IRI Launches Nationwide Democracy Program

November 9, 2005

At a forum hosted by Timorese President Xanana Gusmão and Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, the International Republican Institute (IRI) launched its National Dialogue on Participatory Democracy Program in East Timor on November 9, 2005. The program, designed to promote civic education, includes street theater and public forums to encourage discussion on the foundations of a successful democracy and the importance of continued citizen involvement in the democratic process.

The forum, which was broadcast on local television and radio, was attended by more than the 400 people and included discussion panels as well as question-and-answer sessions with elected officials and citizens. To engage citizens with limited literacy skills, Timorese youth volunteers from political parties and local universities used street theater with skits on diversity, tolerance and gender equality. The theater provided a dramatic and entertaining method to relay information in a country where more than 40 percent of the population is illiterate. Working with the President's National Dialogue Commission, IRI will hold discussions on participatory democracy in all 12 districts outside Dili in November and December 2005.

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