BRIDGE Training for West African Civil Society Organisations Working in Electoral Processes

2011 and 2012 being critical years for democracy and electoral processes in West Africa, Gorée Institute decided to continue building the capacities of actors who will play a key role in these processes. The April 19-23, 2010 BRIDGE training was an opportunity for Gorée Institute to strengthen its relationship with its partners: IFES (an ACE and BRIDGE partner) and REDEMEC (an organisation member of the West African Centre for Elections steering committee). The training was ran entirely in English and the objectives were as follows:

To train Civil Society Organisations in various aspects of electoral management;
To introduce the BRIDGE curriculum and its pedagogy to West African CSOs working in electoral processes;
To position Gorée Institute as a hub of excellence for both ACE and BRIDGE in West Africa;
To allow potential funders/donors to familiarize themselves with BRIDGE;
To allow participants to network and share best practices;
To strengthen the relationship between Gorée Institute and its partners: International IDEA, IFES, REDEMEC.

Participants from Cape Verde, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone took part in this training and shared their experiences on the following topics: Standards and principles of elections; Election frameworks; Electoral operations and stakeholders; Stakeholder Management; Election observation and the role of CSOs in addressing electoral challenges.

Led by Theophilus DOWETIN (International IDEA) the facilitation team, composed by Kamissa CAMARA (IFES), Carla BETTENCOURT and Ibrahima Amadou NIANG (Gorée Institute) created spaces for networking and sharing of experiences. At the end of the training, two members of the team received their certificate of full accreditation for completing the field work component:

Kamissa Camara (IFES) and Carla Bettencourt.