January 22-25, Campaign Finance
IFES and the Carter Center will host a meeting on campaign finance. The meeting brings together leading experts to discuss global standards for political finance such as campaign finance monitoring and election observation. The meeting will be held at IFES, Washington, DC. Please contact media@ifes.org for more information.

December 10, Democracy and Political Freedom
IFES hosted a symposium with Georgetown’s Democracy & Governance Program regarding setbacks to democracy and challenges to political freedom. Executive Vice-President, Carina Perelli, spoke along with other guests at the National Press Club from 2:00pm – 5:00 pm. Read for more information.

December 02-03, Towards a Successful 2009 Afghan Presidential Election
Chief of Party for Afghanistan, Charles Lasham, leads two breakout sessions regarding building legitimacy and capacity of the Independent Election Commission and additional electoral institutions. The conference is hosted by the Near East South Asian Center for Strategic Studies and will be held at the Washington Marriott. Please contact media@ifes.org for more information.

November 18, Turkmenistan: Prospect for Change
Anthony Bowyer, IFES Caucasus and Central Asia Program Manager, provides testimony to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission) at 2:14pm in B-318 Rayburn House Office Building. Additional witnesses: Ambassador George Krol, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Krol; Dr. Eric McGlinchey, Assistant Professor, Department of Public and International Affairs George Mason University; and Cathy Fitzpatrick, Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights. Please contact media@ifes.org for more information.

July 05, Film Screening of Iron Ladies of Liberia
IFES screened this film regarding Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia’s first elected female president and Africa’s first freely elected female head of state. The film explored the challenges facing the new presidency as new policy is developed and implemented to rebuild the country and prevent a descent back into civil war (www.pbs.org). Please contact media@ifes.org for more information.

July 05, Democracy and Political Finance in Yemen:
IFES-Yemen will host a symposium covering political finance, parliamentary elections, suggestions for improving the political situation, and democracy promotion. For details, please contact europe.asia.programs@ifes.org.

May 14, Political Islam and Democracy:
IFES Program Manager Anthony Bowyer will discuss Islamic movements in Central Asia at the annual conference of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy. For details, visit www.csidonline.org.

Jan. 9-11: Election Retreat
IFES will hold a retreat for Sierra Leone's National Election Commission to assess the 2007 vote.