Citizen Participation

Disabled Persons' Organizations Move to Ensure Participation in Elections

Free and fair elections are a cornerstone of democracy and essential to keeping governments accountable. But in many parts of the world the fundamental right to vote is denied to persons with disabilities. Today, to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, here are two examples of how disabled persons' organizations are taking action to demand more say in their countries' politics.

Paraguay Takes Big Big Step Toward Enfranchisement of People with Disabilities

Results of October 2014 Public Opinion Poll on Women’s Political Participation in Georgia

A Trainer's Guide: How to Design and Deliver Training with Impact

The lead trainers for the MENA Regional Campaign Schools, Shannon O’Connell and Abdul Salam Medeni, have come together to co-author this manual – a step-by-step guide to designing, preparing, conducting and evaluating a successful training program. A Trainer’s Guide: How to Design and Deliver Training with Impact focuses solely on the basic principles that a trainer should follow in order to gain the best possible outcomes from a training he or she delivers.

Legislatures and Civil Society Join Forces to Open Democratic Decision-Making

As more citizens turn to the Internet to engage in political activity, elected representatives are finding new ways to communicate with constituents and engage them in decision-making.

Regional Consultations Focus on Youth Building a Culture of Democracy and Peace in Africa

Washington, D.C.—Young men and women from across Africa will discuss how to engage youth in democracy, elections and governance on the continent during two regional consultations in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Pretoria, South Africa, Aug. 26-27 and Aug. 29-30, respectively.

Civic and Voter Education Produce Hope for a New Road

It’s a beautiful, sunny morning as Trizza Ndalama from Zomba District, Malawi, finishes packing her legumes to sell at her local market. She notes that for many years she has made little profit on her produce. “I can only sell at the Chingale market nearby, which is not that viable,” Ndalama said. “The big market where I can sell the produce at a reasonable profit is very far from this village and the road is very bad.”

New NDI Guide Looks at Ways to Curb Electoral Violence

Guatemala has been plagued by electoral violence for decades. It includes intimidation of voters, and harassment, assaults and even assassinations of candidates, their families and activists by organized criminal groups and drug traffickers.

Monitoring and Mitigating Electoral Violence Through Nonpartisan Citizen Election Observation

Nonpartisan citizen election observation organizations around the world have made great strides in monitoring and mitigating electoral related violence, though in many countries groups have only recently begun such efforts. It is important to develop and systematize methodologies in this field. This new manual published by NDI draws on lessons shared by nonpartisan citizen election monitoring groups at several NDI-facilitated events and workshops addressing electoral violence monitoring and mitigation.

NDI's Lila Jaafar Testifies Before Congress on "The Struggle for Civil Society in Egypt"

NDI staff member Lila Jaafar testified July 24 before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. Subcommittee Chairman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen presided over the hearing, “The Struggle for Civil Society in Egypt.”

“There is still a great hunger for democracy in Egypt – especially among the youth who now recognize that it will take more than street demonstrations to create a more pluralistic and democratic system,” Jaafar said during her testimony.

Student's Moving Testimony on Sanitation Sparks Renewed Efforts

Theresa Kanneh, a 17 year old in her final year at G.W. Gibson High School in Monrovia, stood in front of a group of Liberian senators in the Joint Chamber of the Legislature. She described the poor state of water and sanitation conditions in Liberian schools. Conditions are so poor, she said, that students are forced to relieve themselves in bushes due to a lack of working toilets, interfering with their ability to learn.