As the world adjusts to the new normal in the era of the Coronavirus and COVID-19 that includes social distancing and a six feet apart spacing, civil society is being thrust more than ever before onto the forefront of keeping humanity connected and informed. The world shouldn’t be surprised that community-based organizations are on the frontlines of helping us through the COVID-19 pandemic.

NDI and the Mano River Union Secretariat are working with a group of 32 young women political activists from Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone to chart a course towards a new politics -- a politics in which women have a strong voice. The Network of Emerging Women in Politics (NEW Politics) program is designed to help women develop confidence, networks, and other skills needed to more fully engage in the political arena and achieve greater representation.

The passing of the 20th anniversary of the Kosovo conflict has provoked an outpouring of personal reflection on wartime experiences. Every night, news channels broadcast stirring images of citizens bringing flowers to grave sites and monuments, commemorating executed and disappeared family members, telling stories, and giving speeches on heroism and hardship.