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What's Being Done On . . . Increasing Women's Participation in Politics ?
Armenian Association of Women with University Education - Armenia Contact: aawue@arminco.com The Armenian Association of Women with University Education (AAWUE) works to support the advancement of women in Armenia. AAWUE offers a two-year program to educate and train the next generation of women leaders of Armenia, and to inform the public about the integral relationship between human rights, women's rights, and civic activism in a democratic society. The program provides training at both the beginning and advanced levels for women activists. Center of Young Leaders - Azerbaijan Contact: cyl@azeronline.com The Center of Young Leaders (CYL) functions as an educational institution, and a resource and coordinating center for NGOs that works to strengthen civil society and provide stability in western Azerbaijan. The CYL has organized several projects to improve the political participation of young women and men in Azerbaijan, such as a training on "Women's Leadership and Community Development." Another program trained 200 young people in civic activities and the role of NGOs in a democratic society. Upon completion of this basic training, the most active and motivated participants were encouraged to form their own NGOs and were offered a more advanced training course to build their organizations. Center for Asia-Pacific Women in Politics- Asia Regional Contact: capwip@info.com.ph The Center for Asia-Pacific Women in Politics (CAPWIP) is an organization dedicated to promoting equal participation of women in politics and decision-making. CAPWIP operates through a network of national affiliates clustered into 5 sub-regional groupings: Central Asia, East Asia, Pacific, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. The Center collaborates with women leaders, women's organizations, and existing political institutions in promoting transformative politics and women's political empowerment. It employs various forms of mass media as a means to enhance public awareness of the need for women's equal representation in decision-making and politics. CAPWIP conducts training of trainers on women's political empowerment and transformative politics. Forum of Nigerian Women in Politics - Nigeria Contact: fonwip@yahoo.co.uk The main focus of the Forum of Nigerian Women in Politics (FONWIP) is to promote women's empowerment and eradicate all forms of violence and discrimination against women. It supports women in decision-making in both the public and private sectors. The group organizes seminars on empowerment and inequality; presents the women's political agenda to political parties; requests that governments include at least 30% female representation in government appointments, attempts to increase officials' awareness of gender issues in public policies, and conducts workshops for women who aspire to run for public offices, in which party leaders and government officials share their experiences. Grupo de Educación Popular con Mujeres (Civic Education Group for Women)- Mexico www.laneta.apc.org/gem/gem_2.htm Grupo de Educación Popular con Mujeres aims to enhance women's issues, especially in the area of political participation, economics, and family affairs. One of its recent programs focused on developing young female leaders. The program trained over 60 women in leadership skills in Mexico City, Puebla, and Jalisco. The group also organized conferences concerning human rights, sustainable development, and the representation and participation of women in society. International Republican Institute - Russia www.iri.org/countries.asp?id=6134613543 The International Republican Institute (IRI) coordinates a Women's Parliamentary Program in Russia to integrate women into political decision-making and to promote their leadership skills. The program provides training to women parliamentarians in Russian municipalities and regions on a number of fundamental skill areas, including parliamentary procedure, legislative drafting, constituent relations, and communications. This program aims to strengthen the ability of women legislators to represent their constituents and to expand the network of supportive organizations for current and future women parliamentarians. Korean Institute for Women & Politics - South Korea www.kiwp.or.kr/eng/ The Korean Institute for Women & Politics (KIWP) aims to foster the inclusion of women in politics. The Institute conducts research and holds seminars on the topic of women and politics. KWIP organizes leadership training workshops for prospective women candidates in which campaign situations are simulated and electoral strategies are planned. League of Democratic Women- Nigeria Contact: leadsnigeria@hotmail.com The League of Democratic Women (LEADS) promotes and protects women's and children's rights in northern Nigeria. In order to increase leadership skills, mobilize popular participation, and educate citizens on women's rights, LEADS is conducting a three-day training workshop for thirty-five governance monitors from the five local governments in Kaduna State, with preference given to representatives from women's groups. Participants' findings are going to be published in LEADS' magazine, Women's Advocate. Rallies in which participants and fellow grassroots organizations educate the community on issues of governance will be held approximately six months after the workshop. L'Association Démocratique des Femmes Du Maroc (Democratic Association of Moroccan Women) - Morocco www.espaceassociatif.org.ma/html/sites/siteframes/f-adfm.html (French) The Democratic Association of Moroccan Women, whose mission is to defend and promote women's human rights (civil, political, economic, and social rights) and to protect women against violence, operates a Center for Women's Leadership offering workshops where civil society activists learn how to mobilize women leaders. The Association recently developed a program to select, train, and guide nine candidates from leading women's human rights and civic groups to form a core working group that develop and moderate workshops. The workshops are held in Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier, Agadir and Oujda, and aim at developing plans to increase women's participation in leadership and decision making within the civic sector. National Democratic Institute for International Affairs - Middle East Regional www.ndi.org/worldwide/mena/mena.asp The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) has cooperated extensively with NGOs across the Middle East to improve women's political participation. In Egypt, NDI and the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights (ECWR) are currently organizing a 12-month program to train women in the areas of elections and political party activism, and to provide ECWR with the skills and resources necessary to influence public policy through advocacy. ECWR also provides electoral and political party training for women leaders. In January 2002, NDI worked with the Jordanian National Commission for Women supporting the election of women candidates in upcoming parliamentary elections. Also in January 2002, NDI held a council workshop for all 36 women councilors in Yemen to introduce the female Council members to the legal process by which work is accomplished at the local government level. Organización de Mujeres Indígenas de la Amazonía Peruana (Organization of Indigenous Women of the Peruvian Amazon)- Peru Contact: omiap01@terra.com.pe Organización de Mujeres Indígenas de la Amazonía Peruana (OMIAP) is an organization that represents indigenous women throughout the Amazon region. In an effort to foster indigenous women's community participation, OMIAP coordinates a training program for three regions of the Amazon. The workshops in the program address topics such as women's rights, indigenous rights, and how the local government functions. The training encourages indigenous women to run for local elected office. The two hundred women that are directly trained then replicate the training in their local communities to increase the number of women who will benefit from the program. Shevolution-Kosovo www.shevolution.com Shevolution is a consultancy wing of Eyecatcher Associates set up to advise and develop strategies and actions for producing systems in which women and men work together in equal partnership. Shevolution designs and implements training programs, needs assessment reports, and communication initiatives around the world. Recently, Eyecatcher/Shevolution assisted the Kosovo NGO Advocacy Project in training new NGOs in advocacy and gender issues. The group also conducts skills workshops for future women leaders in the former Soviet Union, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The League of Women Voters of St. Petersburg - Russia www.cl.spb.ru/lwv/english.html The League of Women Voters of St. Petersburg assists female political candidates in learning electoral technologies, and prepares campaign workers and pollwatchers for elections. With the League's support, 53 women have been elected to local self-governing bodies in St. Petersburg. The League publishes "The League of Women Voters" newsletter, which reaches 70,000 to 100,000 St. Petersburg residents each month. Additionally, the League maintains a databank on the activities of elected officials and offers free legal advice to citizens. Women for Democracy and Leadership -Nigeria Contact: slawani@skannet.com.ng Women for Democracy and Leadership (WODEL) works to empower Nigerian women and support women's leadership. Through its "Women Working Group" program, WODEL brings together women's organizations to address their lack of political empowerment. As part of the program, WODEL holds training-of-trainers workshops for representatives of the women's organizations to address public-speaking, campaigning, use of media, and lobbying issues. The participants are expected to return to their organizations to share skills and information from the workshop. Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace - Middle East and North Africa Regional www.learningpartnership.org The Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace (WLP) develops multi-media, culture-specific education tools for individuals and organizations in the Global South that cultivate and strengthen women's participation and leadership in building civil society. The WLP published a women's leadership handbook entitled "Leading to Choices: A Leadership Training Handbook for Women." In addition, the WLP, in collaboration with Sisterhood is Global/Jordan, has convened a series of five regional sessions of Roaming Institute Training for Trainers in Amman, Jordan, for 24 women from its partner organizations to further develop their facilitation skills. About "What's Being Done On . . . " For three months at a time, we highlight the activities of various organizations in different global regions, and links to important resources, that are focused on a particular theme or area of democracy work. Each new theme is announced via DemocracyNews, and the information from the previous installment is placed in the archives below. We hope to receive and post information about the work you or others may be doing that is focused on these issues. Send information via e-mail to the or by fax to (202) 378-9889. |
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