BRIDGE in the AEC State Office in Perth, Western Australia

A BRIDGE workshop covering the Foundation module ‘Introduction to Electoral Administration’ was conducted in Perth on 9 – 12 March 2010 for nine WA AEC officers and one member of the Western Australian Electoral Commission.

Facilitators were Daniela Capaccio-Lauw and Brian Latham.

The three and a half day course included activities on election principles, free and fair elections, good governance, legal framework and international standards, electoral systems, EMB structure, functions and responsibilities, electoral stakeholders, access and voter/civic education.

As this was a small workshop of 10 attendees, it allowed for good individual participation and plenty of time for constructive feedback and discussion. The general comment from the group was that exposure to material and experience from outside the Australian agency-specific approach broadened outlooks and encouraged greater thinking ‘outside the square’.