Development of a Comprehensive Digital Democracy Training Curriculum
Positive Peace for Ethiopia (PPE) invites qualified consultants or firms to support the development, localization, design, and production of a comprehensive Digital Democracy Training Curriculum under the Digitalise Youth Project, implemented within the Digital Democracy Initiative.
About the Assignment
Building a sustainable institutional resource for youth digital democracy
The Digitalise Youth Project has supported young journalists, content creators, digital activists, youth leaders, and civic actors across Ethiopia to participate more safely, responsibly, and constructively in digital civic spaces.
As the project approaches its closure period, PPE seeks to consolidate the learning, practical exercises, mentoring approaches, campaign tools, and training materials generated through the project into a standardized, professional, youth-friendly, and reusable curriculum package.
- Review and organize existing Digitalise Youth project materials and learning
- Develop a competency-based curriculum with clear learning outcomes
- Create a facilitator guide, participant workbook, and supplementary toolkit
- Integrate Ethiopian examples, inclusion, digital safety, and do-no-harm principles
- Support translation and localization into Amharic, Afaan Oromo, and Tigrigna
- Prepare professionally designed and print-ready final materials
Assignment Snapshot
A visual overview of the complete curriculum package
The completed curriculum will serve PPE trainers, youth facilitators, civil society organizations, youth networks, journalists, content creators, and digital civic actors.
Why This Assignment Matters
The curriculum will preserve and strengthen the learning generated through the Digitalise Youth Project and support consistent, scalable, and high-quality training delivery beyond the current project period.
Institutional Resource
The curriculum will become a reusable institutional asset supporting trainer orientation, replication, adaptation, and long-term learning.
Contextualized for Ethiopia
The materials will reflect Ethiopia’s media environment, youth realities, digital civic space, multilingual context, and peacebuilding needs.
Safe, Inclusive and Practical
The curriculum will integrate digital safety, safeguarding, gender equality, accessibility, human rights, and do-no-harm principles.
Expected Deliverables
The assignment covers the full curriculum development cycle, from inception and material review to translation, professional design, and final handover.
Inception Note and Workplan
Proposed approach, methodology, detailed workplan, review schedule, communication arrangements, and curriculum outline.
Material Review and Gap Analysis
Inventory of available materials, lessons, content gaps, duplication issues, and recommended improvements.
Curriculum Framework
Module structure, competencies, learning outcomes, sequencing, methodology, timing, and assessment approach.
Full English Curriculum
Complete modules with concepts, session flow, trainer instructions, exercises, case studies, handouts, and assessments.
Facilitator Guide
Trainer-ready session plans, key messages, facilitation notes, timing, prompts, and guidance for sensitive discussions.
Participant Workbook
Youth-friendly summaries, worksheets, reflection questions, activities, templates, and action-planning tools.
Supplementary Toolkit
Pre- and post-tests, digital safety checklists, misinformation tools, storytelling guides, campaign templates, and feedback forms.
Validation Report
Summary of technical review comments, decisions, revisions made, and any issues requiring PPE’s decision.
Translated Core Materials
Localized and quality-checked core curriculum materials in Amharic, Afaan Oromo, and Tigrigna.
Designed and Print-Ready Package
Professionally formatted, branded, accessible, editable, and print-ready curriculum materials.
Final Completion Report
Process summary, quality assurance measures, future recommendations, and organized handover of final files.
Long-Term Strategic Value
The curriculum will strengthen PPE’s role as a resource organization in digital democracy, media literacy, digital safety, and youth engagement.
The Development Journey
The consultant or firm will guide the assignment through the following interconnected phases.
Inception
Clarify expectations and agree on the workplan, review process, templates, and communication arrangements.
Review
Collect, organize, and assess existing training materials, tools, outputs, and project learning.
Architecture
Develop curriculum logic, competencies, module structure, learning outcomes, and session flow.
Drafting
Write and standardize module content, trainer notes, activities, case studies, and learner materials.
Validation
Facilitate technical review, document feedback, and revise the materials accordingly.
Toolkit
Prepare assessments, checklists, templates, action-planning tools, and practical resources.
Localization
Support translation and language review while maintaining technical accuracy and consistency.
Design
Apply professional branding, layout, visual hierarchy, graphics, and accessibility standards.
Production
Prepare final editable materials and print-ready files suitable for physical and digital use.
Handover
Submit the final package, completion report, source files, and recommendations for future updates.
Indicative Curriculum Modules
The curriculum will be structured as a flexible modular package that can support multi-day training, shorter thematic sessions, training of trainers, community-based delivery, and adapted online learning.
Digital Democracy, Civic Space and Youth Participation
Digital rights, freedom of expression, privacy, access to information, participation barriers, and responsible civic engagement.
Media and Information Literacy, Misinformation and Fact-Checking
Information ecosystems, source credibility, bias, propaganda, verification tools, fake accounts, and correction ethics.
Fundamentals of Journalism and Ethical Reporting
Accuracy, fairness, accountability, independence, source protection, conflict sensitivity, and responsible communication.
Digital Safety, Online Protection and Safer Participation
Account security, passwords, privacy, phishing, doxxing, online harassment, TFGBV, and safety planning.
Human Rights-Based and Ethical Digital Storytelling
Consent, dignity, privacy, responsible representation, inclusive storytelling, accuracy, and do-no-harm.
Digital Peacebuilding and Conflict-Sensitive Communication
Conflict analysis, harmful narratives, polarization, peace messaging, dialogue, social cohesion, and non-violent communication.
Online Campaign Design and Digital Advocacy
Campaign objectives, audience mapping, messaging, platforms, content calendars, engagement metrics, and risk management.
Practical Action Planning and Community Application
Stakeholder mapping, peer accountability, monitoring, sustainability, replication, and community follow-up.
Curriculum Design Principles
The completed curriculum should be practical, adaptable, inclusive, youth-centered, and safe to use across different training environments.
Youth-Friendly
Clear language, practical exercises, participatory learning, and immediate application of knowledge.
Context-Specific
Reflects Ethiopia’s digital civic space, media landscape, multilingual context, and youth participation realities.
Rights-Based and Inclusive
Integrates dignity, privacy, consent, accessibility, gender equality, and non-discrimination.
Conflict-Sensitive
Supports respectful dialogue and avoids harmful narratives, unsafe disclosure, stereotypes, and polarization.
Required Expertise and Qualifications
PPE is looking for an experienced curriculum expert, consultant, or firm
- Advanced degree or equivalent professional experience in education, curriculum development, communications, journalism, media studies, digital rights, peacebuilding, social sciences, or a related field
- A minimum of five years of relevant experience designing curricula, manuals, facilitator guides, participant workbooks, or capacity-building packages
- Demonstrated expertise in media and information literacy, misinformation, fact-checking, digital safety, ethical storytelling, civic engagement, online campaigning, and democratic participation
- Strong understanding of the Ethiopian civic, media, youth, peacebuilding, and digital context
- Experience integrating gender equality, disability inclusion, safeguarding, conflict sensitivity, and do-no-harm principles
- Excellent written English and the ability to produce clear, structured, professional, and user-friendly materials
- Ability to work collaboratively, incorporate feedback, meet deadlines, and deliver high-quality outputs
Recommended Team Composition
Applicants may propose an individual expert or a multidisciplinary team
- PPE trainers, mentors, and program staff
- Young journalists and emerging media actors
- Youth content creators and digital storytellers
- Youth activists, civic leaders, and campaigners
- Youth-led organizations and youth networks
- Civil society organizations working on peacebuilding and digital rights
- Community-based youth facilitators and peer educators
Ready to Apply?
PPE welcomes applications from qualified consultants or firms with demonstrated experience in curriculum development, participatory training, digital democracy, media literacy, digital safety, youth civic engagement, and peacebuilding.
Required Application Package
- Brief technical proposal demonstrating understanding of the assignment and the proposed methodology
- Proposed workplan and level of effort
- Samples of similar curricula, manuals, or training materials
- CVs or profiles of the proposed expert or team members
- Financial proposal with an itemized budget and clear assumptions
- At least two references from relevant previous assignments
Submission Information
- Email: recruitment@ppeth.org
- Email Subject: Application – Digital Democracy Curriculum Development Consultant
- Deadline: July 16, 2026
- Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Project: Digitalise Youth Project under the Digital Democracy Initiative
