In July 2008 the ACE Electoral Knowledge Network and the BRIDGE (Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections) Project teamed up for a joint workshop in Senegal to discuss the progress of ACE’s regionalization strategy. Participants were drawn from the ten ACE Regional Electoral Resource Centres around the world, UNDP and International IDEA.
Back in 2007, the ACE Electoral Knowledge Network expanded with the formation of an ACE regional network consisting of a number of ACE Regional Electoral Resource Centres worldwide. These Centres ensure that regional electoral expertise is included in ACE and thereby shared between countries and practitioners. In July 2008, one year after the Regional Centres were initiated, the ACE family also expanded its vision to put down roots at the local level.
At the workshop, the ACE partners assessed the success of the regionalization so far, and provided a preview of the new IT platform for the ACE website. This technology is expected to be in place in 2009 and should improve website usability and access to the ACE Practitioners’ Network (the online forum of electoral experts). Participants also discussed their unique management and structural arrangements, their relationship to International IDEA and potential funding options for the future.
The workshop exposed the Regional Centres to the BRIDGE project in more depth. BRIDGE is a comprehensive professional development course in elections, developed by experienced electoral administrators with the aim to improve the skills, knowledge and confidence of those involved in the electoral process (see www.bridge-project.org).
ACE and BRIDGE complement each other well. The next step for the ACE Regional Centres is to provide capacity development opportunities offered by BRIDGE to electoral administrators and others.
The BRIDGE segment of the workshop consisted of a BRIDGE Showcase. This short introduction to the BRIDGE curriculum was aimed at giving the senior managers of the ACE Regional Electoral Resource Centres an understanding of BRIDGE’s methodology, application and implementation. Five Regional Resource Centre representatives received full accreditation as BRIDGE facilitators. This newly acquired competence will provide the Regional Centres with greater opportunities to add to the development of BRIDGE in their respective regions.
The ACE/BRIDGE Workshop was successfully hosted by Gorée Institute, the ACE Regional Centre of West Africa.
