Democratic activists worldwide are most successful when they share skills and learn from each other across ideologies and cultures. The World Movement for Democracy (WMD) provided such a global forum in Jakarta, Indonesia, where activists, practitioners, academics and policy makers generated ideas for promoting and strengthening democracy.

The idea came to Vuka Crnjanski when she heard a government official say of a group illegally charging tolls on Serbia's highways: "It's OK to steal a little. This group just went too far."

"Such a statement should have gotten the minister in serious trouble," said Crnjanski, who had worked with NDI as a political party and civil society trainer and was formerly senior figure in Serbia's Liberal Democratic Party. "However, there was virtually no reaction to the statement from any political parties, government officials, NGOs or the media."

Tim Berners-Lee, the British engineer, computer scientist and MIT professor who is credited with inventing the World Wide Web, singled out for praise one of NDI's technology projects in a talk at the Technology Education Design (TED) conference in Long Beach, Calif. The conference brings speakers from around the world to talk about technology, creativity and ways their work can change the world.

Leveraging new media tools to extend an issue or candidate's reach is now a necessary component of campaigns of all kinds. In the Middle East and North Africa, new media technologies have revolutionized the way activists disseminate information and mobilize supporters, providing activists with alternative tools to make their voices heard, convey their message, recruit volunteers and mobilize even in places with repressive regimes.

An innovative online mapping tool for analyzing election results data from Afghanistan's Aug. 20 presidential election using demographic, ethnographic, topographic and security information was launched last month by NDI. The tool also identifies areas that had significant electoral irregularities.

Parallel vote tabulations (PVTs), a powerful citizens' tool to analyze the integrity of voting and counting processes as well as the accuracy of official election results, were the subject of a "PVT Academy" held at NDI's Washington office Nov. 17-20. Some 23 participants from 17 countries, all experienced in conducting PVTs, came together to share expertise and harmonize best practices.