International Republican Institute A Quarterly Report of the International Republican Institute Winter 2004 IRI Trains Women Leaders in Middle East n February, and should not, look women leaders like [America]... I from the Gulf ...working democracies region gathered in always need time to Doha, Qatar, for an develop – as did our intensive five-day own...[America has] seminar on campaign taken a 200-year management and journey toward strategies. Co- inclusion and justice – organized by the and this makes us International patient and Republican Institute understanding as other (IRI) and the National nations are at different Democratic Institute, stages of this journey.” the event was attended by more Commenting on the than 60 participants enthusiasm of the Left to right: Sheikha Yousef Hassan al Gefery, a member of the Qatar Municipal Council and from Bahrain, the first elected female in the Gulf, poses with Dina Habib Powell, Assistant to the President and participants, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Director of Presidential Personnel. They were at the Middle East Partnership Initiative February Powell said, “They the United Arab leadership conference in Doha, Qatar. emerged from the Emirates and Yemen. Entitled “Partners conference ready to take the skills and in Participation,” the conference was the put them to use. I feel as though I volunteer, Judy Biviano Lloyd, who has first in a series to be conducted in the continued on page 5 region by the institutes throughout the worked on previous presidential See MEPI Conference next two years with support from the campaigns, found conference U.S. State Department’s Middle East participants eager to learn. “Any Partnership Initiative (MEPI). hesitation on the women’s part to believe that our knowledge would Table of Contents First Lady Laura Bush addressed apply to their situations was quickly conference attendees on the opening dispelled when I used Arnold Page 2................Message from the Chairman day with video-taped remarks. “Educated Schwarzenegger’s campaign for Liberian interim leader visits and empowered women are vital to California Governor to demonstrate democracy and important for the message and coalition building,” Page 3.............Afghans prepare for elections development of all countries,” Bush told Biviano Lloyd said. Durban conference participants. Page 4....................IRI conducts polls in Iraq Dina Habib Powell, Assistant to the “Many nations face the challenge of President and Director of Presidential Page 5.........Macedonian President mourned making sure every person can realize his Personnel at the White House and a IRI trains women in Middle East or her full potential. But no society can speaker at the event, quoted prosper when women do not contribute the President saying, “As we watch and Page 6..................................Georgian elections to its progress,” said Bush. encourage reforms in the region, we are Party strengthening in Latin America mindful that modernization is not the In conference workshops, IRI trainers same as Westernization. Representative Page 7..........................................Polling in Asia shared campaign planning, message governments in the Middle East will development, outreach and media skills Page 8..............................New board members reflect their own cultures. They are not, Staff changes with the regional participants. IRI 1225 Eye Street NW • Suite 700 • Washington, D.C. • 20005 IRI Message from the Chairman he gains for women in the political proceedings in several regions, IRI’s International environments of Morocco, Jordan and team issued a report that highlighted Republican the West Bank. serious flaws in Georgia’s election T process. The people of Georgia were Institute is playing a vital role in In addition to the Middle East, IRI outraged at the conduct of the election America’s “forward contributed to the formation of demo- and eventually forced the formation of strategy of free- cratic institutions in other parts of the a new government. In February, I was dom” in the Middle Muslim world. IRI trained political pleased to meet with Mikhail East. In February, parties and issued a comprehensive Saakashvili, who affirmed his commit- IRI organized a opinion poll in Indonesia, the world’s ment to democracy and reform in campaign training conference — largest Muslim democracy. Georgia. sponsored by the State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative In the last newsletter, I noted that a (MEPI) — for more than 60 women team of IRI election monitors was from several Gulf countries and enroute to Georgia to observe that Yemen. The Institute’s programs in country’s parliamentary elections. After recent years have resulted in direct monitoring voting and counting Senator John McCain IRI Co-hosts Liberian Interim Leader Save the Date Tuesday, April 27, 2004 RI welcomed Washington D.C. I Gyude Bryant, THE INTERNATIONAL Chairman of the National REPUBLICAN INSTITUTE’S Transitional Government 2004 of Liberia, to FREEDOM DINNER Washington, D.C., at a tÇw luncheon at the Heritage AWARD CEREMONY Foundation, Left to right: Helle Dale, Deputy Director of the Davis Institute for International Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation; Gyude Bryant, Chairman of the National co-hosted Transitional Government of Liberia; George A. Folsom, IRI’s President and CEO. They CELEBRATING 20 YEARS by IRI. were at the Heritage Foundation luncheon in Washington D.C. ADVANCING2 DEMOCRACY0 WORLDWIDE Institute President and CEO Dr. George Folsom rebuilding effort. Attendees included For more information please go to www.iri.org encouraged the international U.S. Ambassador to Liberia John or call Carla Eudy at (202) 682-9024 community to assist Liberian efforts to Blaney, as well as U.S. congressional achieve democratic stability. Folsom staffers, and representatives from the emphasized that “borders and oceans Department of State, key think tanks To continue progress toward no longer isolate us from instability in and nongovernmental organizations democratic stability in Liberia, IRI re- even the most distant parts of the working in Liberia. established a program in the country world.” to provide political parties with With help from the international capacity-building workshops and a Bryant shared his vision for the community, war-torn Liberia has resource center. The resource center transitional period. He stressed the already made strides toward will offer the developing parties access importance of the international reconstruction and having a to computers, printers and fax community’s role in Liberia’s representative form of government. machines critical to party organization. 2 International Republican Institute World Movement IRI Pr epares Afghans for for Democracy National Elections s Afghanistan moves towards Complementing the work of the Meets in Durban mid-2004 elections after regional offices, IRI has also launched A promulgation of the the first in a series of mobile civic RI President and CEO Dr. country’s new constitution in education units, which will enable George Folsom represented the December 2003, IRI and its the Institute to reach into the most IInstitute at the Third Assembly remote and of the World Movement for marginalized Democracy, held in Durban, communities. South Africa in February. The Each of the World Movement for Democracy, regional offices coordinated by the National will have an Endowment for Democracy assigned (NED), brought together more mobile unit than 600 democracy activists, and field team. practitioners and scholars from IRI is more than 100 countries in every cooperating in region of the world. Folsom and this project Dr. John Sullivan, executive with WADAN, director of the Center for Afghan casts his ballot in the Nagarhar province election for delegates to the a local International Private Enterprise Constitutional Loya Jirga in December 2003. nongovernmental (CIPE), co-chaired a panel on organization. successful strategies for partners are engaged in a democratic parties promoting comprehensive effort to mobilize As part of its civic education market reforms in their countries. Afghan citizenry in preparation for program, which includes a mass Other panels addressed the the polls. media component, in December, IRI potential for collaboration released 40,000 audio cassettes, between U.S. and European In addition to ongoing support of featuring commissioned recordings by democratic assistance efforts and the 275-member Afghan well-known Afghan poets and the challenges for Nongovernmental Organization musicians on themes of national unity nongovernmental organizations Coordination Bureau (ANCB) and and democracy. The recordings are in building democratic institutions Afghanistan’s only daily independent now widely played on the BBC and in the Middle East, particularly newspaper, Erada, IRI has launched Voice of America (VOA), as well as in Iraq. a nationwide civic and voter local outlets. During the education program. Through offices Constitutional Loya Jirga in Imam Prasodjo of Indonesia in the country’s regional December, all delegates received remarked that the opportunity to administrative centers that offer multiple copies. Plans for a series of meet others who are working to permanent venues for civic regional concerts featuring the artists strengthen democracy in their education programs, the Institute is and guest speakers are underway. In own countries and to share ideas facilitating open discussion and January, a test run was conducted in and experiences with