Capacity building for democracy

By Phuntsho Choden

BRIDGE CEDP Workshop25 August, 2009 - Members of the National Assembly, educational institutes, media, election commission and civil societies will meet in Paro today to develop a professional module called ‘Democracy In Our Place’ to explore concepts of democracy and good governance.

The meeting is part of the BRIDGE civic education development project (CEDP) to build capacity of people working in areas of democracy and governance. The election commission of Bhutan (ECB) and Australian electoral commission (AEC) organised the meeting jointly.
“The project is to improve skills, knowledge and confidence, both of election professionals and others in the electoral process. It is also for participants from various fields to explore the concepts of democracy,” said chief election commission, Dasho Kunzang Wangdi.

He said that BRIDGE (building resources in democracy, governance and elections) is one of the most comprehensive professional development courses available in election administration.

ECB officials said that the project aims to develop a module that will serve adults, who are working in the fields of democracy or governance, or for those who simply want to be more informed or engaged in the political life.

The CEDP project is funded by AusAid and managed by the BRIDGE office based in the Australian electoral commission. “The project team had tried this module in Vanuatu, a small island nation in the Pacific, and the second and final trial will be in Bhutan,” said Dasho Kunzang Wangdi.

Once the professional development module has been developed and trialed to assess its impact, the module will be formally submitted to BRIDGE partner countries and made available to the rest of the world, said officials.

HRH Ashi Sonam Dechan Wangchuck will be inaugurating the BRIDGE CEDP workshop opening today. ECB officials will also be releasing electoral do*****ents on rules, regulations and guidelines for the 2009 local government elections.


phuntshochoden@kuensel.com.bt