NDI - Argentina

Latin American Party Leaders in Lima Identify Reform Agenda

jfrant — Fri, 27 May 2016 17:14:59 +0000

In spite of significant democratic advances, citizens across Latin America are dissatisfied with the performance of democratic institutions and elected officials. Corruption, insecurity, inequality, and lack of economic opportunity and avenues to participate in public life have fueled protests across the region.

Political parties are an example of institutions that many citizens consider “out of touch.” However, parties remain the few institutions that offer citizens meaningful choices in governance, avenues for political participation and opportunities to shape their country’s future. They therefore remain fundamental to the healthy functioning of democratic systems. In many countries in Latin America parties are facing serious crises of confidence, representation and legitimacy that further distance them from citizens. In a recent Latinobarómetro survey, only four out of every 10 Latin Americans felt any affinity towards a political party. Without functioning political parties, the role of civil society to advocate for their priorities becomes far more difficult, if not impossible.

Faced with these challenges, 25 political leaders from Latin America met in Lima, Peru, on March 2 at NDI’s invitation to discuss the difficulties facing political parties globally and successful approaches taken in the region to foster political and electoral reforms and build more effective, transparent and representative political organizations for citizens in the region. Over two days of discussions with academics and experts in party organizations, party leaders from nine countries across the region, representing different ideologies and experiences, both parties with decades of experience and recently organized political movements, discussed how to confront this reality by strengthening confidence in democracy and rebuilding ties between citizens and political organizations. To encourage participants to set aside political constraints and have honest conversations, discussions were held off-the-record.

The need to strengthen party ideology, as well as ensuring consistency between parties’ principles and values and their actions, took up a large part of the conversation. Participants noted that many citizens see parties as only focused on elections, and less concerned about governance and how to improve people’s lives. As a Mexican political leader observed, parties need to use “lasting visions, solid principles, identity, a good brand, coalitions and alliances for the purpose of good government, not just electoral triumphs.”

The leaders also shared their strategies on how to more effectively connect with constituents. “Ideas are what allow for sustainability, strategic value and connecting with constituents,” said a political leader from Argentina. A party without ideas cannot put together political proposals in a coherent manner and therefore cannot respond to society’s needs and regain its trust.

Participants agreed that parties must change to keep up with their own societies. The internal structures of parties should be strengthened in a way that allows for the active participation of all party members, with the understanding that society has been evolving and that historically marginalized groups like youth and women should have more and better representation at all levels within political parties. Participants remarked that contemporary society is less hierarchical, which requires citizens to actively participate, be better informed and be included in the decision-making process.

Noting that politics has a tendency to focus on individual personalities, a party leader from Chile said, “Any institutional design should push for structures that prioritize the collective over the individual.”

Political parties can make use of new information and communications technology to bring citizens closer to the political system and political organizations. These technologies can also complement traditional community organizing approaches that parties still use as the primary way to facilitate in-person contact with constituents.

Another topic of discussion was the importance of political party financing, transparency, and integrity, as well as the need to overcome the negative incentives to engage in clientelism and eliminate the relationship between politics and lawlessness. A Central American political leader said, “We should not underestimate the risk of corruption because it is an issue that deeply hurts the viability of political parties.”

The findings from this meeting in Lima will allow NDI, through its regional program Red Innovación, to update existing party strengthening materials and develop new ones that can address the most pressing challenges faced by political parties. Red Innovación already offers a platform for party activists to share experiences and take virtual courses on several issues identified by the party leaders as priority areas, such as increasing transparency and using new technologies for closer communication with citizens.

Through the Red Innovación network and peer-to-peer discussions of party leaders like the Lima Forum, NDI will continue to share experiences and help political parties to implement best practices in areas such as improving constituent relations, creating participatory platforms, strengthening party think-tanks, accountability and transparency and promoting the use of new technologies in politics, among others. In addition, NDI is expanding this discussion globally through its Party Renewal Initiative, which explores different types of reform needed to help parties adapt to the societal and technological changes of the 21st century.

Published on May 27, 2016

Sandra Pepera

skincaid — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 18:41:17 +0000

Sandra Pepera is a career diplomat and international development professional. Before joining NDI as its director for Gender, Women and Democracy in 2014, she spent thirteen years as a senior officer at the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), including leading programs in the Caribbean, Rwanda-Burundi and Sudan. Prior to joining DFID, Sandra spent time in British domestic politics; lecturing in political science and international relations at the University of Ghana; and as a political analyst in the Political Affairs Division at the Commonwealth Secretariat. She has a portfolio of skills and experience which include strategy development, political and risk analysis, diplomacy, general management and corporate governance.

Much of Sandra’s career has been spent working in or on transitional economies, focusing on the building of resilient and inclusive institutions. She led work on women and politics at the University of Ghana and in outreach public policy during the period of intense and unstable political transition in the early 1990s. This included participating in a program that supported the ANC Women’s League during South Africa’s transition from apartheid to majority democratic rule in 1993.

Sandra is a member of the Cambridge Sustainability Leaders Network, the Royal Commonwealth Society, the Global Board Ready Women initiative, and the International Advisory Board of the Commonwealth Journal for International Affairs (the Round Table). She holds the Financial Times Diploma for Non-Executive Directors, and serves as a trustee for the pension fund of an intergovernmental organization.

Opening the People’s House: Governments and citizens collaborate to build more transparent, inclusive parliaments

Thu, 11 Sep 2014 02:09:10 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

09/09/2014

Resource Type:

Press Release

Language:

English

In conjunction with the International Day of Democracy on Sept. 15, lawmakers and citizen watchdogs in more than a dozen countries will work together to open up and modernize a quintessential democratic institution: the legislature. The goal, organizers say, is to ensure that core democratic functions like lawmaking and government oversight are as transparent and inclusive as possible.

Global Legislative Openness Week (GLOW), from Sept. 15-25, will involve a series of related activities in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Guatemala, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland and elsewhere. The campaign will use a common hashtag (#OpenParl2014) and is spearheaded by the Legislative Openness Working Group of the Open Government Partnership, a multilateral initiative with 64 participating countries.

September 8, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Kathy Gest, National Democratic Institute, (202) 728-5535

Global Legislative Openness Week (GLOW), from Sept. 15-25, will involve a series of related activities in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Guatemala, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland and elsewhere. The campaign will use a common hashtag (#OpenParl2014) and is spearheaded by the Legislative Openness Working Group of the Open Government Partnership, a multilateral initiative with 64 participating countries.

Global Legislative Openness Week
September 15-25, 2014

Who: The Legislative Openness Working Group of the Open Government Partnership, and members of the global community of parliamentary monitoring organizations.

What: A series of events and activities to promote transparent, inclusive parliaments.

Where: #OpenParl2014 and OpenParl2014.org with in-person events in Montenegro, Chile, Poland, Australia, Canada, Mexico and elsewhere.

More information: OpenParl2014.org

“Having an open legislature means that we can adapt to social and technological changes, respond to citizen demands and stay close to the people who elect us,” Chilean Senator Hernán Larraín said. “Providing more information and expanding citizen participation, in a deliberate and meaningful way, will make legislatures more effective and help us to ensure that democracy works to deliver solutions to the problems citizens face in their daily lives.”

Chile was the first partnership country to create a national action plan focused on legislative openness--a model that the working group is encouraging other parliaments to follow. The Congress of Chile will conclude GLOW by hosting the working group’s annual meeting Sept. 25-26, with a focus on institutionalizing openness.

“Young activists, government reformers and civic technologists have begun tackling social problems with enormous energy and talent, but we know that institutional change also requires stamina and organization,” said Scott Hubli, director of governance at the National Democratic Institute (NDI). “All sides need to work together to build consensus, identify opportunities and chart a practical course forward, and that’s what GLOW is all about.”

The Congress of Chile and NDI serve as co-chairs of the working group, which was formed in 2013 to expand the scope of commitments made by Open Government Partnership countries.

GLOW Events Include

Sept. 15-16, Podgorica, Montenegro
Legislative Openness Working Group Regional Meeting: Expanding Civic Engagement through Parliamentary Openness
Sept 20-21, Sydney, Australia
Hackfest - GLOW Edition
Sept. 23, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Presentation of the second Index on Legislative Transparency
Sept. 25-26, Valparaiso, Chile
Legislative Openness Working Group Annual Meeting: Institutionalizing the Open Parliament Agenda

Opening Parliamentary Data

The Congress of Chile and NDI serve as co-chairs of the working group, which was formed in 2013 to expand the scope of commitments made by Open Government Partnership countries.

The Legislative Openness Working Group of the Open Government Partnership aims to deepen the exchange of knowledge across governments, parliaments, civil society and international institutions in the development and enactment of of commitments on legislative openness. For more information, visit opengovpartnership.org.

English

Attachment	Size
GLOWpressrelease.pdf	372.14 KB

Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties: A Good Practices Guide to Promote Women's Political Participation (Now available in Burmese)

fstovall — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 14:31:07 +0000

Author:

Julie Ballington

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute United Nations Development Programme

Published Date:

10/31/2011

Resource Type:

Manual|Handbook

Language:

Arabic, Burmese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Urdu

English

Arabic

French

Spanish

Russian

Urdu

Attachment	Size
Read the manual (English)	2.49 MB
Read the manual with case studies (English)	3.45 MB
Read the manual (Arabic)	1.9 MB
Download the poster (Arabic)	1.18 MB
Read the manual (Burmese)	4.59 MB
Read the manual (French)	2.57 MB
Download the poster (French)	670.54 KB
Read the manual (Russian)	2.82 MB
Download the poster (Russian)	256.16 KB
Read the manual (Spanish)	2.59 MB
Download the poster (Spanish)	680.95 KB
Read the manual (Urdu)	3.74 MB
Read the manual with case studies (Albanian)	10.91 MB

Equal Access: How to Include Persons with Disabilities in Elections and Political Processes

dleonard — Thu, 06 Mar 2014 14:59:44 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

03/06/2014

Resource Type:

Manual|Handbook

Language:

Arabic, English, French, Indonesian, Russian, Spanish, Uzbek

English

Arabic

Spanish

Russian

Attachment	Size
Download the manual in Arabic	2.54 MB
Download the manual in English	3.24 MB
Download the manual in French	2.36 MB
Download the manual in Indonesian	16.34 MB
Download the manual in Russian	2.37 MB
Download the manual in Spanish	16.87 MB
Download the manual in Uzbek	3.85 MB

Increasing Women’s Political Participation Through Effective Training Programs: A Guide to Best Practices and Lessons Learned

fstovall — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 20:08:23 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

10/23/2013

Resource Type:

Training Manual

Language:

Arabic, English, French, Russian, Spanish

English

Arabic

French

Spanish

Russian

Attachment	Size
Download the manual (English)	994.16 KB
Download the manual (français)	1.02 MB
Download the manual (РУС)	1.31 MB
Download the manual (español)	1.08 MB
Download the manual (بالعربية)	787.23 KB

'Innovation Network' Connects Leaders Across Latin America to Share Ideas

dleonard — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 16:33:20 +0000

Throughout Latin America, political and civic leaders are under increasing pressure to solve pervasive problems such as poverty, insecurity, corruption and lack of government transparency. Some of that pressure is generated by social media and other new communications tools available to constituents. But new technology is also aiding the response.

Antanas Mockus, the former mayor of Bogotá, participates in a Red Innovación (RI) Google Hangout.

Revolutionary developments such as georeferencing and low-cost video conferencing have spawned new ways for political and civic leaders to address some of these problems. Georeferencing, for example, helps combat corruption by making it possible to track the location of individuals, such as government employees, at a given time to ensure they are performing work when and where they say they are.

Leaders are using new technology to push for campaign finance transparency in Colombia, and to improve how political parties in Argentina and Uruguay prepare their members to tackle public policy challenges by using web-based tools for virtual trainings. In Honduras, where it is common for corrupt teachers to claim pay for work in multiple districts, the government is using georeferencing to ensure that these teachers aren’t paid for work they didn’t do.

But despite the innovations, there is little communication among countries in the region, so new methods developed in one country are often unknown in another. To overcome that gap, NDI has supported the creation of Red Innovación (RI), or “Innovation Network,” a virtual online Spanish-language forum where social and political innovators from throughout the region can highlight initiatives, solicit feedback and harvest new ideas to help governments become more responsive, transparent and effective.

Red Innovación uses platforms such as Google Hangout videoconferences to help put political parties and civil society organizations in touch with experts on such topics as how to communicate more effectively, how cyberactivism works and how to use technology to promote transparency.

Dan Wagner, former data director for President Obama’s 2012 campaign, was the first guest of RI’s “Ask the Experts” program, which launched in April and allows innovators to share success stories. Wagner described how the campaign identified and mobilized supporters with programs such as Survey Manager—which compiled raw voter data into statistical models that could accurately project voter attitudes and preferences—as well as with traditional techniques such as door-to-door canvassing. Wagner was also joined by Angela Barranco, West regional director for the Obama campaign, who talked about the campaign’s strategy to reach out to young voters and earn their trust.

On May 21, RI broadcast a Google + Hangout session with Antanas Mockus, the former mayor of Bogotá, who helped substantially improve the city’s public safety, using unconventional initiatives to encourage citizens to care about their city. For instance, in response to high traffic fatalities, he hired mimes to make fun of citizens who didn’t obey traffic laws. Mockus discussed the importance of innovating in the public sector and promoting a “citizen culture.”

“When legal norms don’t become social norms, they can be easily circumvented,” Mockus said during the hangout, which has received more than 550 views. Participants from throughout the region had the chance to ask Mockus questions about using innovation to combat corruption.

The RI also has a virtual learning classroom that will offer courses tailored to the specific requests and needs of political and social organizations. The first virtual course, which begins the week of August 19, will be a five-week course on cyberactivism.

To learn more about RI, go to www.redinnovacion.org. New Google+ Hangout discussions and “ask the expert” sessions will be hosted regularly. You can register as a user, friend RI on Facebook or follow @Red_Innovacion on Twitter. NDI's work with RI is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.

Read more:

Published Aug. 1, 2013

Updated Aug. 27, 2013

International Visitors Share Experiences on Organizing Debates

fstovall — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 14:16:59 +0000

With the 2nd U.S. presidential debate as a backdrop, 25 visitors from 12 countries came to Hofstra University in New York in mid-October to exchange information about putting on debates in their own countries and witness first-hand the intricacies of organizing the Oct. 16 matchup between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney.

Janet Brown, executive director, Commission on Presidential Debates; Trevor Fearon, advisor, Jamaica Debates Commission

The visitors’ countries – Argentina, Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, Haiti, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, Peru, Serbia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Tunisia – are in different stages of debate development. But all share the belief that debates benefit new democracies in many ways, including helping voters make an informed choice at the ballot box, reducing the potential for violence in countries coming out of civil war, encouraging candidates to focus on public policy issues rather than personality and holding elected officials accountable to their campaign promises after elections.

The visit was sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) and NDI in collaboration with Hofstra. The CPD, in partnership with NDI, has since 1994 assisted debate sponsors around the world to take advantage of their collective expertise and help each other organize debates for the first time or make improvements where debates have taken place before. The assistance is based on the two organizations’ experience with more than 200 debates in 30 countries.

Many of the visitors were representatives of the International Debates Network, an organization created in 2009 with CPD and NDI assistance that now has 17 member countries.

While at Hofstra, the visitors got a backstage look at the production and organization of a “town hall” style debate. They visited the set and sat on chairs that would be occupied on debate day by 80 uncommitted voters chosen by an independent public opinion survey to ask questions of the presidential candidates. Executive producer Martin Slutsky laid out the debate’s production details including the moderator’s role in facilitating discussion, camera positions and timing lights for the candidates.

Earlier, CPD staff discussed debate formats, ticketing procedures, arrangements for the 3,500 U.S. and international media covering the debate, how debate rules are set, debate-related Internet voter education activities, and a host of operational and logistical details that go into debate preparation. They also talked with CPD leaders and staff, public safety officials and Hofstra representatives, who discussed what goes into hosting a debate and the more than 100 courses and activities designed to engage students, faculty and the community in the debates.

On debate night, the visitors were all in the Hofstra arena to watch the candidates face off. In a pre-debate program, CPD Executive Director Janet Brown recognized their presence as a “network that goes very far in time and mileage of people who are helping each other start debates in their own countries…”

An important part of the meeting was the information the visitors shared among themselves. Some of the countries represented, such as Ghana, Nigeria, Colombia and Jamaica, have considerable experience in debate organization, which they were able to share with the group and especially with colleagues from Argentina, Egypt and Tunisia, which are just beginning to move in that direction.

NDI and the CPD have carried out debate programs in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East; hosted the forum that led to the establishment of the International Debates Network; initiated a web-based debate resource center and commenced a comparative guide to organizing debates. NDI and the CPD have received support for debates programs from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.K. Department for International Development and the National Endowment for Democracy.

Supporting the Global Movement for Candidate Debates

The printed program provided to the audience present for each of the three 2012 U.S. presidential debates and the vice presidential match up included a reference to the international work that the Commission on Presidential Debates and NDI do together. Here is a brief excerpt:

“Presidential debates in the United States are watched in real time by audiences worldwide. Increasingly, other countries – particularly emerging democracies – believe that starting their own debate traditions will strengthen their electoral processes…

“The CPD, in partnership with the National Democratic Institute (NDI), helps debate sponsors around the world pool their expertise and assist each other, both in organizing debates for the first time and improving debates where they have taken place before…”

Haitian Presidential Debates

The program also includes a brief case study of the work the CPD, NDI and the Jamaican Debates Commission did together to help with the organization of debates for Haiti’s last presidential election.

“As the country was continuing to recover and rebuild from the devastating 2010 earthquake that claimed more than 200,000 lives and left more than a million homeless, the Public Affairs Intervention Group (GIAP) of Haiti organized seven presidential debates for 19 candidates that were broadcast nationally on more than 30 radio and television stations. The CPD, NDI and Jamaican Debates Commission assisted GIAP over a period of several months as the group planned and held the debates. GIAP’s final March 2011 debate for the run-off election between Mirlande Manigat and now president Michel Martelly reached an estimated 71 percent of Haitians. GIAP also facilitated a joint appearance by both candidates at the conclusion of the debate where they encouraged Haitians to vote, sending a message of tolerance to their respective supporters to refrain from the street violence that has historically plagued Haitian elections.”

Related:

Published Oct. 22, 2012

Declaration of Global Principles for Nonpartisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations and Code of Conduct for Nonpartisan Citizen Election Observers and Monitors

fstovall — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 19:06:44 +0000

Publisher:

United Nations

Published Date:

04/03/2012

Resource Type:

Declaration

Language:

Arabic, Bangla, English, French, Mongolian, Romanian Russian, Spanish

English

Arabic

French

Spanish

Romanian

Russian

Attachment	Size
Read the declaration (Arabic)	267.58 KB
Read the declaration (English)	897.79 KB
Read the declaration (Bangla)	8.27 MB
Read the declaration (Burmese)	302.33 KB
Read the declaration (French)	327.02 KB
Read the declaration (Indonesian)	16.61 MB
Read the declaration (Mongolian)	345.97 KB
Read the declaration (Romanian)	275.41 KB
Read the declaration (Russian)	286.22 KB
Read the declaration (Spanish)	326.57 KB
Read the declaration (Urdu)	370.99 KB

NDI Hosts Democracy Support Roundtable with Emerging Powers

rrunyan — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 21:09:33 +0000

A group of politicians, civil society leaders and academics from the transatlantic community and emerging powers – including Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa – convened recently in Washington to discuss the potential for greater cooperation on democracy support.

The Washington roundtable gave participants the opportunity to share perspectives and experiences on how emerging powers support democratic development beyond their borders. It also explored the challenges to greater engagement by emerging powers in democracy support and ways that the traditional donor community could better support these efforts.

The number of people living collectively in the democracies of Brazil, India and Indonesia is double the number living in the United States and European Union combined. However, even though many emerging powers have the most relevant democratic and economic development models, they are often not present in policy discussions on democracy support because they tend to be neither major donors nor recipients of development assistance. The roundtable was intended to examine opportunities for deepening partnerships between the transatlantic community and emerging democratic powers on democracy support.

Indonesia’s Transition Provides Key Lessons for Democracy Supporters

Against a backdrop of unfolding events in Egypt, Indonesia’s ambassador to the U.S., Dino Patti Djalal, recalled his country’s transition to democracy and the skepticism it engendered along the way. Djalal, who has worked in the Indonesian government for more than 20 years, remembered those who doubted whether his country had a democratic future as it began the transition in 2001.

People would say, “It’s never going to work. Democracy is not right for Indonesia,” he told an audience at NDI. “When you hear that enough, you tend to be affected by it,” he said. “You fear the uncertainty.”

The Washington roundtable, hosted by NDI, gave participants the opportunity to share perspectives and experiences on how emerging powers support democratic development beyond their borders. It also explored the challenges to greater engagement by emerging powers in democracy support and ways that the traditional donor community could better support these efforts. The discussion also explored mechanisms, including multilateral and nongovernmental channels, for deepening cooperation between the transatlantic community and emerging democratic powers on democracy support.

The roundtable, held Feb. 6 to 8, was made possible through the generous support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, with additional support from the Mexican and Indonesian embassies. The discussions will inform a working paper that will provide recommendations to a transatlantic dialogue on democracy support. The two-year dialogue first met in Washington last June. The second conference will be held at the European Parliament in Brussels, March 13-15.

The dialogue is co-chaired by Madeleine K. Albright, former U.S. secretary of state; Jerzy Buzek, president of the European Parliament; Javier Solana, former EU high representative for the common foreign security policy; and former U.S. Representative Vin Weber. NDI is hosting the dialogue with support from the European Commission, the National Endowment for Democracy, the German Marshall Fund, the European Partnership for Democracy and the Office for the Promotion of Parliamentary Democracy of the European Parliament.

Pictured Above: NDI Chairman Madeleine K. Albright speaks at the opening of the roundtable.

Published February 28, 2011

Colombian Municipal Councilors Hone Good Governance Skills

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 22:43:02 +0000

In Colombia, as in many countries in Latin America, municipal councilors generally receive little training in the skills they need to represent their constituents effectively. This is especially true for small and poor municipalities in post-conflict regions or those with large Afro-Colombian or indigenous populations.

At a recent seminar in Santa Marta in the Magdalena department, council members focused on how to identify citizens’ needs, develop policies to address those needs, negotiate and engage citizens and the media.

“The tools of the trade must be learned on the job,” said Yamil Quinto of Istmina, a municipal council member from the city of Istmina in the primarily Afro-Colombian department of Chocó. (Colombian departments are the equivalent of states.)

At a recent seminar in Santa Marta in the Magdalena department, Quinto and other council members focused on how to identify citizens’ needs, develop policies to address those needs, negotiate, and engage citizens and the media. The seminar also covered the council’s oversight role and the benefits of working within political parties and caucuses.

The council members worked through those issues with Colombian and international experts, including academics, journalists, representatives of civic groups and former local elected officials. Cosponsored by NDI, USAID’S CIMIENTOS local-governance program and the National Federation of Municipal Councils (Federación Nacional de Concejos, FENACON), the seminar built on work NDI has done throughout the region to help local elected officials deliver specific and substantive results to the citizens who elected them. In August, NDI convened Argentine federal and state legislators, governors and mayors in association with the Political Action Network (Red de Acción Política, RAP) for a four-day seminar on similar issues.

The participants in Santa Marta, from 20 municipalities in 10 departments, represented nine political parties from across the political spectrum. Half were Afro-Colombians and one third of the participants were women. They were chosen from among Colombia’s 12,000 council members through nominations by their parties and then a selection process that sought to balance political viewpoints and the participation of traditionally underrepresented Afro-descendants and women.

Participants said they would share the tools with colleagues in their councils and parties, and use them to develop policies to benefit their communities. In some cases, the seminar helped participants overcome their disillusionment with politics. For example, Leydi Palacios from the city of Buenaventura, in the Valle del Cauca department, said that skills acquired at the seminar convinced her that it would be possible to work to improve her municipality’s development plan, which had previously been a major source of frustration and a potential reason to exit politics.

“These types of events help us to become better people, better council members, better community representatives, better public servants and better advocates for the rights of our communities,” said Antonio Acosta of San Onofre, in the department of Sucre.

Pictured Above:Municipal councilors work in a group during the seminar in Santa Marta in the Magdalena department.

Published January 26, 2011

Political Parties and Civil Society: Working Together to Deliver Solutions to Citizen Concerns.

vrao — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Author:

Erica Breth

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

03/01/2007

Resource Type:

Manual|Handbook

Language:

English, Spanish, Russian

English

Spanish

Russian

Attachment	Size
Read the training manual (English)	238.38 KB
Read the training manual (Spanish)	244.66 KB
Read the training manual (Russian)	1.94 MB

Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and Code of Conduct for International Election Observers

vrao — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 04:00:00 +0000

Publisher:

United Nations

Published Date:

10/27/2005

Resource Type:

Manual|Handbook

Language:

English, Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Azeri, Bosniak-Cyrillic, Bosniak-Latin, Chinese, Croatian, Dari, French, Hungarian, Kazakh, Latvian, Macedonian, Moldovan, Pashtu, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian

Media Type:

PDF

The Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and the Code of Conduct for International Election Observers were developed through a multi-year process involving more than 20 intergovernmental and international nongovernmental organizations concerned with election observation around the world. The process began informally in 2001 at the initiative of NDI and the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division (UNEAD) and included an initial meeting at the UN in New York and a meeting in Washington co-hosted by the OAS and NDI. The declaration was commemorated at the UN on Oct. 27, 2005, and is now endorsed by 52 intergovernmental and international organizations, which are engaged in the process of improving international election observation.

Note: The first link below connects to the English-language version of this document. The subsequent links connect to the document in other languages, following the same alphabetical order as the list of languages above.

English

Arabic

French

Spanish

Albanian

Armenian

Azeri

BiH Latin

Bosnian

Bosnyak-Cyrillic

Chinese (Mandarin)

Croatian

Dari

Hungarian

Kazakh

Macedonian

Molodav

Pashto

Polish

Portuguese

Romanian

Russian

Serbo-Croatian

Turkish

Ukrainian

Attachment	Size
Read the declaration (English)	87.82 KB
Read the declaration (Albanian)	52.76 KB
Read the declaration (Arabic)	139.49 KB
Read the declaration (Armenian)	78 KB
Read the declaration (Azeri)	291.5 KB
Read the declaration (Bosniak-Cyrillic)	260.88 KB
Read the declaration (Bosniak-Latin)	204.71 KB
Read the declaration (Chinese)	194.03 KB
Read the declaration (Croatian)	145.88 KB
Read the declaration (Dari)	175.76 KB
Read the declaration (French)	75.93 KB
Read the declaration (Hungarian)	224.26 KB
Read the declaration (Kazakh)	234.13 KB
Read the declaration (Latvian)	256.82 KB
Read the declaration (Macedonian)	282.39 KB
Read the declaration (Moldovan)	166.21 KB
Read the declaration (Pashto)	273.96 KB
Read the declaration (Polish)	304.49 KB
Read the declaration (Portuguese)	146.22 KB
Read the declaration (Romanian)	244.08 KB
Read the declaration (Russian)	86.82 KB
Read the declaration (Serbian)	236.55 KB
Read the declaration (Spanish)	77.38 KB
Read the declaration (Turkish)	300.9 KB
Read the declaration (Ukrainian)	222.71 KB

Political Parties and the Transition To Democracy: A Primer in Democratic Party-Building for Leaders, Organizers and Activists

vrao — Mon, 09 May 2005 04:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

01/01/1997

Resource Type:

Manual|Handbook

Language:

Arabic, English, French, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish

This handbook discusses organizational and procedural elements necessary for the daily operation of a political party and emphasizes the need to develop a party’s outreach capacity at the local level. It outlines strategies for long-term party development and for maintaining effectiveness between elections.

الأحزاب السياسية والانتقال إلى الديمقراطية

الناشر: منشورات المعهد الديمقراطي الوطني.

تفصيل: يناقش هذا الكتيّب العناصر التنظيمية والإجرائية الضرورية لعمل الأحزاب السياسية اليومي، ويشدّد على الحاجة إلى تنمية القدرات التواصلية لدى الأحزاب على المستوى المحلي. ويستعرض أيضاً الاستراتيجيات الآيلة إلى تطويرِ عمل الأحزاب على المدى الطويل وتفعيلِ دورها باستمرار بين انتخابات وأخرى.

English

Arabic

French

Spanish

Russian

Serbo-Croatian

Attachment	Size
Read the manual (English)	236.98 KB
Appendix A	2.63 MB
Appendix B	2.33 MB
Appendix C	722.22 KB
Appendix D.1	2.12 MB
Appendix D.2	2.6 MB
Appendix E	1.31 MB
Appendix F	2.04 MB
Appendix G	953.17 KB
Appendix H	1.93 MB
Appendix I	1.89 MB
Read the manual (Arabic)	677.21 KB
Read the manual (French)	646.12 KB
Read the manual (Russian)	453.34 KB
Read the manual (Serbo-Croatian)	242.9 KB
Read the manual (Spanish)	108.21 KB

Legislative-Executive Communication on Poverty Reduction Strategies, Parliaments and Poverty Series, Toolkit No. 1

vrao — Wed, 05 May 2004 04:00:00 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

05/01/2004

Resource Type:

Manual|Handbook

Language:

Arabic, English, French, Russian, Spanish

This guide is designed for those who are working with parliaments to strengthen the legislative role in implementing MDG and PRSP by strengthening legislative-executive communication.

تعزيز المشاركة البرلمانية في الأهداف الإنمائية للألفية الجديدة والعملية الاستراتيجية للحدّ من الفقر - التواصل التشريعي-التنفيذي حول استراتيجيات الحدّ من الفقر

الناشر: برنامج الأمم المتحدة الإنمائي، منشورات المعهد الديمقراطي الوطني.

تفصيل: تمّ وضع هذا الدليل لكلّ من يتعاطى بشؤون البرلمان من أجل تعزيز دور الهيئات التشريعية في تطبيق أهداف الأمم المتحدة الإنمائية للألفية الجديدة، والوثيقة الصادرة عن البنك الدولي حول استراتيجية الحدّ من الفقر، عن طريق تسهيل التواصل بين السلطتين التشريعية والتنفيذية.

English

Arabic

Attachment	Size
Legislative-Executive Communication on Poverty Reduction Strategies (Arabic)	1.13 MB
Legislative-Executive Communication on Poverty Reduction Strategies (English)	623.73 KB
Legislative-Executive Communication on Poverty Reduction Strategies (French)	574.52 KB
Legislative-Executive Communication on Poverty Reduction Strategies (Russian)	738.76 KB
Legislative-Executive Communication on Poverty Reduction Strategies (Spanish)	543.53 KB