Moroccan Woman Attend Partners in Participation Training

September 13, 2004

July 19-22 – IRI organized a four-day intensive training seminar in Tunis, Tunisia, for more than 60 women leaders from Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. The seminar, entitled “Partners in Participation: Women's Campaign Initiative”, was sponsored by the U.S. State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). The event is part of a broader effort to enhance the skills of emerging women political leaders in the Middle East and North Africa through training in communications and leadership skills.

The training offered a unique opportunity for regional networking by gathering 60 women from Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria who were selected based on their leadership roles as journalists, political party activists, business leaders, or in non-governmental organizations. Conference workshops focused on skills such as campaign planning, message development, and outreach, which can be used in electoral, advocacy, or public awareness campaigns. Training sessions were conducted by IRI volunteer trainers experienced in advocacy and electoral campaigns. The workshops incorporated local perspectives through participation of trainers from the Center for Arab Women of Training and Research (CAWTAR) and the Arab Institute for Human Rights.

This “Partners in Participation” event was the second in a series of trainings for women to be conducted throughout the Middle East and North Africa region over the next two years with support from the U.S. State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative. The first training was organized in Doha, Qatar, in February 2004 with the participation of 60 women from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, The United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

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