The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) will host back-to-back panel discussions on the Middle East during their annual Policy Conference.

Featured speaker Les Campbell, senior associate and regional director for Middle East and North Africa programs at NDI, will take part in a panel discussion titled "Arab Democracy? Institution Building in the Middle East."

Time: 1:30 to 3 p.m. and 3:45 to 5:15 p.m.

Date: March 5, 2012

A panel discussion will talk about the political future of Venezuela, where after its primary election, voters chose Henrique Capriles, governor of Miranda state, as the unified opposition candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

Speaker: Jennifer McCoy, Professor, Carter Center

Sophia Moestrup, NDI's Deputy Regional Director for Central and West Africa, will moderate a luncheon panel, "Beyond Protest: Innovations in Youth Activism," hosted by the National Endowment for Democracy.

Speakers for the panel discussion are Kingsley N. T. Bangwell, Youngstars Foundation, Nigeria; Nada Alwadi, Bahrain Press Association, Bahrain; Juan Pio Hernandez, Venezuela Perspectives, Venezuela; and Darko Brkan, Zašto ne (Why Not), Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Time: 12:15 to 2 p.m.