NDI - Kuwait

Campaign Schools Mobilize Thousands Across Middle East and North Africa

smajestic — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 15:10:59 +0000

NDI launched the Regional Campaign Schools program in the MENA region in the fall of 2012. The Campaign Schools program has exposed hundreds of thousands of people to the tools they will need to run effective campaigns. Since 2012 NDI has held six Campaign Schools and four training-of-trainers workshops for a total of 328 individuals representing 91 political parties from 12 countries.

Following the Arab Spring, new opportunities for political participation opened up in much of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, particularly for women, youth and minorities who had historically been marginalized and excluded from power.

Still, aspiring political actors lacked experience, knowledge and exposure to democratic processes, particularly when it came to running for office. Recognizing this need, and with the support of the State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative, NDI launched the Regional Campaign Schools program in the MENA region in the fall of 2012.

Through a growing online learning platform, workshops that bring together potential candidates and campaign managers from all over the region and a training-of-trainers (TOT) component that is building a cadre of Arabic-speaking trainers, the Campaign Schools program has exposed hundreds of thousands of people to the tools they will need to run effective campaigns.

Since 2012 NDI has held six Campaign Schools and four TOT workshops for a total of 328 individuals representing 91 political parties from 12 countries -- including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and others.

Click the infographic to view the full size version.

The trainings are designed to deliver a genuinely competitive and intense campaign experience to participants, some of whom have never even seen an election. Based on an integrated curriculum, Campaign Schools include a competitive elections simulation combined with modules on key campaign components.

Due to continued political turbulence in the region, only 130 graduates have experienced elections in their home countries since participating in the Campaign Schools program. Of that subset, however, 16 participants have run as candidates, 11 of whom were women. Four were elected, and a further 22 participants worked on campaign teams. Many reported to NDI that they used the skills learned in the Campaign Schools during their electoral work.

One such participant is Amel. A mother of two and a doctor, Amel joined one of the hundreds of new political parties created after protests in Tunisia helped bring down longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. That same year, the party Amel joined secured four seats in the National Constituent Assembly, the most of any post-revolution party.

As they prepared for elections in 2014, Amel and other members of her party’s elections committee followed the steps they learned through the Campaign Schools. Based on their research of the 2011 election results and canvassing data they had been collecting, the party set a feasible vote goal and campaign strategy. Amel and other Campaign Schools graduates who were members of the party’s elections committee also organized trainings for hundreds of party activists on the campaign message and plan to mobilize resources.

Party officials noticed Amel’s leadership during this strategizing. They asked her to serve as a candidate on one of the party’s lists in Tunis. While Amel did not win in her district, the party doubled their seats in parliament - going from four to eight seats. The party’s increased representation in parliament helped as they negotiated their position in the governing coalition after the elections. After the elections, Amel was hired by the Minister of Women’s Affairs.

An essential goal of the Campaign Schools program is to reach women and youth, like Amel, who are eager to effect change in their countries but feel that they lack some of the tools to do so. Despite the dismal rate of women’s participation in politics in the MENA region, 48 percent of Campaign School participants have been women and a full 66 percent have been under the age of 40.

Following the completion of Campaign Schools training, graduates return to their home countries to not only put their new skills to practice in running campaigns, but also to train fellow activists and party members on the Campaign Schools content. In this sense, many graduates have become individual program multipliers, having trained some 15,400 other people on topics like leadership, voter targeting and contact, message development and communications.

To facilitate the work of Amel and other graduates, NDI has made materials like its Campaign Skills Handbook public on several Arabic language websites, including NDIMENA.org. The Campaign Schools Handbook is a step-by-step manual for candidates, political party activists and campaign staff. The new Campaign Skills Handbook guides users through a comprehensive process for planning and implementing electoral campaigns. Furthermore, NDI field offices in the region regularly bring graduates in to facilitate trainings based on the Campaign Schools' curriculum.

This year, in an effort to create an online learning environment across the region, NDI released eight videos on NDIMENA.org that complement modules from the Campaign Skills Handbook. Within four months, the Campaign Schools’ digital resources received over 600,000 visits and materials were downloaded more than 11,300 times. About 53 percent of those visits were from repeat users , indicating that political activists are frequently coming back to the NDI MENA website to engage further with the content.

Over the next year, NDI plans to hold two additional Campaign Schools and one TOT workshop. The Institute will also release seven more videos to bolster its e-learning component, aiming to reach over a million individuals across the MENA region. Thanks to the spread of technology and to trainers like Amel, the number of Campaign School participants will only continue to grow.

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Published on December 22, 2015

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.

الكويت

vrao — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 21:42:33 +0000

توسيع مشاركة المرأة في الحياة السياسية

في العام 2004، ساعد المعهد الديمقراطي الوطني المناصرين لحقوق المرأة السياسية على وضع استراتيجية فعّالة للفوز بالاقتراع العام. فالتقى مع قادة الحركة الناشطة بهذا الاتجاه، وأجرى مشاورات مع ناشطات كويتيات، مزوّداً إياهن بأدوات المدافعة التي تستهدف تحديداً إقرار التشريعات المتعلقة بهذا الشأن. عقب الإعلان عن منح المرأة حق التصويت والترشح، عقد المعهد في الكويت الجولة الرابعة من مدارس الحملات الإقليمية "شركاء في المشاركة"، حيث التقى أكثر من 70 امرأة ناشطة وصاحبة موقع قيادي من 15 بلداً في الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا، بما فيهن 20 امرأة كويتية، لتبادل الخبرات وتعلّم كيفية إدارة حملات سياسية ناجحة، والمساعدة في تزويد شبكة نسائية إقليمية بالمهارات اللازمة لتحقيق النجاح في ممارسة العمل السياسي على المدى الطويل.

عندما حلّ أمير الكويت مجلس الأمّة ودعا إلى انتخابات مبكرة في العام 2006، بادر المعهد إلى تعديل مسار البرنامج الذي أعدّه للمرأة، وكان مفترضاً أن يستمر لمدة 12 شهراً، فحوّله إلى برنامج تدريبي على الحملات محصوراً بشهر واحد. عقد المعهد سلسلة جلسات استشارية فردية مع خبراء في مجال الحملات ووسائل الإعلام ونساء منتخبات من مختلف أنحاء المنطقة، لتزويد 18 من أصل 32 امرأة سجّلن ترشحهن للانتخابات، بملاحظات موجّهة خصيصاً لنساء يخضن تجربة الترشح للمرة الأولى. ركّزت هذه المشاورات على رسائل الحملة، وصورة المرشح، وجمع التبرعات وتوعية الناخبين، وإعداد التصاريح والخطابات، والاستراتيجية الاعلامية بشكل عام. تعاون المعهد أيضاً مع شركاء محليين في إطار برنامجٍ لتوعية المرأة على حقها الجديد في الاقتراع، وتشجيعها على التصويت، وهو ما فعلته 56 في المئة من النساء في يوم الانتخابات.

قبل انتخابات 2008 و2009 المبكرة، نظّم المعهد مجدداً دورات تدريبية للمرشحات والعاملين لديهن حول إعداد خطط الحملة، وشؤون تنظيمية، وإعداد الرسائل، والاتصالات، وتوعية الناخبين. بعد انتخاب أربع نساء لعضوية البرلمان في العام 2009، قدّم المعهد خدمات استشارية للبرلمانيات تتمحور حول موضوع إدارة شؤون مكتب النائب، وإعداد جدول أعماله التشريعية، والتواصل مع ناخبيه ووسائل الإعلام.

كما قدّم المعهد أيضاً دروات تدريبية ومساعدة تقنية إلى المنظمات المناصرة لقضايا ذات أهمية بالنسبة إلى المرأة، مشجّعاً إياها على التعاون في ما بينها في إطار جهودها الرامية إلى توزيع أكثر عدالة وإنصافاً للمساكن الحكومية، وحقوق المواطنة، وفرص العمل، والمساواة في الأجور، والتعليم، وإصلاح نظام الرعاية الصحية.

لمساعدة الشابات في زيادة تأثيرهن على مواضيع السياسات الوطنية، تعاون برنامج "ـتمكين" الذي أطلقه المعهد مع شابات جامعيّات، بهدف تفعيل المشاركة في العملية السياسية، والتأثير على النقاش السياسي، وإخضاع المسؤولين المنتخبين للمساءلة بشأن السياسات المتعلقة بالمرأة. تمكّنت نحو 40 مشارِكة في برنامج "تمكين" من حضور أكاديميات لتلقين مهارات القيادة، فاكتسبن خبرة عملية في مجال السياسة العامة أثناء التدريب الداخلي لدى الجمعية الوطنية والهيئات المدنية المعنيّة بقضايا محلية، واستفدن من خبرة سيدات أعمال كويتيات وقادة المجتمع المدني والسياسي من خلال برنامج الإرشاد.

أبحاث مجموعات التركيز

بعد انتخابات 2006، أجرى المعهد سلسلة أبحاث في إطار مجموعات التركيز لتوسيع معرفته بالعوامل التي أثّرت على خيارات الناخبين السياسية خلال الانتخابات البرلمانية، وتجديد النظرة السائدة إلى دور المرأة الكويتية كزعيمة سياسية. فأشارت نتائج الأبحاث إلى تزايد المخاوف من التحديات المحلية والوطنية؛ والنظرة السلبية لأداء أعضاء البرلمان؛ والمواقف المتناقضة من دور المرأة القيادي في الحياة السياسية، وبروز آراء غير متعاطفة مع أداء المرأة خلال انتخابات 2006. ثمّ وضع المعهد هذه النتائج في متناول منظمات المجتمع المدني والجمعيات السياسية، وهي تعدّ عدتها للانتخابات المقبلة. إضافةً إلى ذلك، أوكل المعهد إلى مجموعات التركيز مهمة إجراء أبحاث متابعة في أعقاب انتخابات 2012 البرلمانية.

مراقبة الانتخابات المحلية

عقد المعهد شراكة مع جمعية الشفافية الكويتية لدعم مبادراتها في مجال المراقبة المدنية للانتخابات، فأرسل، بناءً على دعوتها، مندوبين دوليين لمتابعة العملية الانتخابية في 2008 و2009 و2012. في العام 2008، دعم المعهد إرسال بعثة دراسية إلى الكويت ضمن وفد صغير ضمّ ممثلين عن منظمات المجتمع المدني وناشطين حزبيين ومسؤولين حكوميين من منطقة الشرق الأوسط لمتابعة مجريات الانتخابات البرلمانية في الكويت. فركّزت البعثة على إعطاء المندوبين فرصة التفاعل مع بعضهم البعض، وتوسيع معرفتهم بالإجراءات الانتخابية من خلال خوض تجربة مراقبة الانتخابات.

عند إجراء انتخابات 2009 المبكرة بعد سنة من سابقتها، أعلنت الحكومة أنها ستسمح لجمعية الشفافية الكويتية مراقبة الانتخابات داخل مراكز الاقتراع، بما في ذلك عملية فتح وإغلاق صناديق الاقتراع، وإجراءات فرز الأصوات. لهذه الغاية، نظّم المعهد ورش عمل وزوّد المراقبين المحليين التابعين للجمعية بالكتيّبات اللازمة. عملياً، سُمِح لنحو 20 في المئة من المراقبين دخول مراكز الاقتراع يوم الانتخابات. إنما في العام 2012، عندما أرسل المعهد مجدداً بعثة دراسية دولية لمراقبة الانتخابات البرلمانية، زار مراقبو الجمعية مراكز الاقتراع المنتشرة في جميع المناطق، وسُمح لهم بدخول جميع المراكز التي قصدوها في يوم الانتخاب.

إدارة المجالس البلدية

قدّم المعهد المساعدة إلى المجالس البلدية الكويتية حول التخطيط الاستراتيجي، والعلاقات مع الناخبين، وجهود التواصل، وتعزيز قدرات الموظفين، والعلاقات بين مؤسسات الحكم.

المبادرات الإقليمية

يشرك المعهد المسؤولين الحكوميين الكويتين، وأعضاء المجالس البلدية المنتخبين، والمرشحات، والأفراد في النشاطات الإقليمية. فقد شارك قادة كويتيون في مؤتمر الديمقراطيين، ومنتدى القادة الدولي، وكذلك في مبادرة إقليمية تهدف إلى تعزيز التعاون بين المجالس البلدية الخليجية.

معلومات الاتصال

Fلمزيد من المعلومات حول هذه البرامج، الرجاء استخدام الاستمارة التالية أو الاتصال بـ:

واشنطن العاصمة
ياسمين عبود، مسؤولة عليا عن البرامج

(202) 728-5687

في العام 1962، وبُعيد عام من حصول الكويت على استقلالها من بريطانيا، وافقت على مضمون الدستور الذي حوّل البلاد الى ملكية دستورية ونصّ على إنشاء جمعية وطنية من 50 عضواً منتخباً بالاقتراع العام، فوجدت نفسها فجأة تتصدّر جهود التنمية الديمقراطية في العالم العربي. ومنذ ذلك الحين، أخذت تتقدّم حيناً وتتعثّر أحياناً في مسيرتها نحو إرساء النظام الديمقراطي، بالتزامن مع أحداث عالمية ومحلية غالباً ما كانت تحرّك النقاش السياسي في البلاد.

في العام 2005، وبعد عقود من جهود المدافعة، حصلت المرأة الكويتية على حقها في الاقتراع، وفي غضون أقل من سنة على ذلك، ترشحت 32 امرأة لعضوية البرلمان عندما حلّ أمير الكويت الجمعية الوطنية بشكل غير متوقّع، ودعا إلى إجراء انتخابات مبكرة قبل عام من الموعد المقرر لها. فتولّت مرشحات كثيرات إدارة حملاتهن بمنتهى الفعالية والمهنية، إنما لم تحقق أي منهن الفوز في تلك الانتخابات التي جذبت انتباه وسائل الإعلام الوطنية والدولية إلى دور المرأة.

بعد ترشّح أربع نساء لانتخابات 2006 البرلمانية المبكرة، ولانتخابات 2008 مجدداً، من دون أن يحصدن أي مقاعد، تمّ انتخابهن أخيراً لعضوية البرلمان في العام 2009 مع هامش فوز أكبر، كان متوقعاً من غالبية المراقبين. فور دخول النساء قبّة البرلمان، دفعن باتجاه صياغة وإقرار قانون العمل الجديد، الذي ينصّ على إجراءات ترعى ظروف العمل وحقوق العمال، بخاصة تلك العائدة إلى المرأة. في تلك الفترة، نالت المرأة الكويتية حقّها في الحصول على جواز سفر خاص بها، يخوّلها التنقل بحرية من دون موافقة زوجها.

ومع ذلك، تواصل المرأة الكويتية نضالها من أجل بناءِ شبكات قوية تقدّم لها الدعم السياسي، والفوزِ بمقاعد في المجالس البرلمانية والبلدية، والتأثيرِ على السياسات العامة، لا سيما تلك التي تمسّ بظروف حياتها. زِد على أنّ الفساد والاقتتال الداخلي أثقلا كاهل الحكومة والهيئة التشريعية التي شهدت عدة جولات من حلّ البرلمان وإجراء انتخابات مبكرة. ففي حزيران/يونيو 2013، حلّ أمير الكويت البرلمان للمرة السابعة منذ عام 1963.

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

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

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

February 2011

Now the Hard Work Begins...

STAY CONNECTED

CONTRIBUTE

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.

Congress Looks to Women as Agents of Change

fstovall — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:57:09 +0000

In places as diverse as Timor-Leste, Croatia, Morocco, Rwanda and South Africa, increasing numbers of women are being elected to political office. In each case, more women has meant more legislation related to anti-discrimination, domestic violence, family codes, inheritance, and child support and protection.

"Women's political participation results in tangible gains for democracy, including greater responsiveness to citizen needs, increased cooperation across party and ethnic lines, and more sustainable peace," said NDI President Kenneth Wollack in testimony at a June 9 House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on "Women as Agents of Change: Advancing the Role of Women in Politics and Civil Society."

Wollack and other panelists discussed the concrete ways in which women help democracy deliver benefits to all citizens. Panelists also stressed the role that the United States must play in promoting gender equality and empowering women politically and economically to help establish stronger, more inclusive democracies around the world.

In the last 10 years, the rate of women's representation in national parliaments globally has grown from 13.1 percent at the end of 1999 to 18.6 percent at the end of 2009. Some regions have seen particularly dramatic increases, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of women in parliaments has risen from 10.9 to 17.6 percent. While these numbers show progress, women continue to be vastly underrepresented in politics, excluded from decision-making processes and routinely subjected to discrimination and violence.

In spite of enormous social and economic barriers and often in the face of violent opposition, women around the world are demanding their rights to education, security, and healthcare, and claiming a louder voice in decisions that affect their lives and communities. Panelists highlighted the vital role that women can play as leaders in politics and their communities, and stressed the need for increased support for women's political leadership both in the U.S. and abroad.

As Wollack noted, "it is not an accident that the countries in which health, education and economic development are not part of the national agenda are places where women are denied a genuine political voice. Empowering women politically will help countries develop democratic institutions so they can begin to successfully address issues related to security, jobs, human rights, physical well-being and human development." Throughout his testimony, he illustrated how NDI has been working with political and civic leaders for more than two decades to support their efforts to increase the number and effectiveness of women in political life.

Wollack also called attention to the various barriers that limit women's political and civic engagement, namely access to positions of power and to economic resources, lack of government transparency, and pervasive and discriminatory gender stereotypes. He focused on the eight ways to build women's political participation: conducting ongoing communications trainings; building leadership skills; uniting women across political party lines, often in the form of women's caucuses; reforming political parties internally so that women's participation is a real priority; teaching women to train other women so that knowledge and skills are not lost; training elected women so that they are ready to deliver services back to constituents, increasing their chances of re-election; exchanging information internationally; and engaging youth to help change attitudes and behavior towards women.

Other witnesses were: Melanne Verveer, ambassador-at-large for Global Women's Issues; Dr. Esther Brimmer, assistant secretary for International Organization Affairs; Swanee Hunt, chair of the Institute for Inclusive Security and former U.S. ambassador to Austria; and Judy van Rest, executive vice president of the International Republican Institute (IRI). The House Committee members and panelists discussed a range of topics, including women and governance; women and security; women's role in Haiti's reconstruction process; U.S. policies in Afghanistan; violence against women; the importance of ratifying The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); and the creation of a new United Nations gender entity that would coordinate efforts to support women globally.

Read Wollack's testimony»

Related:

Pictured above:Wollack testifies at the Subcommittee hearing

Published on June 14, 2010

Women as Agents of Change: Advancing the Role of Women in Politics and Civil Society

fstovall — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:19:53 +0000

Author:

Ken Wollack

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

06/09/2010

Resource Type:

Testimony

Language:

English

Media Type:

PDF

2010

English

Attachment	Size
Kenneth Wollack's Testimony	42.9 KB

New Members of the Kuwaiti Parliament

ggreene — Fri, 22 May 2009 22:29:53 +0000

The four women elected to Kuwait’s parliament are listed here. The vote figures are initial returns, with ranking and vote totals subject to change as results are finalized.

Massouma Al Mubarak
1st District, first place, 14,247 votes

Massouma Al Mubarak holds a Ph.D. in the philosophy of international relations from the University of Denver (Colorado) as well as master’s degrees in international relations and political science, a diploma in planning and a bachelor’s degree in political sciences. She has been a lecturer since 1982 at Kuwait University and a visiting professor at the University of Denver (1986-1988) and the University of Bahrain (1990-1991). She became Kuwait's first female minister when she was appointed minister of planning and state minister for administrative development affairs in 2005. She was appointed minister of communications in 2006 and minister of health in 2007.

Dr. Salwa al Jassar
2nd District, 10th place, 4,776 votes

Dr. Salwa al Jassar holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the United States as well as a master's degree in education and a bachelor’s in geography from Kuwait University. She is an assistant professor at Kuwait University's College of Education. She recently served as an adviser to the United Nations Development Programme office in Kuwait. She is also a member of the Board of Education-Faculty of Education at Kuwait University as well as a board member of the Kuwait Transparency Society and president of the Women’s Empowerment Center.

Aseel al Awadhi
3rd District, second place, 11,860 votes

Aseel al Awadhi holds a Ph.D. in political philosophy from the University of Texas and a bachelor’s degree with a minor in political science from Kuwait University. She was a member of Amnesty International in 1988-1991 and a volunteer at the Kuwaiti Society for Victims of War in 1991-1993. She has been lecturer at Kuwait University's Arts College since 2006.

Rola Dashti
3rd District, seventh place, 7,666 votes

Rola Dashti holds a Ph.D. in population economy from Johns Hopkins University in the United States. She held a number of consultative positions in companies and is chairperson of Kuwait Economic Society, the first woman to hold that post since the society was founded in 1970. In 2005, she was the winner of the King Hussein Humanitarian Award and has been involved in several volunteer activities since her undergraduate years, when she worked with the International Red Cross in Lebanon to assist refugee families from the south in 1982. She was listed among the world’s 100 most influential Arabs for 2007 and 2008.

–

Published on May 22, 2009

Four Kuwaiti Women Become First to Win Seats in Parliament

ggreene — Fri, 22 May 2009 22:14:10 +0000

On May 16, 2005, the women of Kuwait, standing together, won a prize they had been working toward for years – the right to vote and run for election. On May 16, 2009, the promise of that achievement came to fruition. Four women, running competitive, professional campaigns, won seats in Kuwait’s 50-member parliament. NDI ran intensive programming leading up to the elections, working with candidates, organized political groups and civil society organizations with a special focus on women candidates.

A remarkable aspect of the victories of Massouma Al Mubarak, Salwa al Jassar, Aseel al Awadhi and Rola Dashti was their margin of victory, which was much higher than most observers expected. The vote marked a significant departure from the 2008 election and was seen as a repudiation of previous parliaments’ lack of progress and the desire of Kuwaiti voters to see real change.

The result benefitted the four successful women candidates, who received 38,549 votes, compared to a total of 21,352 votes received by all of the 27 women running last year. Parliamentarians are elected to four-year terms with the top 10 vote-getters in each of five districts earning a seat. But the Emir may dissolve the legislature and call for new elections at any time, which was the case in 2006, 2008 and this year.

In addition to the four women who were victorious, other women also did better than in the past. For example, Thikra Rashidi, running in a large, conservative district dominated by tribal interests, received more than 6,600 votes.

Many of this year’s leading women candidates, including al Awadhi, al Jassar and Dashti, had run in previous elections and we were able to build upon experience going back to 2006. For example, al Awadhi came in second in her district, receiving more than double the number of votes she polled last year, when she was in 11th place.

NDI first began working in Kuwait in 2004, assisting advocates for women's political rights in developing an effective strategy to win universal suffrage. NDI met with leaders in the suffrage movement, held consultations with Kuwaiti women activists and provided women with advocacy tools specifically targeted at passage of the women’s suffrage legislation.

Following the announcement granting women the right to vote and run for office, NDI held its fourth Partners in Participation Regional Campaign School in Kuwait. More than 70 women activists and leaders from 15 countries across the Middle East and North Africa, including 20 Kuwaiti women, met to share their experiences, learn how to run successful political campaigns and help build a regional network of women with the skills to succeed in politics over the long term.

During the 2006, 2008 and 2009 elections, NDI continued extensive campaign skills training, working with women candidates, civil society activists and opinion leaders to develop political skills for those either running for office or interested in running in the future.

Topics were wide-ranging, but this year there was a specific focus on the use of new media and online organizing technologies, critical in a country like Kuwait with a large number of educated elites and a powerful technological infrastructure.

NDI ran intensive programming leading up to the elections, working with candidates, organized political groups and civil society organizations with a special focus on women candidates. NDI also greatly expanded its civil society programming, including a partnership with Kuwait Transparency Society (KTS) on two programs. The first used the web and social networking to encourage young people to participate in the elections. The second supported an election monitoring program in which NDI and KTS trained observers and helped organize the reporting system used by KTS monitors to alert the society to issues on Election Day.

More:
Read biographical information on the four women elected to the Kuwaiti parliament on May 16 | Read article »

Pictured above: The Kuwaiti National Assembly building, top, and a post-election headline from the Arab Times newspaper.

–

Published on May 22, 2009

Local officials in US praise Kuwait's democracy

jbowen — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:51:10 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

01/07/2007

Resource Type:

Article

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the article	14.06 KB

Historic Four Day Campaign School For Women Political Leaders From Middle East & North Africa Ends Today

jbowen — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:20:54 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

09/28/2005

Resource Type:

Press Release

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the release	37.23 KB

Partners in Participation: 2005 Kuwait Regional Campaign School

jbowen — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:19:40 +0000

Author:

National Democratic Institute

Publisher:

National Democratic Institute

Published Date:

10/25/2006

Resource Type:

Report

Language:

English

Attachment	Size
Read the report	923.21 KB

NDI - Kuwait

Campaign Schools Mobilize Thousands Across Middle East and North Africa

Sandra Pepera

الكويت

توسيع مشاركة المرأة في الحياة السياسية

أبحاث مجموعات التركيز

مراقبة الانتخابات المحلية

إدارة المجالس البلدية

المبادرات الإقليمية

معلومات الاتصال

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

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

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

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

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

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Congress Looks to Women as Agents of Change

Women as Agents of Change: Advancing the Role of Women in Politics and Civil Society

New Members of the Kuwaiti Parliament

Four Kuwaiti Women Become First to Win Seats in Parliament

Local officials in US praise Kuwait's democracy

Historic Four Day Campaign School For Women Political Leaders From Middle East & North Africa Ends Today

Partners in Participation: 2005 Kuwait Regional Campaign School