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A Decade of Supporting Democracy

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A Decade of Supporting Democracy A DECADE OF SUPPORTING DEMOCRACY POLITICAL PARTIES OF FINLAND FOR DEMOCRACY – DEMO FINLAND 1 A DECADE of supporting democracy Paavo Arhinmäki Carl Haglund Ville Niinistö Antti Rinne Left Alliance Swedish People’s Greens Social Democratic Party of Finland Party Päivi Räsänen Juha Sipilä Timo Soini Alexander Stubb Christian Democrats Centre Party Finns Party National Coalition Party THE FINNISH PARLIAMENTARY PARTIES express their warmest greetings to their co-operative organisation on its 10th anniversary! We are proud of the work Demo Finland carries out and we are committed to continue our support for de- mocracy through Demo Finland in the coming years. 2 3 DEMO FIN- LAND DEMO FOUNDING DEMO FINLAND 5 Empowerment through the experiences of Finnish politicians | The Finnish approach to democracy support | Heli Järvinen & Christine Chewe 25 Tiina Kukkamaa-Bah 5 Self-confidence boosts women’s participation | Dialogue as a means of reconciliation | Sari Varpama 6 Bennadette Chabakalanga 26 Support for democracy is support for the future | Mirja Ryynänen 8 The Myanmar School of Politics clearing a path to democratic dialogue 27 AN ORGANISATION BY POLITICAL PARTIES 10 Youth dialogue for a healed nation in Sri Lanka 28 A common cause: Democracy | Miapetra Kumpula-Natri 10 Supporting democracy is supporting a life of dignity for all | WHY SUPPORT DEMOCRACY? 30 Ulla Karvo 12 Democracy, sure – but how? | Tarja Halonen 30 No democracy without educated women | Sanni Grahn-Laasonen 13 Ending aid dependency by tackling the root causes of Heli Järvinen and Tiina Kukkamaa-Bah in Myanmar A surprise task | Eila Tiainen 15 underdevelopment | Heidi Hautala 34 in June 2015 The cornerstone of democracy is participation | Satu Haapanen 16 A moment for celebration and reflection | Roel von Meijenfeldt 36 Good governance is a Finnish asset | Eero Heinäluoma 37 EFFECTIVE WORK IN PARTNER COUNTRIES 19 Learning to win – and lose | Astrid Thors 38 A joint agenda for Tanzanian women politicians | Ave Maria Political parties play a key role in democracy work | Mari Kiviniemi 40 Semakafu 19 Three things that Finland can share with the world | Miika Tomi 42 Youth for gender equality in Nepal | Laxmi Khatiwada 21 The power of example | Saara Ruokonen 43 FOUNDING DEMO New generation of politicians believe in cooperation in Tunisia 22 Democracy support: the cornerstone of development | Sebastian Bringing women’s voices to public attention with the power Tynkkynen 44 FINLAND of co-operation 24 Democracy and development go hand in hand | Lenita Toivakka 46 Demo Finland – the Finnish approach to democracy support DEMO FINLAND was formed in 2005 to channel the ex- Finnish parliamentary parties work together through Views expressed in this publication are personal and cannot be PUBLISHED BY Political Parties of Finland for Democracy – Demo pertise and experiences of Finnish political parties into Demo Finland and in doing so set an example of cross-par- attributed to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland or Demo Finland. Finland 2015 Finland’s international development co-operation. At the ty co-operation for our partners in new and transitioning EDITORS Lassi Härmälä & Anna Juhola same time, it was envisioned that Finnish politicians would democracies. As a co-operative body comprising all Finn- LAYOUT Jesse Pasanen learn about the work of political parties elsewhere in the ish parliamentary parties, Demo Finland is unique also at PROOFREADING psEDIT world, thereby getting firsthand experience of development the global level. Finnish competences relate to peaceful PRINTED BY Eura Print Oy co-operation and democracy support. Demo Finland, thus, problem solving; cross-party co-operation and inclusive WWW.DEMOFINLAND.ORG COVER IMAGES Maria Santto has a unique mission to complement Finnish foreign policy. politics; and the political participation of women and 4 5 youth. Demo Finland’s partners regard us as a neutral fa- of Finnish politicians and their peers in our partner coun- cilitator and they see Finnish politicians’ involvement as tries we can reflect on the impact of our work. Democracy important peer support. cannot function without democrats. During the ten years of our existence, we have man- Finnish political parties can be proud of the work of aged to build trusting relationships with political parties Demo Finland. We are especially happy about the contin- in our partner countries. Our work has contributed to the ued commitment of our member parties to support and “Democracy always assumes a local strengthening of women’s political participation in Tanza- participate in our work. Together we will strive to advance form and is based on local needs: there nia and constructive co-operation between political youth our efforts for another ten years. and student organizations and peaceful elections in Nepal. is no one model that can be exported.” Recently, Demo Finland has established new initiatives in Heli Järvinen countries such as Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tunisia and Zambia. We Chair of Demo Finland have also cemented our position as an equal among inter- Member of the Parliament of Finland 2007–2011, 2015– national democracy support providers and have established Greens co-operation projects with international sister organizations. ways, is at the core of Demo Finland’s work. Democracy, like development, not least the first, dedicated board and its All this requires long-term commitment and mutual trust. Tiina Kukkamaa-Bah humans, is always imperfect; as Winston Churchill said, it Chairperson Mirja Ryynänen, and, of course, the subsequent The purpose of this publication is to give a voice to our Executive Director is the worst form of government except for all the others boards and Chairpersons; political parties and their sub- greatest resource, the politicians. Through the experiences Demo Finland that have been tried. It needs commitment and continuous organisations, active working group members, the parlia- work, just like Demo Finland has required over the past ten ment, supportive civil servants and international colleagues years to become the organisation it is today. providing limitless support and advice. The staff of Demo Dialogue as a means of reconciliation I had the pleasure of being the first Executive Director Finland have shown exceptional dedication throughout the of Demo Finland, and my first tasks were to rent an office, years. Demo Finland is all about co-operation and respect THE FACT that all Finnish parliamentary parties came Democratic values supersede party politics: by working open a bank account and get a computer. Much has hap- for equality and inclusion, the core values of democracy. together to form Demo Finland, and that they were, and together, the Finnish parliamentary parties provide a pow- pened since then, and Demo Finland has grown from a Overcoming differences and agreeing to disagree is at the are, prepared to share their experience and expertise on erful example of how to take responsibility in a multi-party fledgling organisation into a serious democracy support core of its work. It has been an interesting journey and long a voluntary basis, is remarkable. Political parties are the system, something that is greatly needed in many young actor in the international community. It is considered a may it continue. gatekeepers in a democracy, the success of which depends democracies. Democracy always assumes a local form and proactive and progressive organisation with a lot to con- on the accountability and inclusivity of the parties them- is based on local needs: there is no one model that can tribute, and Finland can be truly proud of Demo Finland Sari Varpama selves. How a person gets to be in a position of power in be exported. Democracy can be supported, however, and and the commitment of its parliamentary parties to the Senior Adviser 2013–2015 a democracy is dictated within political parties, not just who would be better at that than the professionals, the support of democracy. Executive Director 2006–2013 in elections. Therefore, a functioning party system is vital. political actors themselves? Peer support, working both Many people should be thanked for Demo Finland’s Demo Finland 6 7 DEMO Board for Relations with Developing Countries, published mutual learning and dialogue. Politicians around the world a report on parties’ participation in development co-op- will always find common ground, even though they might eration and that report was used as the benchmark. A lot disagree on many issues. Politicians in partner countries of attention was paid to ensure that the new actor would have often wondered how Finnish politicians from differ- respond to actual needs. ent parties are good friends with each other. I think it is “The work of Demo Right from the beginning, it was decided that every par- right to let our different opinions show. But in politics, it Finland is a remarkable liamentary party should commit to the action. When the is not the people but the issues that argue. The platforms example of partnership real work began, it was evident that the multi-party ap- that have been established for youth and women politi- proach was the right one. The feedback we received from cians with Demo Finland’s support are good examples of based on real needs.” partner countries reassured us that we were on the right the fact that agreements are reached when one learns to Bertha Koda, Mirja Ryynänen and Ave Maria Semakafu path. Having said that, it is of utter importance that donors listen to the reasoning behind other opinions. in Tanzania in November 2007 have really started to listen to what partners in develop- It has been a great joy to see how Demo Finland’s work ing countries have to say. The work of Demo Finland is a has expanded to new partner countries. The work has been remarkable example of partnership based on real needs. very determined, and as a result Demo Finland has become Support for democracy is support for the future Also Demo Finland’s very first project addressed a real an integral part of democracy support.
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