BRIDGE participants from Tanzania have their say!
8 October 2013
An article by the participants in the BRIDGE Voter Registration for the NEC staff conducted in Bagamoyo, Tanzania.
It was a moment of happiness for NEC staff, smiling around and had these to say;
Indeed it has happened!
For the first time in Tanzania, I can’t imagine that now we are having BRIDGE training in Tanzania. I used to hear it from other fellows in the office now I got the chance to participate. Thanks to the EU-UNDP project. It is funny that BRIDGE is not the thing I used to think of, I now know that BRIDGE means Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections and not the bridge on the road (Smile!).
I gained a lot of knowledge in this training through presentations, role plays, brainstorming etc. It is a very useful training for people who deal with electoral matters. It is of a great importance that the National Electoral Commission (NEC) of Tanzania to look for some ways of conducting this kind of training to electoral practitioners and stakeholders. This course is an eye opener. I have been in the field of elections for 8 year now but I never had the knowledge of elections especially on voter registration as it has been now.
Waiting for the opportunity to send personnel outside the country to attend this kind of course is not enough. It is good to plan for our own training like this. Thanks to UNDP, EU, ECF-SADC and the National Electoral Commission of Tanzania for planning and conduct such an educative course to its personnel. It is unfortunate that not all the staff of the Commission got this golden chance to attend this course. Any way I urge the Commission to arrange for another training like this for the rest of the staff even the Commissioners and where possible to have participants from outside Tanzania to share experience.
I will use this knowledge and experience I got here for the better of the NEC and the Nation as whole.
This should not be the last rather just the beginning of success on the electoral process in Tanzania.
Very crucial, important, friendly, educative and enjoyable training!!!!
To read more about this workshop, go to http://www.bridge-project.org/news2/africa/1278-voter-registration-the-first-bridge-project-for-tanzania.html