INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON “VOTER EDUCATION FOR INCLUSIVE, INFORMED AND ETHICAL PARTICIPATION
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 RashtrapatiBhawan 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
Political Research and Analysis Bureau (PRAB) INDIA
