The EC-UNDP-IDEA Joint Training on Effective Electoral Assistance is a pioneer in its kind. Building on the extensive knowledge and experience of the three organizations in the field of electoral assistance, the training has, as of today, been organized six times (Brussels and Dar es Salaam 2006, Brussels 2007, Milan, Maputo and Brussels 2008).

The main objectives of the EC-UNDP-IDEA Joint Training/Conference on Effective Electoral Assistance are to introduce to UNDP and EC field staff, to Electoral Management Bodies and to practitioners the policy and strategy framework that governs both EU and UN involvement in elections, share experiences, and get them familiar with the electoral cycle approach in order to build capacity for formulation and implementation of future electoral assistance projects. The objectives further developed in 2007 reaching wider scope in terms of speakers invited, case studies and methodologies presented and targeted audience.

The participants learn about policies and strategies and familiarized themselves with issues relating to participation and the use of appropriate election technology. They focused on activities that are commonly implemented in support of the electoral cycle, such as legal framework and electoral management design, strategic and operational planning, civic/voter education and media, voter registration and assistance to political parties.

The training/conference is delivered by members of the Joint EC-UNDP Task Force on Electoral Assistance and  staff of International IDEA as well as senior electoral experts with extensive headquarter and field experiences of our collaborating partners at IOM, CIDA and OAS.

Until date, more than 400 persons have been trained, amongst them being primarily EC and UNDP staff working at Headquarters and in the field, representatives of Electoral Management Bodies, staff from bilateral donor agencies and international organizations, electoral experts and practitioners.

The course is based on the structure and content of four main sources: the EC Methodological Guide on Electoral Assistance, the UNDP Electoral Assistance Implementation Guide, IDEA’s Handbook on Electoral Management Design and the ACE Focus on Effective Electoral Assistance.