Project ‘Nyamdrel | Support to Parliament of Bhutan and Civil Society Organisations

The Parilament of Bhutan and civil society organizations can work together to improve legislative process. Under the Project ‘Nyamdrel | Support to Parliament of Bhutan and Civil Society Organisations, The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) and Helvetas Bhutan will implement acitivies that work with targeted CSOs to engage effectively with Parliament and participate in legislative and oversight processes, and that enable Parliament to provide an enabling environment for public participation in parliamentary business.

Project partners includeThe National Assembly of Bhutan (NAB), The National Council of Bhutan (NCB), the  Civil Society Organizations Agency (CSOA), Executive Committee, Bhutan Civil Society Network (EC, BCSN) and 53 legally registered CSOs and a wide range of community-based organizations (CBOs).

This three-year project (2021-2023) is funded by The European Union under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).

Major activities to include:

1. Raising CSO representatives awareness on the Rules and Procedures of parliament and policy advocacy.
2. Training CSO and CBO representatives on thematic issues, particularly human rights, national budget analysis, monitoring of service delivery, and accountability.
3. Policy advocacy networking events both at national and regional level, including among women’s CSOs.
4. Small grants for policy advocacy in sustainable development and good governance, particularly human rights and gender equality including research, publications, and campaigns.
5. Training for Members of Parliament  and secretariat staff on the conduct of public hearings and development of Template for Committee reports.
6. Development of strategy for collaboration between parliament and civil society.
7. Training for the media and communications teams.
8. Upgrade of existing, and introduction of new, communication tools, including traditional media.
9. Training for MPs and secretariat staff on how to communicate effectively.
10. Visits for MPs and secretariat staff to International Parliaments to see best practices.
11. Review and upgrade the system of visits to parliament for students and the general public.
12. Development of an e-library and online catalogue and digital archiving system.
13. Development of an intranet for parliamentary business and internal flow of information for both the Houses.

For more information about this project, contact: Project Manager Pema Tenzin at p.tenzin@idea.int .