Unemployment, lack of services, and a healthcare system at the brink of collapse are just some of the issues that Iraq is facing. With an unresponsive government being a catalyst for increased frustration among citizens, Members of Parliament (MPs) across Iraq’s provinces play a critical role in shifting public perception and demonstrating to their constituencies their ability to respond to citizen’s needs.

Just weeks before the August general elections in Zambia, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) released a series of revised accreditation requirements for citizen election observers that significantly hampered their ability to accredit observers across the country. Among the new regulations, citizen groups were required to provide evidence of at least three years of governance experience and each individual observer had to complete a certified application form in triplicate as well as submit certified copies of each observer’s national ID card.

On July 22, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) virtually convened a culminating symposium for the 2020 Political Party Leadership Institute (PPLI) initiative on Lessons on Integrating Youth into Political Parties and Leadership. Funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), PPLI seeks to strengthen young people's capacity to meaningfully contribute in party processes and contribute to youth reflective policies across the region.

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) conducted national public opinion research to understand the main concerns of Solomon Islanders, including their awareness of public policies related to the COVID-19 pandemic and attitudes toward vaccines.

The acceleration of climate change presents an existential threat to programming in the democracy and governance field, and it is fundamentally changing how NDI works. Although individual actions on their own may not be enough to halt climate change, organizations, businesses and governments must recognize the need to integrate environmental sustainability into programming, operations and policy.

For nearly two years, Women’s Advisory Boards (WABs) in five Iraqi provinces have been assessing the unique needs of women and girls, implementing gender-sensitive community projects, and offering advice to local authorities in order to ensure that gendered perspectives are included in decision-making processes. Now, after months of researching how families in their communities are impacted by inequalities in their education systems, the WABs are developing recommendations to help increase access to education. 

Despite authoritarians’ rhetoric to the contrary, scientific evidence confirms that democracies produce higher rates of economic growth, experience fewer and less severe financial crises and provide better safety nets for the poor and vulnerable. They also achieve higher levels of gender equality and facilitate cooperation for the common good.

Situated in the Balkans region of Europe, Kosovo’s two million citizens have not been spared the ravages of Covid-19, with thousands infected and hundreds succumbing to the disease. As elsewhere, the pandemic has upended the lives of women, who have lost their jobs in hard-hit retail and hospitality sectors where they predominate, stepped forward as essential medical workers to fight the contagion, and devoted themselves as primary caregivers to children and the elderly.

In April 2021, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and its partner, the Libyan Debate and Dialogue Association (DDA), organized a National Schools Debate Championship in Tripoli, bringing together students from across the country to compete in debates on the national stage. This event -- the largest yet hosted by DDA -- was a successful opportunity to showcase the broader and ongoing work that DDA and NDI are undertaking in promoting youth engagement and political participation in Libya.