Forty-five experts and activists from the fields of governance and development met on November 7, 2013 for the Washington Launch of the 2013 State of Participatory Democracy Report. The event was held in the large conference room of InterAction, the Washington-based alliance of 180 international NGOs. I led the meeting, and was delighted to receive…
The latest in our UN Democracy Fund Consultations on Participatory Local Democracy was hosted by the Isandla Institute in Cape Town, South Africa, on the day following their own local governance meeting – “Speaking Truth to Power.” South Africa has adopted strong approaches to participatory local governance, but participants emphasized the constraints faced in implementation.…
On April 11, 2013 practitioners, researchers, officials and advocates met in the offices of the European Commission in the fourth consultation in our process of building a global community of practice on participatory local democracy. The meeting was organized by the KIP International School (http://www.kip-un.org). KIP is headquartered within UNOPS at FAO Headquarters. The president…
India is a geographically and socially diverse country, operating under a decentralized federal governance system since the implementation of the Panchayati Raj local government system in 1992. However, these constitutional provisions often confront persistent structural challenges and limited mobilization of resources that impede effective participation, local planning and action. Against this background and with the…
With the support of the UN Democracy Fund, The Hunger Project-Mexico (THP) organized two expert consultations in Mexico City, on December 4 and 6, as the next step in cultivating a global community of practice on capacity building for participatory local democracy. Mexico is a geographically large country with a federal governance system in 31 states.…
The third consultation on building a global community of practice for participatory local democracy will be held in New Delhi during the week of January 7, 2013. The consultation will be convened by the Institute of Social Sciences, with assistance from The Hunger Project-India, a team of graduate students from George Washington University and support…
The Hunger Project held a consultation with participatory democracy specialists in Washington, DC on Friday, November 16, 2012. Representatives from development-implementing organizations, grant-making organizations, and for-profit consultants all gathered to discuss the creation of the community of practice, a shared advocacy agenda, the participatory democracy scorecard, and the State of Participatory Democracy Report. Conversation initially…
