Initiative Committees Working to Distribute Aid and Information in Haiti
The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12 brought suffering and destruction to a country that was already facing major development challenges. The situation on the ground changes daily as Haitian and international relief efforts try to help the millions of citizens who now lack food, water, medical care and shelter.
In response, members of a Haitian network of community organizing groups, or Initiative Committees (ICs), are mobilizing to support national and international relief efforts. Developed over more than a decade with NDI support, the ICs are present in 179 municipalities across the country and involve 35,000 Haitians and 3,500 civic organizations, including 400 women's groups.
Read More »NDI Partner Groups Commend Ukrainian Elections, Offer Recommendations Before Runoff
Following the Ukrainian presidential election on Jan. 17, two election observation groups issued statements recognizing that the vote was an improvement over the 2004 presidential election. However, the groups urged that the recommendations issued in their reports be adopted before the runoff election in February. The recent vote marks the first presidential election since 2004, which ended in popular protests of the results, known as the Orange Revolution.
Opora, a nonpartisan network of Ukrainian election monitors, issued a report stating it was "pleased" with the high voter turnout and characterized election day as "calm."
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Leveraging new media tools to extend an issue or candidate's reach is now a necessary component of campaigns of all kinds. In order to help the next generation of activists in the Middle East and North Africa adopt new media tools effectively, a group of civil society activists representing 11 countries gathered in Istanbul in November at an event organized by Aswat, an Arabic language website for Middle Eastern democratic activists.
NDI recently published the El Salvador 2009 Benchmark Democracy Survey, which measures citizens’ democratic values and perceptions of democracy in their country.
The survey uncovered a number of unexpected attitudes among women and young people, which prompted NDI’s former country director for El Salvador, Alison Miranda, to think about new ways to increase Salvadorans’ levels of political and civic engagement.
