Author:
National Democratic Institute
Publisher:
National Democratic Institute
Published Date:
08/31/2011
Resource Type:
Focus Group Report
Language:
English
One of the political cartoons drawn by a participant
Finding innovative ways to reach those who feel excluded from politics can be a daunting challenge, particularly in countries with high illiteracy rates and little tradition of political engagement.
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"'In all the other elections they fiddled the numbers - why should elections now be any different?' The speaker, Mohamed, was slumped in a chair in his perfume shop in Sidi Hassine, a rundown suburb of Tunis. In the doorway stood Halima Mzoughi, 19, a campaigner from the Islamist Ennahda party, urging him to vote...
Author:
Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Research
Publisher:
National Democratic Institute
Published Date:
08/22/2011
Resource Type:
Report
Language:
English
Iraqi women attend a meeting to draft the National Platform for Women. Seventy-four percent of Iraqis agree with the constitutional mandate that 25 percent of MPs be women.
Iraqis are becoming increasingly concerned about a weak economy and poor service delivery, aggravating their frustrations with political parties and politicians. But they still believe that democracy holds the potential to improve their quality of life, and they want political parties to become more responsive to economic concerns and less focused on sectarian divisions.
Hans Zimmer visits with Roma musicians in Zehra, Slovakia.
As a boy in Germany, Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer heard about the “romantic music and fairy tales of Gypsy life.” But he wasn’t satisfied with the stories and wanted to learn more about the Roma people and their plight.
An opportunity came last year when Zimmer, a long-time human rights advocate, heard about the deportation of Roma migrants from France and wanted to help. His interest led him to NDI, which has been working for the past decade to empower Roma activists in Central and Eastern Europe.
During the strategic planning session, a group of participants from several civil society organizations work together to create a problem tree.
The first class of graduates from Nicaragua's Certificate in Leadership and Political Management (CLPM) program – which NDI reported on late last year –are poised to jump into political careers. Already many class members have announced they will run for office in November, and some have been promoted to leadership positions within their parties.
Graffiti in post-revolutionary Tunis
The Arab Spring uprisings have underscored the tremendous impact that social media can have on advancing democracy. In recent months, activists in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have used the Internet to rally the public and organize widespread demonstrations that have toppled two longstanding autocratic leaders and presented a significant challenge to several more. The lines between blogger and activist blurred as bloggers led protest movements and activists took to the Internet to spread their messages.
As South Sudan celebrates its first week as a new nation, preliminary focus group research released today by NDI shows that citizens of the world’s youngest country have growing expectations for their government.
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