May 2010
NDI Celebrates 25 Years
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Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe
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NDI celebrated its 25th anniversary on May 10 by honoring two champions of democracy, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe and the Network of Chocó Women of Colombia, at an event hosted by NDI Chairman Madeleine K. Albright. Read more»
Albright described Tsvangirai as "a courageous democratic leader of our time" as she presented him with NDI's W. Averell Harriman award, which recognizes individuals and organizations that have exhibited a sustained commitment to democracy and human rights. The award also recognized the democratic aspirations of the Zimbabwean people.
"I recognize that over the past decade or more, I have become one of the better-known faces of the struggle for democracy in Zimbabwe — but I am only amongst millions of my countrymen and women who believe that our nation, its people and our children deserve to live in a society free from fear of persecution, poverty and hunger," said Tsvangirai as he accepted the award. He described democracy as a process rather than an event, and pledged his commitment to moving Zimbabwe forward in that process. Read Tsvangirai's speech»
Nimia Vargas accepted the Madeleine K. Albright Grant on behalf of the Network of Chocó Women in Colombia. The network is an umbrella group of 52 civil society organizations that works to increase women's rights and political participation in western Colombia. The network will use the $25,000 grant to provide leadership training to women interested in politics. Chocó has the country's highest levels of poverty and illiteracy. Read Vargas' speech»
The dinner was also a celebration of NDI's first quarter century. The Institute premiered a film, NDI's First Quarter Century: Working for Democracy and Making Democracy Work, narrated by Christiane Amanpour of CNN. It highlighted the Institute's history of supporting political parties, civic groups, parliaments, elections and women's groups in 125 countries. NDI also published an anniversary report tracing its history and programs. Watch the film» | Read the report»
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Ben Fuller of the Service Employees International Union went to Rwanda as a trainer for NDI to work with young political leaders from all 10 Rwandan political parties. In this first-person essay, he recounts his impressions and experiences in the country.
"We focused on building political party messages not based on personality or aimless cheap shots and dissention, but originating instead from party platforms built on well thought-out public policy."
Read more»
Though gender quotas have led to an increase in the number of women running for and elected to office in Mexico, women hold only 5 percent of municipal and state elected positions. NDI partnered with the Fox Center and Mexico's three major political parties to help women gain new campaign skills.
Over 300 male and female participants took part in a week-long series of training sessions that emphasized the strategic aspects of running a campaign as well as some of the "soft" skills needed to win an election.
Read more»
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It's election season in Colombia, where historically polls have been marred by violence, allegations of fraud and intimidation by armed groups allied with candidates. Legislative elections took place on March 14 and the first round of the presidential election is set for May 30.
NDI and its local partners are working to increase transparency around the elections. In addition to supporting a domestic election monitoring group, NDI has also aided in organizing candidate debates and better campaign finance reporting.
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In East Africa, where large youth populations can feel disconnected and overlooked by governments with aging leaders, the Regional Youth Political Leadership Academy (RYPLA) hopes to boost the leadership skills and political networks of young leaders beginning their political careers.
NDI created RYPLA in partnership with the Kristdemokratiskt Internationellt Center in Sweden for a select group of political party members, age 22 to 35, who aspire to elected office or party leadership. Last year, the group met three times and learned tools and strategies for organizing campaigns, reaching out to constituents and crafting a political message.
Read more»
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Voting has begun for the Democracy Video Challenge. The DVC is a global project to celebrate democracy through film. Three finalists have been chosen from each of six regions of the world and the winners will be chosen by the public. Films complete the phrase "democracy is..." in under three minutes.
Winners receive an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., New York and Hollywood, where they will meet with government officials and film and television producers. Voting will remain open through June 15 and winners will be announced shortly thereafter.
The DVC is sponsored by the U.S. State Department in partnership with NDI, the Center for International Private Enterprise, the International Republican Institute, the International Youth Foundation, the Motion Picture Association of America, New York University, NBC Universal, the Recording Industry Association of America, TakingITGlobal, William Morris Endeavor, YouTube and the USC Annenberg School for Communication.
Watch the finalists' videos and vote»
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