The International Republican Institute (IRI) and Democracy Works Foundation (DWF) are set to host a three-part series of virtual activities aimed at strengthening political parties in Southern Africa. The workshops focus on the way parties engage in the governing and electoral processes. These engagements have become more relevant given the COVID-19 pandemic that – beside its global health impacts – is posing increased threats to democracy.
The first virtual activity will be a regional political party workshop titled Winning to Governing. It is adapted from a curriculum developed by the Center for Global Impact – IRI’s in-house governance specialists’ unit. The curriculum aims to improve political parties’ ability to transition from campaign development to taking office, and to develop their capacity to govern effectively. The Winning to Governing workshop – which includes parties from Malawi, Zambia, Lesotho, Botswana, Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, and Namibia – will be conducted virtually on 2 July 2020, 2pm to 5pm CAT.
The workshop will address party cohesion, campaign development, managing the transition into office, and governing effectively. It will particularly focus on:
• Party development
• Taking office
• Governing effectively: Engaging the system and engaging citizens
• Internal party communications
The next activities are in form of a webinar series focusing on preparing for elections amidst COVID-19 restrictions and measures as well as the role of digital technology in elections. The two webinars are scheduled to be held in July 2020, bringing together political parties, Electoral Management Bodies and other elections stakeholders from the region.
Democracy Works Foundation (DWF) is a southern African non-profit company focused on democracy development in the region. With headquarters in South Africa, DWF works through its country offices to provide tools to develop resilient democracies.
The International Republican Institute is an international, non-partisan and non-governmental institute that works with organizations and individuals across the globe to help citizens build democratic societies that are open and responsible, accountable and resilient.
For further information please contact Nabeelah Khan on 010 023 0835 or nabeelah@democracyworksfoundation.org or Hanifa Gutu on hgutu@iri.org
