Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) delivered the keynote address at a March 22 luncheon honoring the Women’s Discussion Club of Kyrgyzstan, the 2012 recipient of the Madeleine K. Albright Grant awarded by NDI.

In her address, Wasserman Schultz challenged women to take the lead. “Too often, women don’t speak up,” Wasserman Schultz said. “But women's voices are crucial to democracy.”

Representatives from 33 of Libya’s new political parties gathered in Tripoli March 1 to learn about the new law that will govern Libya’s first election in nearly 50 years.  The late June vote for a constituent assembly will be the first time any of these parties will wage competitive campaigns, and how well they learn the rules of the game will help determine their success as they vie to shape the future of the country.

Doctors and nurses from a U.N. hospital in South Sudan are treating patients in Munuki and Kator, two communities outside the capital that had no access to health care until now. The presence of the hospital staff grew out of a town hall-style meeting that was a first-time opportunity for residents of those communities to meet with their elected members of parliament.

“Parties that take women’s political participation seriously benefit from stronger electoral positions, access to new groups of voters and stronger relations with their constituents,” NDI President Kenneth Wollack said at the Feb. 29 launch of a new guidebook for political parties.

The guide, Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties: A Good Practices Guide to Promote Women’s Political Participation, was written and produced by the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) and NDI.