassroots concerns and celebrated cultural diversity.
One of the project’s central strategies was to empower student-led societies to sustain peace messaging even after the formal support from IDEA concluded.
The “Mumkin Alliance Punjab” project, supported by Oxfam Canada and led by the Institute for Democratic Education and Advocacy (IDEA), focused on addressing long-standing challenges related to women’s rights and empowerment across Punjab. This transformative initiative ran from January 2021 to March 2024, with a total budget of PKR 23.3 million, and was built around the critical need to confront and reduce gender-based violence (GBV), end early child marriages, and help women gain increased participation in local governance structures.
Recognizing that many rural and even urban communities lack awareness of the consequences of GBV and child marriage, IDEA launched a multifaceted campaign that included field-based activities such as community seminars, panel discussions, and stakeholder dialogues. These events acted as platforms where survivors, lawmakers, civil society actors, religious scholars, and youth could come together to discuss not just the problems, but constructive paths forward.
The project engaged deeply with both structured stakeholders and local communities, uniting key players from civil society, academia, media, and Punjab’s government departments.
Each seminar and activity was designed to not simply raise awareness, but to engage participants in solutions — such as how local elected officials can pass bylaws to make early marriage reporting easier, or how women can make their presence felt in union councils and community decision-making spaces. Teachers, community mobilizers, local councillors, journalists, and religious leaders all had roles to play in helping shift narratives and reduce stigma.
As digital platforms continue to shape the way we learn, work, and interact, they have also become spaces where women in Pakistan, particularly in Punjab, face growing threats — from cyber harassment to data exploitation and online surveillance. Responding to this urgent need, the Institute for Democratic Education & Advocacy (IDEA) launched the project titled “Cyber Laws and Digital Inclusion: Securing Virtual Spaces for Women” as part of the wider Mumkin Alliance initiative.
The project spanned from January 2021 to March 2024, with a total budget of PKR 23.4 million, and aimed to promote digital inclusion, cyber safety, and women’s digital rights through a multi-level strategy of awareness, education, and legal advocacy.
At its core, the project sought to make digital spaces safer and more accessible for women by educating them about the risks, their legal rights, and the ways in which they could use technology without fear. One of the key pillars of the project was fostering legal literacy related to cyber laws and digital protections, particularly under legislation like the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).
IDEA designed a wide array of activities and events tailored for different audiences, including webinars, advocacy workshops, legal clinics, and stakeholder engagement forums. Sessions were conducted both online and in person, covering topics such as recognizing cyber threats, understanding online privacy rights, identifying misinformation, dealing with cyberstalking, and reporting cyber harassment effectively.
The Mumkin Alliance – Women Voices and Leadership project, implemented by the Institute for Democratic Education & Advocacy (IDEA), focused on empowering women in Punjab through structured leadership development, gender justice education, and meaningful policy advocacy. This transformative initiative ran from January 2021 to March 2024 with a dedicated budget of PKR 27.6 million, aiming to elevate the voices of women who have been historically silenced, sidelined, or excluded from decision-making spaces.
The project was designed as an integrated, grassroots-to-policy effort that created pathways for women — particularly those from marginalized communities — to step into leadership roles, influence public dialogue, and participate in the political and social structures that impact their lives. Through the lens of gender-based violence (GBV) prevention, the project addressed not only immediate needs but also the systemic challenges that prevent women from exercising their full rights in public and private life.
Activities under this project were both local and province-wide in scope. Community-level training sessions equipped women with leadership tools, public speaking confidence, and legal literacy, while consultative policy forums allowed them to connect with media, lawmakers, and government institutions. These sessions were intentionally inclusive, ensuring the participation of women across various backgrounds — students, single mothers, survivors of abuse, community leaders, and young activists.
IDEA facilitated a series of training workshops, advocacy seminars, and knowledge-sharing platforms designed to close the communication gap between grassroots women and high-level policy influencers.
Gender-based violence (GBV) remains one of the most deeply rooted and widespread human rights violations across Pakistan, affecting countless women in homes, workplaces, and public spaces. To confront this systemic issue and amplify the call for justice, the Institute for Democratic Education & Advocacy (IDEA) launched the Mumkin Alliance – Advocacy for Violence Against Women: Call to Action, a high-impact initiative executed from January 2021 to March 2024, with a total project budget of PKR 27.6 million.
Positioned as a large-scale advocacy campaign aimed at triggering policy reform and social change, this project sought to empower women through leadership development, GBV prevention education, and institutional lobbying. It was designed to not only respond to the needs of survivors but also to shift the policy environment that enables violence against women to persist unchallenged.
At the heart of the project was a multi-layered approach. On the ground, the program paired awareness campaigns with legal education, training women to recognize forms of violence, access protection services, and demand institutional accountability. These activities reached a wide audience — from university students and rural women to community workers, lawyers, health professionals, and police authorities.
Strategically, the project worked to develop formal policy recommendations through collaboration with civil society experts, legal researchers, and public policy consultants. These recommendations were documented and shared with government departments, lawmakers, and relevant policy platforms, with an emphasis on amending outdated laws, improving gender-sensitive protocols in law enforcement, and strengthening access to justice for survivors.
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