December 2008
NDI is pleased to announce the launch of its new website, www.NDI.org. With many new interactive features and links, the site provides information about NDI programs in nearly 80 countries. It also describes the issue areas in which we work – civic participation, elections, governance, political parties, women’s issues, and democracy and technology – and has news and feature stories about our programs.
Special sections provide commentary on democracy assistance, information on NDI’s partners around the world, a library of documents that underpin democracy programs, and a searchable database of NDI reports, manuals, training materials and other publications going back more than two decades.
With the new website we are also inaugurating this new e-newsletter with timely information about NDI events and programs. Click here to sign up.
Visit the site »
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Democracy Awards Luncheon
The struggle for democracy in Burma will be a focus of NDI’s 2008 Democracy Awards Luncheon as the Institute honors two champions of that cause on Dec. 15 in Washington, DC.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu will receive the W. Averell Harriman Award for his global efforts on behalf of democracy in other troubled nations since the democratic transition in South Africa. A Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Archbishop has been a relentless advocate for democracy in Burma and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Laureate and the leader of Burma’s non-violent democracy struggle.
In addition, the Women’s League of Burma, an umbrella organization of 12 groups representing different ethnic backgrounds, will be honored with the Madeleine K. Albright Grant for its work promoting women’s participation in civic and political life. Selected from a competitive pool of applicants, the league will use its $25,000 award to train Burmese women in exile who will return to Burma and train other women to address concerns such as health, human trafficking and local leadership. Reserve a seat or table »
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Making Democracy Deliver on Issues that Affect Citizens
Democracy’s credibility depends, to an important degree, on how its institutions work in practice and on what it delivers. Democracies must be able to tackle issues that reflect the popular will and address questions that affect citizens’ daily lives, such as security, jobs, human rights, health, education, social services and infrastructure.
The challenges facing the poor are often rooted in closed political systems where citizens are denied their political voice, where government institutions have no obligation to answer to the people, and where special interests exploit resources without fear of oversight or the need to account to the public.
Deepening democracy so that it can deliver tangible improvements in people’s lives is an overarching NDI objective.
In its December newsletter, the Institute explores this topic in more detail and provides examples from its work in Afghanistan with provincial legislatures, Indonesia helping citizens track government spending, Mozambique addressing AIDS and HIV, and Macedonia helping the parliament respond to citizen concerns. Read the newsletter »
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