BRIDGE joins CNE to celebrate 4th birthday – February 2011
9 March 2011
As part of the Australian Government’s longstanding support for East Timor, funding was provided by AusAID to conduct training to further develop the capacity of electoral administration in Timor-Leste.
The Australian Electoral Commission, in collaboration with Commissão Nacional de Eleições (CNE), conducted the Introduction to Election Administration Module of BRIDGE for CNE, Organisacao Igreija Para Assuntos Sociais (OIPAS), East Timor Media development Centre (TLMDC), Centro Jornalismo Investigativo East Timor (CIJTL), Alola Foundation and The Asia Foundation.
Two workshops were conducted from 7th Feb – 18th Feb 2011 in Dili. Twenty eight participants attended the first workshop which was held from the 7th February to 10th February 2011 and thirty participants attended the second workshop which was held from 14th February to 18th February. The aim of the training was to give participants a better understanding of international electoral processes and to support participants to develop professional capacity in the lead up to the 2012 National Elections in Timor-Leste. The training modules provided participants with knowledge of elections in a global context, legal frameworks, electoral principles and standards, criteria for free and fair elections and ideas about planning for civic education, electoral education and voter information and election observation and supervision.
During the training in Dili, BRIDGE facilitators were fortunate to help CNE celebrate its fourth birthday. Facilitators were invited to CNE for an official opening of CNE’s new tally room and to participate in a seminar. It was a significant occasion and very useful dialogue for all concerned.
The BRIDGE Facilitation team in Dili from the Australian Electoral Commission was Augusto Pereira, Cate Thompson and Bassam Alyaseri.
Feedback from the training included:
“I am pleased to have an opportunity to build my capacity and understanding on electoral law and systems.”
“This workshop motivates us – we share knowledge, learn new stuff and interact in good teams.”
Dr Faustino Cardoso Gomes, President of CNE congratulated all participants and encouraged them to take their learning back to their workplace so they could make the nation better through better elections.