NDI - Algeria

Algeria Offers Own Brand of "Arab Spring" for Vote | April 15, 2012

fgalleto — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:49:16 +0000

Algeria on Sunday launched the campaign for a parliamentary election that the ruling elite, in power for 50 years, hopes will soak up the pressure for change that has been building since the "Arab Spring" revolts in neighboring countries.

Oil and gas exporter Algeria is the only country in north Africa whose political system has remained essentially unchanged after the turmoil of last year when long-standing rulers were unseated in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

Link to story »

Modest Steps Can Increase Transparency of Algerian Elections, NDI Delegation Finds

ntekeei — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:57:38 +0000

With elections just five weeks away, Algerian electoral authorities and other political actors still have time to implement measures that can enhance the transparency of the country’s May 10 parliamentary elections, according to a report released today by an international pre-election assessment delegation organized by NDI.

The pre-election delegation speaks at a press conference about their findings. Photo: Karima Kassi

The delegation, which began its evaluation on March 31 and concluded today, is part of an international election observation mission organized by NDI at the invitation of the Algerian government.

The delegation’s objectives were to express the international community’s support for democratic governance and competitive multiparty elections in Algeria, and to provide Algerians with an impartial and accurate report on the electoral process.

The delegation recognized numerous positive aspects of the pre-electoral environment. New supervisory institutions, invitations for international observers, and quotas for women’s representation “can be seen as indicators of increased political will to organize more open and competitive elections,” said delegation member Sarah Johnson of the Carter Center.

At the same time, the delegation’s statement noted several challenges at this stage in the electoral process. “A number of regulations and procedures remain vague or undetermined,” said delegation member Anis Ghodbane of the Association Tunisienne pour l’Eveil Démocratique. Individuals with whom the delegation met raised a number of complaints about irregularities in the voter registry, the role and responsibilities of newly established supervisory commissions, and complications in candidate registration.

In addition, Mr. Ghodbane noted, “Despite invitations to international observers, no provisions currently exist for accreditation of nonpartisan domestic observers from Algerian civil society, despite their requests.” The vote tabulation process is a particular area where citizen observation could lend considerable credibility to the electoral process, the delegation noted.

In the wake of the Arab Spring and a new reform process, “Algerians desire genuine change,” said delegation member Carole James, member of the legislative assembly of British Columbia in Canada. Yet, she noted, citizens seem skeptical that new legal provisions alone will increase the transparency of the contest or produce a more credible parliament capable of significantly influencing the reform process. But, delegation member Irena Hadziabdic, president of the European Association of Election Officials, noted that steps can be taken today to “increase public faith in these elections and in Algeria’s political process more broadly."

In its report, the delegation recommended a number of steps to increase transparency and encourage public confidence in the elections, including:

Authorities should open the entire vote tabulation process to all types of observers, including domestic observers, political party agents, and international observers, to dissuade broad concerns that this step of the process is susceptible to manipulation.
Electoral authorities should permit Algerian civil society to organize observation initiatives, should clarify the accreditation process, and should disseminate the information widely and in a timely manner.
Political parties and citizens should take advantage of opportunities to maximize transparency, for example by attending the counting of ballots and the publication of results at polling stations.
Outstanding regulations should be published and procedural ambiguities clarified as quickly as possible by the election authorities, in open partnership with the National Commissions for Election Supervision and Election Monitoring.
Election authorities should clarify how the allocation of seats will be made for women in order to ensure that the proportional results intended by the law are achieved in an equitable manner.
Political parties should strive to earn the trust of voters through responsive platforms and voter outreach efforts, and maximize participation of youth and women in campaigns.

The delegation included: Carole James of Canada, member of the legislative assembly of British Columbia; Irena Hadziabdic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, president of the European Association of Election Officials; Anis Ghodbane of Tunisia, vice president of communications for l’Association Tunisienne pour l’Eveil Démocratique; Sarah Johnson of the U.S., assistant director of the democracy program at The Carter Center; and Jeffrey England of the U.S., NDI resident director in Morocco.

In Algiers, the delegates met with political party representatives and independent candidates; electoral authorities; the National Commissions for Electoral Supervision and Monitoring; civil society leaders; academics; the media; and representatives of the international community. Delegation members also traveled to the provinces of Chlef and Tizi Ouzou to meet with political party leaders, candidates, members of the election supervision commission, and other activists.

NDI’s pre-election mission will be followed by the deployment of long-term observers, who will remain in Algeria through election day and the immediate post-election period.

All elements of the mission are conducted in accordance with Algerian law and international standards for election observation established in the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation.

On behalf of NDI, Mr. England thanked the Algerian government and the Algerian people for their invitation to observe these elections. He noted that, “All recommendations are offered in the spirit of international cooperation, and in the hope of supporting and strengthening Algeria’s democratic processes and institutions.”

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Published April 9, 2012

Statement of the International Pre-Election Assessment Delegation to Algeria’s 2012 Parliamentary Elections

ntekeei — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:49:25 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

04/05/2012

Resource Type:

Statement

Language:

Arabic, English, French

English

Attachment	Size
Read the statement (English)	176.03 KB
Read the statement (بالعربية)	469.73 KB
Read the statement (francais)	254.21 KB

Modest Steps Can Increase Transparency of Algeria's Parliamentary Elections, NDI Delegation Finds

ntekeei — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:00:49 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

04/05/2012

Resource Type:

Press Release

Language:

Arabic, English, French

English

Arabic

French

Attachment	Size
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Read the press release (Arabic)	149.48 KB
Read the press release (French)	152.69 KB

NDI Fields Pre-Election Assessment Mission for Algeria's May 10 Parliamentary Elections

rrunyan — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 14:58:36 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

04/01/2012

Resource Type:

Press Release

Language:

English, French, Arabic

Media Type:

PDF

English

Arabic

French

Attachment	Size
Read the press release (English)	175.92 KB
Read the press release (francais)	195.61 KB
Read the press release (بالعربية)	285.98 KB

Algeria to Allow Foreign NGOs to Monitor Vote | Feb. 21, 2012

fgalleto — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:57:35 +0000

Reuters | Link to story »

Election observers from U.S. non-governmental organizations the Carter Center and the National Democratic Institute will for the first time be able to monitor a parliamentary election in Algeria later this year, the interior minister said Tuesday.

"The new thing also will be the presence of international observers from the EU, the Arab League and so on, but also international NGOs (non-governmental organizations) such as the NDI and the Carter Foundation," he said.

Link to story »

Young Women Meet in Morocco with Future Leadership in Mind

fgalleto — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 18:00:16 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

06/15/2009

Resource Type:

Press Release

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the release	101.53 KB

NDI E-news: The Middle East, African Elections, Belarus | Jan./Feb. 2011

fgalleto — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 22:10:35 +0000

February 2011

Now the Hard Work Begins...

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Egyptians celebrate in Tahrir Square. Photo by RamyRaoof.

Following weeks of protests in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain, thousands in Libya are now advocating for political freedoms long denied by the country's regime. The government has responded with beatings, shootings and arrests. NDI condemned this government-backed violence and joined calls for the immediate cessation of attacks against Libyans who are exercising their right to peaceful assembly, and for a democratic transition.

As democracy advocates raise their voices throughout the Middle East, analysts and commentators have turned to NDI seeking insights into the implications of the ongoing changes for the future of democracy in the region. In The New York Times,
The Washington Post, on CNN and elsewhere, NDI leaders and staff have offered commentary and interpretation as the historic changes have unfolded.

The Institute has a long history in the region. Its first office, for the West Bank and Gaza, opened in 1994. Since then, NDI staff have also been based in Egypt,
Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon,
Mauritania, Morocco and Yemen. Institute programming also encompasses Algeria, Bahrain,
Kuwait,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia
and Tunisia.

In all of these countries, NDI has established partnerships with political parties, civic groups, parliamentarians and others seeking to promote peaceful reform and have a voice in how they are governed. The Institute works to share organizational skills, comparative experiences and tools to connect democratic activists within and between countries.

In response to the developments in Egypt, for example, NDI is putting Egyptian activists in touch with political leaders from Chile, Poland and elsewhere so they can take advantage of lessons learned during other democratic transitions. It's similar to work the Institute has done in many other places and times, such as when it brought opposing Northern Ireland factions together in South Africa in 1997 to learn from Nelson Mandela and others how to negotiate peace and reconciliation.

African Election Roundup: Nigeria, Sudan, Niger

In Nigeria, NDI is conducting an international observation mission to analyze the electoral process before, during and after presidential, legislative and local elections scheduled for April. Regular updates can be found in Nigeria Election Watch, which is based on reports from NDI's long-term observers, who began assessing election activities throughout the country from January and will continue through May. Subscribe»

In Sudan, NDI's civil society partners, the southern-based Sudanese Network for Democratic Elections (SuNDE) and the northern-based Sudanese Group for Democracy and Elections (SuGDE), observed
all stages of the recent referendum
in which Southern Sudan voted to secede from the north. The groups concluded
that "the Southern Sudan referendum allowed the free expression of the will of the people for self-determination."
Read more»

Before presidential and legislative elections in Niger, 36 political parties and two independent candidates signed a code of conduct that encouraged parties and their supporters to campaign honestly and respect the outcome of the Jan. 31 vote and the runoff election set for March 12. Read more»

Women in Afghanistan, Guatemala, Ukraine Overcoming Obstacles to Elected Office

Among the 249 members of Afghanistan's lower house of parliament are Farida Hamidi and Frishta Amini, two women who make up the entire delegation from Nimroz province. Despite the risks faced by female candidates, both women ran strong campaigns and garnered more votes than their male opponents. Read more»

In Guatemala, where indigenous women are 20 percent of the population and hold only one of the nation's 333 mayoralties, Isabel Francisco discusses her campaign for mayor of Santa Eulalia, Huehuetenango. "This is my third time as a candidate," she said. "The first time I finished in fifth place. The second time I finished in third place. This time I'm hopeful I'll win!" Read more»

Zinayida Galchynska promised herself that if she survived breast cancer she would run for local office and make a real difference in her community. She kept that promise and is now a councilor in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine — thanks in part to the skills she learned at an NDI campaign school and a campaign based on going door-to-door to meet voters. Read more»

NDI President Urges International Support for Belarusian People

NDI President Kenneth Wollack outlined ways the international community can provide moral support and practical assistance to political and civic leaders, media and ordinary citizens in Belarus, where government forces engaged in a brutal crackdown following failed elections Dec. 19. Wollack was speaking at a Jan. 27 hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs. Read more»

Colombian Municipal Councilors Hone Good Governance Skills

In Colombia, newly-elected municipal councilors generally are expected to learn on the job. To help them gather the skills they need, an NDI program focused on how to identify the needs of their constituents, develop policies to address those needs, and engage with citizens and the media. Read more»

NDI Adds 2010 Afghanistan Elections Data to Mapping Website

Complete data from Afghanistan's 2010 parliamentary elections have been added to
afghanistanelectiondata.org, the Institute's innovative mapping website
. The site now includes data from Afghan elections beginning in 2004, as well as demographic, ethnographic, topographic, security and other information. Visitors can create visual analyses of voting patterns and other assessments, or segment and envisage data and maps in a variety of ways.
Read more»

New NDI Publications

NDI, one of the world's largest publishers of Arabic-language resources and references on democracy support, has just released its latest catalogue. It includes a listing of publications and information on how to order them. Read it in Arabic | English»

Drawing on its 25 years of experience in the women's political participation field, NDI has published a new guide for democracy practitioners to help them develop and carry out effective programs to bring more women into government and politics. Democracy and the Challenge of Change: A Guide to Increasing Women’s Political Participation, helps the user develop, carry out, monitor and evaluate women’s political participation programs. The guide provides a rationale for focusing on increasing women’s participation and includes examples of best practices, case studies and practical strategies.

The new guide, Political-Process Monitoring: Activist Tools and Techniques, explores the work that the Institute and its partner groups have done for legislative, budget-related and campaign-related monitoring, shadow reporting and monitoring government follow-through.

Are Popular Protests A Mortal Threat To Dictators? | Feb. 10, 2011

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 21:31:26 +0000

NPR | Link to story »

In an article discussing the domino effect of popular protests in the Middle East, Les Campbell, NDI's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa comments on the possibility of uprisings in the Gulf States.

"Maybe I'll be wrong, but I think in the Gulf states, the standard of living is so high that it's difficult to imagine an Egyptian-level of uprising there."

Young Women Leaders Share Advice, Stories in New NDI Publication

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 21:34:29 +0000

Building confidence, enhancing capacity and making connections is the focus of a new practical guidebook for aspiring young women leaders just published by NDI.

The book combines ideas and strategies from the Institute's Youth of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow (YOTLOT) program with best practices and recommendations from NDI's quarter century of working with women leaders around the world. It features expert advice for young women with a drive and desire to become leaders.

Building confidence, enhancing capacity and making connections is the focus of a new practical guidebook for aspiring young women leaders just published by NDI.

In some regions, aspiring women leaders lack access to the role models, networks or communities necessary to encourage and sustain their political growth. The resulting sense of isolation can deter many of them from becoming politically active.

The guidebook, Confidence, Capacity, Connections: A Young Woman's Guide to Leadership, aspires to demystify politics and equip the next generation of young women leaders with the knowledge and tools to create change. It aims to help young women with all aspects of leadership — from balancing personal and professional responsibilities to planning and carrying out advocacy projects. Among other things, it consolidates advice and lessons learned from 25 dynamic young alumni of NDI's YOTLOT program — an intensive year-long academy for emerging young women activists from across North Africa — but its practical advice is applicable everywhere.

The guide is designed as a "workbook" rather than a textbook, with charts and exercises for readers to track their progress. For example, to help young women organize their time, the guide includes worksheets for tracking and reorganizing daily and weekly activities. To help activists build and monitor spending for their projects, the guide includes a chapter on financial management, as well as blank and sample budgets.

Recognizing the increasing role that new technologies are playing in communications and advocacy, it contains a special focus on new media tools and social networking sites, advice on developing technology strategies and information on how young women can protect themselves online.

The guide also calls on readers to contribute their own comments, critiques, recommendations and personal experiences via email, which will be incorporated into future editions.

Copies of the guide are available in English, Arabic and French.

Confidence, Capacity, Connections: A Young Woman's Guide to Leadership

fgalleto — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:46:28 +0000

Author:

Gabriella Borovsky, Sarah Cherrabi El Alaoui, Megan Doherty

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

09/01/2010

Resource Type:

Manual|Handbook

Language:

English, Arabic, French

Media Type:

pdf

2010

This guidebook aspires to demystify politics and equip the next generation of young women leaders with the knowledge and tools to create change. It aims to help young women with all aspects of leadership — from balancing personal and professional responsibilities to planning and carrying out advocacy projects. Among other things, it consolidates advice and lessons learned from 25 dynamic young alumni of NDI's Youth of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow (YOTLOT) program — an intensive year-long academy for emerging young women activists from across North Africa — but its practical advice is applicable everywhere. The book combines ideas and strategies from the Institute's YOTLOT program with best practices and recommendations from NDI's quarter century of working with women leaders around the world.

English

Arabic

French

Attachment	Size
Confidence, Capacity, Connections (ENG)	1.79 MB
Confidence, Capacity, Connections (ARA)	1.75 MB
Confidence, Capacity, Connections (FRE)	1012.92 KB

Young Women Leaders Collaborate at North African Regional Conference

fgalleto — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:37:28 +0000

With women becoming increasingly prominent in North African politics, NDI brought together more than 60 women from across the region who are both established and emerging as political and civic leaders to discuss the importance of women's political engagement. The group, from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia, met in Casablanca, Morocco, March 13–14, a site that was chosen in part because of the record 3,406 new women councilors who were voted into office during last year’s municipal elections.

The conference, "Making a Difference Where it Matters: Community Leadership and Civic Engagement," provided opportunities for the women to collaborate on strategies for shaping and strengthening women's roles in civic and political life. Participants represented a variety of government, civic and political backgrounds, including 25 young women (ages 22-34) who had taken part in the Institute's Youth of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow program — an intensive year-long initiative involving leadership skills-training, peer mentoring and ongoing support to women carrying out projects in their communities. These range from raising awareness about HIV/AIDS in Algeria to supporting small enterprise development for rural Moroccan women.

NDI also invited to the conference Tunisian women civic activists who are part of the Plaidoyer Pour L'Action (Advocacy for Action) initiative — an NDI program helping mid-level women activists build advocacy capabilities — and senior women activists from North Africa, Southeastern Europe and the United States.

The conference opened with remarks from Moroccan Minister for Social Development, Family and Solidarity Nouzha Skalli who shared her personal story of perseverance as a civic activist, elected official and senior government official. Skalli recounted her experience running for office, including being defeated seven times in municipal races and 10 times in parliamentary elections before finally winning.

Another speaker, U.S. Ambassador to Morocco Samuel Kaplan, encouraged participants to strive for women's empowerment and noted the importance of a strong partnership between women and men in order to level the playing field for social and political opportunities. NDI Vice President Shari Bryan described success stories of women's political participation around the globe and stressed that democracy cannot be sustained without the full participation of women at every level of the process.

Panel discussions looked at key trends in women's political and civic organizing, noting successes and challenges facing women in the region. Those were followed by small group sessions for women to work together to form plans for fundraising, networking and overcoming leadership challenges. Other speakers and trainers included fundraising expert Sylvia Kaplan; Cathy Allen, president of the political consulting firm Connections Group; Kelli Arena, former justice reporter for CNN; Sonja Lokar from the Southeast Europe Stability Pact Gender Task Force, as well as several noted academics and activists from Libya, Morocco and Algeria.

The young women pledged to "work together across borders, generations and ideologies" to challenge traditional conceptions of the role of women in public life in the region, in the words of participants from one small working group.

The development of such regional networks is part of NDI's initiative to support women activists throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Commenting on the importance of such intergenerational networking, Sonja Lokar noted "the unique opportunity to meet a generation of young, educated, enthusiastic women coming from five countries who will make a difference...I feel I am passing the torch."

The Institute has worked to reinforce women's representation and participation in civil society, political parties and representative institutions such as parliaments. The penetration of the Internet throughout the region has led NDI to develop online platforms to link women electronically and provide access to numerous practical tools for civic and political organizing as they develop their campaigns.

Building on participant engagement at the conference and over the past year, NDI will develop a toolkit to help build the skills of young women to create platforms and partnerships that will increase their political participation and allow them to take a more active role in decision making within their organizations and communities.

The conference was funded with support from the U.S. State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and the Melvin and Bren Simon Foundation.

Pictured above: Conference participants give the thumbs up.

Published March 22, 2010

Algerian Muslim Scout Leaders Inspire Youth to Engage in Politics

fgalleto — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:09:52 +0000

NDI recently established a partnership with the Algerian Muslim Scouts (SMA) to encourage members to participate in public life. The SMA counts some 15,000 young men and women as leaders and 130,000 members across Algeria. By working together and building on a previous joint initiative to encourage civic education among young people, NDI and the SMA hope to inspire members to channel their energy into positive community action.

Young people age 35 and under make up more than half of Algeria's population, but they are largely absent from political life. Broad confidence in the government is lacking, with youth seeing no clear benefit to getting involved at even the most basic level in their communities. The political system provides few openings for young people to participate in a constructive manner. Their mounting frustration is sometimes taken out through street protests, which can turn violent.

To counter this growing sense of marginalization, NDI is working with Algerian young people to channel their criticism through processes like community organizing and direct appeals to government officials. Already, some of them are starting to use radio call-in programs, discussions in local cafés, online blogs or even peaceful demonstrations to act on their desire for genuine political reform and democratic governance.

NDI recently established a partnership with the Algerian Muslim Scouts (SMA) to encourage members to participate in public life. The SMA counts some 15,000 young men and women as leaders and 130,000 members across the country. It is an independent, national organization founded in 1939 and affiliated with the World Organization of the Scout Movement since 1963. By working together and building on a previous joint initiative to encourage civic education among young people, NDI and the SMA hope to inspire members to channel their energy into positive community action.

From Feb. 11 to 13, NDI and SMA gathered 26 troop leaders from nine cities across Algeria for an introductory workshop on civic engagement, held at the Scouts National Training Center in Sidi Fredj, outside of Algiers. Noureddine Ben Brahem, general commander of the SMA organization, opened the event with a speech about the value of learning from experiences in other countries and adapting successful strategies and tools to the situation in Algeria. Building on those themes, Nizar Rammal, a Lebanese expert in mobilizing the grassroots, and Jeffrey England, NDI regional representative for North Africa, led the sessions during the multi-day workshop.

Troop leaders took part in hands on sessions to identify the principles of civic engagement and ways to apply them to Algeria. They also learned from examples in Lebanon and the United States. Once they agreed on core aspects of civic engagement and explored its many forms, troop leaders shifted focus to developing plans for engaging their scouts, building local partnerships and using existing networks of scout members, alumni and others to raise funds and recruit support. Participants listed key issues in their communities, ways for young people to get involved and the local partners, businesses and government officials with whom they could work to achieve their goals. Troop leaders presented their draft plans to the group during the last day of the workshop, receiving feedback from their peers and suggestions from the visiting experts.

During the next two months, the troop leaders will initiate the plans in their local communities and scout troops. These efforts will demonstrate the constructive role young people can play in political life. As troop leaders, they will be instrumental in increasing youth dialogue and decreasing the sense of isolation felt by so many Algerian young people.

The participants will reunite with NDI in early April to assess progress, identify challenges and next steps and explore civic engagement strategies in greater depth.

Pictured above: Troop leaders at the NDI-SMA workshop on civic engagement

Published on March 17, 2010

North African Regional Conference on Leadership and Civic Engagement

fgalleto — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:04:24 +0000

Start: 03/13/2010 00:00

End: 03/14/2010 17:00

Timezone: Etc/GMT

Start: 03/13/2010 00:00

End: 03/14/2010 17:00

Timezone: Etc/GMT

Location:

Casablanca, Morocco

Date: March 13-14, 2010
Location: Casablanca, Morocco

NDI will host a regional conference, "Making a Difference Where it Matters: Community Leadership and Civic Engagement," in Casablanca, Morocco, on March 13 and 14. More than 50 women civic activists from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt are expected along with women leaders from Europe and the United States to discuss the importance of women's political leadership in civil society and how community activism can be a pathway to broader civic and political engagement. Attendees will include 25 young women from North Africa who have been part of a year-long NDI program focusing on personal and organizational development, including peer-to-peer mentoring and networking opportunities to enhance projects in their communities. The conference is by invitation only. For more information on the launch event of this program, please click here.

Events

Story: Young Women Leaders Collaborate at North African Regional Conference

Arab Activists Learn to Leverage New Media

fgalleto — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:58:29 +0000

Leveraging new media tools to extend an issue or candidate's reach is now a necessary component of campaigns of all kinds. In order to help the next generation of activists in the Middle East and North Africa adopt new media tools effectively, a group of civil society activists representing 11 countries gathered in Istanbul in November at an event organized by Aswat, an Arabic language website for Middle Eastern democratic activists.

Leveraging new media tools to extend an issue or candidate's reach is now a necessary component of campaigns of all kinds. In the Middle East and North Africa, new media technologies have revolutionized the way activists disseminate information and mobilize supporters, providing activists with alternative tools to make their voices heard, convey their message, recruit volunteers and mobilize even in places with repressive regimes.

In order to help the next generation of activists in the region adopt new media tools effectively, a group of civil society activists representing 11 countries gathered in Istanbul in November. The activists are working on a range of issues from increasing the participation of youth in politics in Iraq to building strong women leaders in Bahrain. At the conference, they were able to learn from each other and from experts who have used new media strategies to affect political change. The event was organized by NDI in conjunction with Aswat, an Arabic-language website for Middle Eastern democratic activists.

The goal of the conference was to share new media technologies and strategies that have worked in other circumstances, and to explore ways in which they could be adapted to the needs of the activists in attendance. In the opening session, Sam Graham-Felsen, content director at Blue State Digital and former director of web content and blog outreach for the Obama campaign, discussed ways to inspire an organization's supporters to take action by using personal stories relayed through new media. He used his experiences from the Obama campaign to draw larger conclusions about the role of new media in campaigns.

Alan Rosenblatt, associate director for online advocacy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, stressed that, although the tools themselves are changing, the communications and grassroots organizing strategies remain the same. "Rather than think in terms of tools I want to take it back and talk about some bigger communications strategies," Rosenblatt said. "Regardless of what technology you're using, you're still just doing communications strategy, and mobilization and organization strategy."

Panel discussions were designed to encourage participants to apply lessons from conference seminars in their day-to-day advocacy activities, tying real problems the activists faced in their campaigns back to solutions that could be helped by using new technologies. Participants — civil society activists and journalists from across the MENA region — partook in lively panel discussions led by Graham-Felsen, Rosenblatt and others.

Each panel discussion provided a comprehensive overview of the use of new media tools in campaigns. One discussion covered the effective use of more familiar tools including email, listservs, websites and online petitions, while another panel focused on of the trends, reach and uses of blogging and micro-blogging. Other panels focused the discussion on social networking sites such as Facebook and online forums, using video, audio and visual components effectively in a campaign, and the power of mobile technology as a tool for activism.

In addition to Graham-Felsen and Rosenblatt, other panelists included Katrin Verclas, co-founder and editor of MobileActive.org; Mohamad Najem, co-founder of Social Media Exchange based in Beirut; and Vlada Milovanovic, new media consultant in Serbia.

"We learned a lot about tools that we could use in the media," explained one participant who chairs an organization in Bahrain. "This is really going to contribute immensely to the delivery of our message, and when I get back home, I’ll work on this issue."

Another participant, a journalist from North Africa, agreed. "There are a lot of new ideas for me, including Twitter and its many uses, especially as a means to distribute news quickly. Another new idea is using mobile phones in new ways. We had used them [before the conference] but I’m going to add new uses and hopefully our service will improve with these new tools."

Pictured above: Alan Rosenblatt leads a panel at the conference in Istanbul

Published February 3, 2010

NDI - Algeria

Algeria Offers Own Brand of "Arab Spring" for Vote | April 15, 2012

Modest Steps Can Increase Transparency of Algerian Elections, NDI Delegation Finds

Statement of the International Pre-Election Assessment Delegation to Algeria’s 2012 Parliamentary Elections

Modest Steps Can Increase Transparency of Algeria's Parliamentary Elections, NDI Delegation Finds

NDI Fields Pre-Election Assessment Mission for Algeria's May 10 Parliamentary Elections

Algeria to Allow Foreign NGOs to Monitor Vote | Feb. 21, 2012

Young Women Meet in Morocco with Future Leadership in Mind

NDI E-news: The Middle East, African Elections, Belarus | Jan./Feb. 2011

STAY CONNECTED

CONTRIBUTE

READ MORE

Are Popular Protests A Mortal Threat To Dictators? | Feb. 10, 2011

Young Women Leaders Share Advice, Stories in New NDI Publication

Confidence, Capacity, Connections: A Young Woman's Guide to Leadership

Young Women Leaders Collaborate at North African Regional Conference

Algerian Muslim Scout Leaders Inspire Youth to Engage in Politics

North African Regional Conference on Leadership and Civic Engagement

Arab Activists Learn to Leverage New Media