Strengthen Parliamentary Education and Outreach Centres for Citizen Participation for prevention of electoral violence

This programmatic option describes systematic and comprehensive approaches to parliamentary education (i.e. education around electoral democracy, the impact of voting, the work of parliament and participation avenues) and provides essential information to citizens and strengthens interactions between parliaments and informed and active voters with the end goal of sustaining peace during elections.

Parliament & civic participation

ACTIVITY

DESCRIPTION

Effective parliamentary participation is in direct correlation with the level of awareness and education on electoral democracy among the general population. While on the one hand, the SELECT research identified a growing demand for taking part in parliamentary work and decision-making, surveys and polls show a general lack of understanding of how parliament functions. Knowledge of how people can take part and how their voting affects the work of parliament are among other areas where surveys show low statistics.[1]

The purpose of parliamentary education is to raise citizens’ awareness about the principles and functions of parliament and parliamentary democracy, promote the openness of parliament and encourage better interaction with citizens. Parliamentary education is directly correlated with the state of democracy. The primary focus of this type of education are youths meant to grow into informed and active voters. Nonetheless, approaches for adults, schoolchildren and university students may be developed as well. Parliamentary and electoral-democracy education is particularly relevant in post-conflict and transitional countries.

Parliamentary education is set to provide different resources to help bring the parliamentary work closer to citizens and specifically the youth. An interactive approach, active lessons, thematic modules, pedagogical toolkits and audiovisual materials may be used to discuss relevant topics, generate debate and work with students in a playful manner. The intervention may target the following themes in the context of parliamentary and electoral processes:

  1. What does a parliament do?
  2. How can I take part in parliamentary work?
  3. In what ways can and does parliament take the input from citizens forward?
  4. How does voting for MPs affect my life?
  5. What is digital-ready legislation?
  6. What is the role of parliaments in countering disinformation and hate speech, promoting the SDGs and the just transition, among other areas?

 

Curriculum should be custom designed and developed following a needs assessment. Parliamentary outreach and communication departments are an important part of this process, in charge of inviting the public and including schools into the entire process – from design to roll-out – as well as for sustainability reasons. As part of the digital transformation, the process may be followed up by e-learning tools.

The following target groups should be considered for parliamentary education centres:

  1. School children
  2. Youth
  3. Adults
  4. MPs
  5. Parliamentary staff

Educational knowledge products may entail:

  1. Toolkits, guides, textbooks, leaflets and brochures
  2. Learning spaces such as the EVC Portal by the Brazilian Parliament to expand access to content about politics, citizenship, democracy and the role of the Legislative Branch. These learning spaces are designed not only to learn but also to really immerse oneself in democratic practices, with the possibility of distance learning with mentoring.
  3. Materials for online presentation – for example YouTube and Parliamentary TV (if it exists)
  4. Educational video narratives
  5. Games and quizzes
  6. Content for debate clubs
  7. Role play materials
  8. Training for parliamentary staff
  9. Kits and guides for MPs

[1] https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2022-10/studiu-educatie-electorala-Eng.pdf

IMPLEMENTATION CONSIDERATIONS

1.

What are important considerations prior to initiating the activity?

  • Conduct a needs assessment to identify entry points and focus areas in line with the country’s specific needs.
  • Consider context-specific programmatic options: Tailor the programmatic activities to suit the unique political, social and economic context of each local area. Flexibility in combining various options (ideally as many as possible) allows for a more responsive approach, though it requires funding.
  • Engage with parliament leadership: Actively involve parliamentary leadership, party whips, MPs and other relevant stakeholders from the outset. Understanding their priorities and expectations is essential for aligning the initiative with national development strategies and objectives. This engagement promotes a sense of ownership and commitment to the initiative, increasing its chances for success.

2.

Who is best placed to implement the activity?

  • International assistance providers with experience working with political actors and institutions, particularly in parliamentary digitalization and participation, may be well placed to support such efforts, providing advisory support based on best practices in various contexts.
  • Electoral and parliamentary interventions that ideally comprise both parliamentary and electoral support are best suited to integrate activities that foster meaningful participation through digital platforms.

3.

How to ensure context specificity and sensitivity?

  • Build/Strengthen the capacity of the parliament team that will run this initiative, working closely with them to align the initiative to local needs and opportunities. Parliamentary staff is key for delivering on the establishment or strengthening of parliamentary education centres. Sensitivities need to be managed and constantly re-assessed, and establishing strong endorsement by the Speaker and Secretary-General is important for the success of this activity.
  • Where applicable, it may further be useful to consider the importance of selecting the right external advisers, especially those that will be in direct contact with national and international partners. Given the sensitivities and political aspect of the work, it may be prudent to engage candidates with a strong track record of results and established rapport. It is advisable to prioritize candidates who do not have political affiliations or backgrounds in government service for these roles, ensuring a focus on impartiality and objectivity.

4.

How to involve youth?

  • Mainstream parliamentary indicators (IPU & UNDP): Integrate youth engagement metrics into parliamentary performance indicators to assess how effectively parliaments are involving young people in decision-making processes. This can help ensure that youth perspectives are prioritized and evaluated systematically.
  • Engage young MPs in both the design and roll-out of parliamentary education efforts while maintaining the intergenerational oversight principle whereby it is the responsibility of both the younger and older MPs to engage the youth and speak to issues that are important to youth.
  • Tailored outreach and communication: Recognize that youth engagement often necessitates diverse communication strategies. Utilize various platforms – such as social media, podcasts and interactive online forums – to reach young people where they are. Additionally, experiment with different formats, such as workshops, creative campaigns and gamified content, to engage them more effectively.

5.

How to ensure gender sensitivity/inclusive programming?

  • Mainstream parliamentary indicators (IPU/UNDP): Include gender-sensitive indicators in the evaluation frameworks for project results and resources frameworks, ensuring that the needs of women and gender minorities are systematically considered.
  • Actively involve the women’s parliamentary network as well as women’s rights groups and LGBTQI+ movements in the design and implementation of parliamentary education.

6.

How to communicate about these activities?

  • Consider orientation sessions for new MPs to familiarize them with the role of the parliamentary education centre and their potential role in it. Facilitate outreach/awareness-raising by MPs around the centre including through the development of a social media package/materials.
  • Social media advertising: Boost the activity through paid advertisement via social media boosting.
  • Leveraging social media: Use social media platforms to promote activities and share updates in real time. Consider targeted campaigns that engage specific demographics and utilize engaging visuals and stories to capture attention.

7.

How to coordinate with other actors/which other stakeholders to involve?

  • Trainings and presentations: Conduct joint trainings with other stakeholders, educational institutions and community groups, to build capacity and share knowledge as well as with particular civil society organizations (CSOs), depending on the subject and in agreement with the national and local parliament.
  • Collaborative events and conferences: Partner with various organizations to co-host events that promote parliamentary education and awareness. This can enhance visibility and foster a collective approach to parliamentary education.

How to ensure sustainability?

  • Developing long- and short-term strategies: Create comprehensive strategies that outline both immediate actions and long-term goals for outreach and education efforts. This dual approach can help maintain momentum and adapt to changing circumstances.
  • Transfer of title: Transfer the ownership over knowledge products, software and hardware to the national partner. It may be prescribed in the PRODOC or memorandum of understanding.

COST CENTRES

  • Depending on the foreseen level of digitalization/context, the following aspects need to be accounted for when budgeting:
    • Needs assessment – experts
    • Training of the parliamentary staff
    • Public opinion polls, surveys and crowdsourcing
    • Information campaigns and social media boosting
    • Development of a web/mobile app: The application may be used for reaching out to a wider audience as well as in schools. This should be set out by curriculum and may also be provide through e-learning.
    • Production of videos and games
    • Printing
    • Events and travel to local level because not all can afford to travel to the capital
    • Other activities specified under entry points that need to be programmed

LIMITATIONS AND CHALLENGES

  • Given the unpredictable nature of how parliament functions, build agile management and regularly update risks and indicators.
  • Limited number of staff. This may be bridged by including interns, other parliamentary staff from committees and CSOs.
  • Where an Induvial Contractor is engaged to support the design and development of education materials, ensure copyright.

RESOURCES

EXAMPLES

IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS

COUNTRY DEPLOYMENTS

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