BRIDGE Civic Education and Voter Information Modules Workshop for Civil Society held in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe on 27–29 October 2017

TRACE in conjunction with ZESN organised a Civic Education and Voter Information workshop on 27– 29 October 2017 at Cresta Hotel in Bulawayo. DAI International provided the funding for the project. This workshop is one in a series of capacity development workshops that are planned as part of the training strategy with the purpose of ensuring that Civil Society have the necessary skills and expertise to develop and execute, without prejudice the strategies that will ensure that the citizens of Zimbabwe are well-informed on their rights and in turn without fear are able to exercise those rights and participate fully in democracy of their country.

Three BRIDGE facilitators (2 Females; 1 Male) participated in the delivery of the course:

1. Sibongile Zimemo (Female); (Consultant; South African) – Lead Facilitator
2. Rindai Chipfunde-Vava (Female):(Director; ZESN–Zimbabwe)– Accrediting
3. Harris Potani (Male);(Deputy CEO; Malawi Electoral Commission)–Accrediting

The facilitators provided comparative studies and experiences of different countries in which they were involved in providing capacity building programs on the modules covered during this workshop and in the electoral process in general. The local facilitator provided her extensive knowledge of the Zimbabwe context. The local facilitator provided her extensive knowledge of the Zimbabwe context. Electoral laws and Regulations, Civic and Voter Education program objectives and strategies from the different countries were interrogated as well as the roles and relationships of various stakeholders in the delivery of Civic and Education and Information.

Thirty-five participants (13 Females and 22 Males) who were selected from various Civil Society organisations in Bulawayo participated in the workshop. The participant representation covered; however was not limited to religious, human rights, academics, women and youth organisations including the organising partners and donors. The experience, content knowledge, commitment and enthusiasm demonstrated by all participants throughout the workshop contributed to the achievement of the aims and objectives of the training. The mixture of different experiences and expertise contributed to the success of the workshop.

A positive environment and good spirit was maintained throughout the workshop by the facilitators and participants alike. Thanking everyone for their contributions.