Morocco’s hierarchical political culture has not traditionally encouraged members of parliament (MPs) to engage with citizens about their priorities. Nor do citizens have much experience or confidence in raising concerns with their elected officials. This constituent gap has undermined the development of more representative and responsive government in Morocco.

For many young people today, being civic minded and interested in addressing social problems doesn’t translate into traditional political engagement. In the U.S., the “best and brightest” are often drawn more to Silicon Valley than Washington, DC, seeking to solve social problems by means other than government—through volunteerism, the private sector or social enterprises. In the Middle East and North Africa, many young people find too few opportunities to engage the formal political system and, in many places, see closing civic space.

The House Democracy Partnership (HDP), together with its partner, the National Democratic Institute (NDI), traveled to Myanmar/Burma in mid-February to meet with parliamentarians and political observers, and to see the new parliament in action in Naypyitaw. After decades of military rule, the National League for Democracy (NLD), headed by former political prisoner and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, is now in the process of forming a new government.

On December 1, NDI, together with IRI, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and Congressional partners, organized a gathering of more than 130 policy makers, democracy and governance practitioners, and members of the diplomatic community in the Members’ Room of the Library of Congress to celebrate the impact of the House Democracy Partnership (HDP) over the last decade, as well as look forward to its continued development over the coming years.

During the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit in Mexico City, held from October 27 to 29, NDI President Ken Wollack met with the President of the Pan African Parliament, H.E. Roger Nkodo Dang, to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The MOU will enable the two organizations to coordinate more closely on a broad range of issues, including women’s and youth participation, good governance, rule of law and other areas of common interest.