The first
ever Global Conference on Voter Education titled “Voter Education for
Inclusive, Informed and Ethical Participation” is being organized by the
Election Commission of India in association with UNDP from 19th to
21st October, 2016 at New Delhi. The main purpose of the conference
is to learn from the experiences of EMBs, government and non-government by way
of sharing the best practices, policies and initiatives of voter education. All
EMBs recognize the need for inclusive participation of voters through the
exercise of informed and ethical choice as the key to strengthening the fabric
of democracy. The Voter is the central point of the electoral framework and
every voter must be thoroughly aware and educated about the electoral processes
and procedures, so as to ensure his or her informed and ethical participation.
The three day
event is to take place at Taj Palace, New Delhi on 19-20 October, while on 21st
October a field tour has been planned for the visiting delegates.
PARTICIPANTS:
·
Election
Management Bodies of 27 countries from across the globe will converge at this
Conference to share experiences and develop novel practices.
·
The
International delegation consists of 09 delegations headed by the respective
Chairperson and 08 by the Election Commissioners and 10 by other Senior
Officials.
·
Amongst
the national participants the Senior officials from Ministries of HRD,
Information and Broadcasting, Social Justice; External Affairs etc. whoare partnering
ECI in its voter education programme of Systematic Voter Education and
Electoral Participation (SVEEP) have been invited for the Conference.
·
The
Special Invitees to the Conference consist of the Former CEC’s of India, the
SEC’s, the CEO’s from all states as well as the SVEEP Nodal officers of the
State. The CSO’s and NGOs who lend an integral support in ECIs mandate of Voter
Education and Electoral Participation shall also be among the attendees.
·
An
eclectic mix of representatives covering wide echelons of society will be gathered at the Conference to deliberate on the critical
topic of Voter Education.
THE
CONFERENCE:
·
The
Conference will be inaugurated by the Hon’ble Chief Election Commissioner of
India.
·
The Conference will deliberate upon 5
topics ranging fromElectoral Literacy
to Enhanced participation by special categories of voters,Role of ICTin Voter Education and Strategies for Informed and Ethical Voting
·
International
as well as national experts on the subject will be sharing insights during the
Conference.
·
The
ECI envisages a number of initiatives towards achieving international synergy in
Voter Education and awareness. In this regard, the following components, during
the Conference, shall be of significance:
i)
GLOBAL PLATFORM:
The Conference shall provide the first ever global platform for the sharing of
best practices in voter education. The participants consist of a varied
conglomeration of nations ranging from relatively young democracies to nations
spreading across all continents of the world. This diverse variety of knowledge
and experience would enable to bring out ‘best of the best’ global practices in
the Conference.
ii)
OVERSEAS INDIAN SURVEY CUM COMPETITOIN:
With the Conference, the ECI also launches the NRI survey cum competition. The
survey – competition is a novel way ahead in touching a chord with the Overseas
Indians. It aims to not only gather useful data through the survey but also
attract and engage NRIs about their voting eligibility and rights. This will
also help guide the Commission in formulating further voting initiatives
especially designed for the Overseas Indian population. The survey competition
has designed by ECI in collaboration with TISS.
iii)
The VoICE.NET: The Conference
will see the launch of the ambitious project of VoICE.NET. It is aGlobal Knowledge
Network on voter education with membership from participating EMBs and
Organisation working in the field of elections and democracy - VoICE.NET. This
network will provide an innovative wide platform to share knowledge resources,
interact on discussion board, sharing platform for events and practices in
member countries and also extend its knowledge and resource support to
stakeholders e.g. CSOs, Departments and other organisations associated with
elections besides Academic Institutions.
iv)
THE EXHIBITION:
An exhibition showcasing Voter Education tools
and materials from India and across the world consisting of informational
material, model polling station, provision of live voting on EVM, photos,
videos, 3D models, interactive games developed by ECI shall be on show. The EVM
and VVPAT have especially being demonstrated for the delegates on their
request.
The substantial quantum of Voter Education material
developed by ECI, the voter education guides/brochures, the compilation of
Human Stories and other literature including the praiseworthy Braille brochures
on voting education shall also be on display.
v)
THE RESOLUTION:The
Conference will also aim to achieve a Resolution to strengthen Inclusive,
Informed and Ethical electoral participation among member countries with the
help of Voter Education and outreach.
SPECIAL
SESSIONS
i)
The Delegates of International Conference of
visiting EMBs shall also be calling on the Hon’ble President of India at
Rashtrapati Bhawan on 19th October, 2016 at 6 PM.
ii)
The Conference shall be concluded with a field tour
for the visiting EMB delegates on 21st October.
LIST
OF PARTICIPATING EMBs & ORGANISATIONS
i. Independent
Election Commission of Afghanistan
ii. Australian
Electoral Commission
iii. Superior
Electoral Court of Brazil
iv. Elections
Canada
v. Fijian
Elections Office
vi. Central
Election Commission of Georgia
vii. Election
Commission of India
viii. General
Election Commission of the Republic of Indonesia
ix. Independent
High Electoral Commission of Iraq
x. Independent
Electoral and Boundaries Commission Kenya
xi. Independent
Electoral Commission Lesotho
xii. Election
Commission Malaysia
xiii. Election
Commission of Maldives
xiv. Electoral
Commissioner of Mauritius
xv. Instituto
Nacional Electoral Mexico
xvi. Union
Election Commission of Myanmar
xvii. Election
Commission of Nepal
xviii. Electoral
Commission of Namibia
xix. Commission
on Elections, Philippines
xx. Election
Commission of Sri Lanka
xxi. Office
of the Election Commission of Thailand
xxii. High
Independent Election Commission of Tunisia
xxiii. Electoral
Commission of Uganda
xxiv. U.S.
Election Assistance Commission
International
Organisations
xxv. UNDP
xxvi. IFES
xxvii.
International
IDEA
xxviii. Malaysian
Commonwealth Studies Centre
xxix. University
of Haifa
Election
Commission of India
New Delhi: 17th
October, 2016
RM/
RS