Introduction BRIDGE module for new Moldovan CEC members
5 August 2011
On 28 and 29 July 2011, the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova restarted a key internal development programme for its members and staff through the presentation of a BRIDGE ‘Introduction to Electoral Administration’ workshop in Chisinau.
7 of our 9 CEC members are newly appointed and there is a clear need for them to have an opportunity to build a dynamic team, both amongst themselves and with the key staff of the CEC. For this reason, the majority of the participants were commissioners and staff from Central Electoral Commission. Also, the course was attended by the new project assistant from “Electoral Support to Moldova” UNDP project and a representative of IFES Moldova.
The workshop was facilitated by accredited BRIDGE facilitators Dr. Doina Bordeianu, head of civic education, training and secretariat department from CEC Moldova, Dr. Iurie Ciocan, CEC Chairman and Pavel Cabacenco, deputy country director, IFES Moldova. The two days agenda was designed to answer the need of the new commissioners but also of the CEC staff that had to organize 5 national electoral events in the last 2 years.
Lead facilitator Dr Doina Bordeianu, commented on the enthusiasm shown by the group: “We had a mixed group of participants, some of whom are new to both the CEC and to BRIDGE methodology. It’s been great to see the sharing of knowledge and experience within the group, as well as hear the regular laughter. ”
A participant said that she never thought that you can learn in such easy and funny way. Another participant mentioned the good and positive environment “Here is the CEC chairman, deputy chairman, secretary and the commissioners speaking and acting equally to a simple staff member. I think after this workshop we will be able to have better relationships at our workplace”.
In their evaluation sheets, the participants were eager to continue with BRIDGE workshops during the coming years.
The CEC has been using BRIDGE since 2009, when UNDP supported the initial assessment and development phase of the programme. There are now 7 Moldovans who are fully accredited to facilitate BRIDGE workshops.
The ‘Introduction to Electoral Administration’ workshop was jointly supported by UNDP’s Electoral Support to Moldova project and the IFES Moldova country programme, with funding from UNDP and USAID. These two global implementing partners plan to jointly support a longer term programme of BRIDGE workshop for Moldovan CEC members and staff as well as electoral stakeholders in the coming years.