DemWorks Blog | Conflict Transformers: How theater is helping heal ethnic tensions in Kosovo

The importance of art in conflict transformation was evident last month when a group of Kosovar students from ethnic Albanian and Serbian backgrounds came together to participate in a Playback Theater  -- a form of improvisational theater in which actors spontaneously “play back” real stories from an audience. The actors are retelling the history of violence between ethnic Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo in a new way that encourages empathy and healing. Read more »

Haitian Presidential Candidates Address Voters at Debates

In the closing weeks before Haiti’s October 25 elections, presidential candidates made their case to the country’s 5.8 million voters. The forum held on October 6 marked the first of six debates to which Haiti’s 53 presidential candidates were invited.  

Through these debates, the Haitian public heard directly from candidates on public policy issues rather than relying on messages conveyed through posters and campaign rallies. Read more »

Voter Registration in the Middle East and North Africa: Select Case Studies

Through a series of case studies and a comparative analysis, a new NDI report explores the voter registration systems in eight Middle East and North African countries or territories: Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian territories and Tunisia. Each case study reviews the basic elements of the voter registration process as outlined in a country’s laws and regulations, as well as how it is implemented in practice. Read more »