AEC BRIDGE Workshop

Colleagues from several areas of the AEC including human resources, funding and disclose and strategic analysis also joined communications staff the workshop, bringing with them a rich variety of experience and perspectives.

A particularly valued participant was Kinley, from the Bhutan Elections Commission who is spending several months working with the AEC. Kinley gave a snapshot of life in Bhutan but also outlined his county’s first steps on the road to democracy from an election administrator’s point of view. This presentation was nicely balanced by AEC member of staff Peter Burgess who outlined some of the processes in the Australian system.

The workshop content was taken from the BRIDGE foundation module Introduction to electoral administration. As many of the participants were from the communications area, a particular emphasis in the workshop was on identifying and working with stakeholders in the electoral process.

One participant summed up her experience of the BRIDGE workshop in the following way:

“I found the BRIDGE workshop very informative and well worthwhile attending. I would love to attend more of the modules. The way the workshop was structured really made one think about the electoral process – how valuable it is to have a transparent and as simple a process as possible. The BRIDGE workshop also showed that the Australian system is rated highly and a valuable asset to Australians and a showcase for the rest of the world. I think the BRIDGE Workshop is a must for all AEC employees throughout their AEC career”.

Beatrice Barnett

August 2009