Kristen Sample of International IDEA and Pepijn Gerrits from the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy discuss political party assistance issues during a break.

Nearly 50 representatives of foreign ministries, development organizations, academia and donor agencies gathered at NDI for a discussion on how to provide assistance to political parties.  As the changes spurred by the Arab Spring unfold, this type of assistance has taken on new urgency as activists across North Africa seek to create parties in societies where they did not exist or were severely curtailed.

At the Oct. 3-4 session, participants discussed how to share information and take advantage of new high-tech organizing tools, among other things. The roundtable was co-sponsored by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) and NDI.