What’s Going on at IFES?
In February 2016, the General Election Network for Disability Access (AGENDA) published Disability Access and Inclusion in the Political Processes of Four Southeast Asian Countries. The report provides key insights from Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, written by local disabled persons’ organizations, on access and inclusion of persons with disabilities with the support from IFES.
This open letter to the U.S. presidential candidates calls for an elevation of democracy and human right to a prominent place on their respective foreign policy agendas. The 139 signatories assert that the United States must exercise leadership, in league with our democratic allies, to support homegrown efforts to make societies freer and governments more democratic.
On February 29 and March 1, 2016, the Union Election Commission (UEC) hosted the first-ever National Post-Election Conference in Yangon. With support from IFES and International IDEA, the UEC organized the conference to assess the administration of the historic 2015 elections and develop recommendations for future reform.
IFES Champions #HerVoteHerVoice
IFES seeks to address how men and women can work together in leadership, particularly when a country is in the midst of conflict or undergoing a political transition, by developing a Male Allies for Leadership Equality training curriculum. Following a first round of focus group discussions with Syrians living in Gaziantep, Turkey, IFES met with a wide variety of Nigerian stakeholders in an effort to understand if and how male and female leaders were working together given the progress Nigeria’s institutions have made on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
On March 23, 2016, IFES and the Office of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18) hosted “Women with Disabilities: Strengthening Roles and Responsibilities in Peacebuilding and Politics,” the fifth installment of the “Women, Peace and Security” Capitol Hill breakfast briefing series.
Irena Hadžiabdić, an Election Commissioner for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Central Election Commission and an IFES Board Director, was a special guest at the National Democratic Institute’s #Not the Cost Conference. Hadžiabdić was there to introduce IFES’ new “Reducing Election Violence Against Women” (REVAW) framework.
