But with all the best intentions CIVNET and its partner organisations were unable to implement its programmes and activities to the extent that it had anticipated because of the many political, social and economic challenges facing the country. The population experienced increased violence and intimidation and were confronted with excessive brutality if they were in any way suspected of supporting the opposition political party. This created an environment of fear and reprisal which militated against holding training workshops at ward level. Phase Two covered the period between January 2003 and December 2005 Although 2003 did not signal any significant improvement in the political and economic conditions of the country, a space nevertheless opened for organisations like CIVNET to re-engage communities at grassroots level, and to facilitate civic education training workshops. During this period CIVNET used the opportunity and relative stability in the country to review its education methodology and to explore alternative ways in which information could be disseminated at grassroots level, given the political and economic constraints and challenges faced. This was done by convening a National Methodology Workshop where the organisation reviewed its civic education methodology and course content in order to adjust and amend where necessary, in order to ensure optimal effectiveness. Given the context within which the training workshops were held and the levels of risk to the participants and the trainers CIVNET explored the utilisation of Study Circles as an alternative way of meeting and disseminating information to that of the standard CIVNET community training workshops.3 It was envisaged that the Study Circles would be more intensive, less visible and more effective – given the difficulties experienced in arranging and convening training workshops. It is however not clear how far the reach of the Study Circles extended into the community and whether they proved to be as inclusive and as effective as the community training workshops.4 Reference is made in some of the reports and the CIVNET documentation to the Study Circles but there is no definitive reference indicating their success and achievements.5 CIVNET’s overall objective of promoting democracy by enhancing the participation of the Zimbabwean citizenry in the decision making processes of their communities and their country was further disaggregated during Phase Two of the Programme to 3 main themes, for implementation at ward level. Each theme reflects a response to the particular socio-political conditions and needs of the people during the period between 2003 and 2005. The themes were: • Participation (2003) • Voter Education (2004) • Participation and Development (2005) CIVNET encourages all citizens to participate in their training courses, but has focused particularly on the inclusion of women and young people, who have historically been marginalized from the broader political process. The exclusion of women and the youth CIVNET perceives to have been a major obstacle to the democratization process in Zimbabwe. Even although there is no definitive empirical data to support the promotion of women and youth, there is sufficient evidence in the numbers of 3 4 5 8 Study circles are smaller more focused groups of citizens that meet to analyse the challenges they face and identify action oriented solutions. Financial aid was provided by NIZA to conduct a survey to establish whether Study Circles was a viable option for training and discussions, given the repressive and intimidatory environment in Zimbabwe, especially with regards to non governmental activity. The research was referred to as Social Capital Research. There seems to be a disjuncture between what CIVNET and its partner organisations have historically been engaged in and the project introduced by NIZA which required extensive research into the feasibility and viability of Study Circles. There does not seem to be a synergy between what would be assumed to be part of a project dealing with “Regeneration – Towards a new strategy for community education and media” and the content of the CIVNET civic education training programmes THE CIVIC EDUCATION NETWORK TRUST (CIVNET)) IN ZIMBABWE – Sida EVALUATION 2008:51