From September 26 to 30, a group of 20 francophone election experts were part of a capacity building training around the themes of electoral administration & observation in Paris, France.

This was the very first time a BRIDGE training was ever given in French and in Europe. All participants to the training were extremely new to the BRIDGE methodology and embraced it enthusiastically.

The agenda of the workshop was divided as follows:

DAY 1: Introduction to Electoral Administration

DAY 2: Introduction to Electoral Administration (continued) & Electoral Planning

DAY 3: Electoral Observation

DAY 4: Electoral Observation (continued) & Electoral Systems

DAY 5: Q&A, end of the workshop

Most participants to this training were European citizens willing to conduct electoral observation missions with the French Mission des Fonctionnaires Internationaux and the European Union. During the training, representatives from the French Ministry of External Affairs as well as the International Organization La Francophonie presented on the importance of elections and electoral observation in a world of growing instability. A detailed presentation of the requirements to become an election observer with the European Union and La Francophonie were also provided to the participants – an invaluable insight to the selection criteria of 2 leading electoral observation agencies.

The workshop was rated as extremely useful by 95% of the participants.

The training was facilitated by:

-          Anne Serafini, Workshop Facilitator

-          Khalil Zerargui, Semi-accredited Facilitator

-          Kamissa Camara, Accrediting Facilitator