IATP News

Blogging from Baku: Azerbaijani Parliament Gains New Online Presence

Five officials from Azerbaijan’s Parliament created blogs and posted them online in December as part of a good governance initiative. In cooperation with USAID-funded Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) and the Media Advancement Project, IATP is implementing this professional education project. Thus far, IATP has assisted members of Parliament and their staffs in Baku, Shirvan, Imishli, and Sumgait in mastering ICT skills and creating their own blogs.

IATP volunteer Samir Yahyayev, who had completed IATP training several years ago, taught the Parliament members and their support staff about creating blogs, posting articles, uploading pictures, internet etiquette, and increasing online visitor traffic. As a result of the training, the Azerbaijani officials’ blogs are appearing online, providing their constituents with more information about government activities, and they can be found at kamranramazanov.blogmilli.com, mmehdi.blogmilli.com, mmfirdovsi.blogmilli.com, rafikismayilov.blogmilli.com, and vuqarqaracayev.blogmilli.com.

Eurasia Citizens Learn about the Role of Students and Web 2.0 in US Presidential Elections during Online Forum

The 2008 US Presidential election garnered interest around the world, demonstrated by the 50 individuals across Eurasia who logged in to an IATP forum to learn about the role of students and Web 2.0 technologies in the election and preceding campaign.

The forum (forum.iatp.net), which took place from November 24-December 12, featured Executive Director of the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG) Joshua Winters and two active MPIRG members, students Ryan Kennedy and Joey Dobson. The three guests shared best practices of involving university and college students in voting and in MPIRG activities. MPIRG is a non-profit, student-directed organization that empowers students to engage in their communities and to take collective action in the public interest throughout the state of Minnesota. Participants from Eurasia included students, teachers, journalists, NGO representatives, and other interested parties from Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

IATP users posed questions on topics such as organizing advocacy campaigns with students and NGO officials, tracking legislative activity, utilizing Web 2.0 in electoral campaigns, and documenting student voting statistics. Winters noted that “Facebook, online text messaging tools, and MPIRG’s website became information dissemination vehicles and ways of capturing contact information so that we could follow up with additional educational opportunities, reminders to vote, and answers to questions about the voting process. There simply is no substitute for direct, in-person contact with young people. All of the studies done here in US that identify what motivates young people support this conclusion.” The guest expert also dispelled the myth widely believed in Eurasia that Americans vote largely by the internet. He noted the various security reasons, as well as challenges relating to voter identity verification, that hinder such a change.

During the course of the online discussion, the Eurasian participants also learned the American experts’ strategies to educate and motivate young people, and tactics to coordinate election campaigns among students. For example, commenting on the role of free discussions and conversations, Dobson said, “I believe strongly that open conversations between those with differing viewpoints can often be the most fruitful way to expand our understanding of the issues we care about. That mindset allowed me to refrain from telling my peers how I thought they should vote, and instead, engage in generative discussions about what we would like to see in a candidate and how we think our country needs to move forward.”

NGO officials interacting in the forum also learned from their US colleagues about the role of NGOs in campaigns. The MPIRG representatives discussed the sorts of NGOs active in elections, the limitations on their activities, and some of MPIRG’s successes in local advocacy campaigns.

Last year, IATP organized more than ten international expert-moderated online forums to share expertise with their Eurasian counterparts.

New IATP Center Opened to Serve Citizens in Moldova

 The official opening of the IATP center in Comrat, Moldova, took place on December 19, 2008. IATP began its work in Comrat in September with support from USAID and Gagauzia’s Department of Education. Comrat is located in the semi-autonomous region of Gagauzia, which has semi-independent status from Moldova but remains an official part of the country. Due to two preferred languages used over the national Romanian language, access to information and communication with the rest of the country remains a challenge. IATP is expanding its presence in Moldova, reaching out to new populations, such as residents of the breakaway region of Transnistria, and connecting them with other parts of the country.

Representatives from USAID, local authorities, IATP, and the media from Comrat and Chisinau participated in the official opening of the Comrat IATP Center. Governor of Gagauzia Mikhail Formuzal opened the ceremony, followed by the USAID Program Supervisor in Moldova Gary Linden. IATP Director for Eurasia Mark Skogen and IATP Country Coordinator for Moldova Anna Balmush informed the audience about the new center’s planned activities and the development of IATP centers in Moldova in general. In addition to providing services, such as computer and internet training, to the local population, the IATP Center will facilitate online networking and the sharing of best practices among IATP users in Chisinau and Comrat.

Georgian Voters Engage Political Parties Online during Parliamentary Campaign

 More than 200 citizens of Georgia communicated with members of various political parties and blocs in an IATP online forum dedicated to the parliamentarian elections of May 2008. In January 2008 in partnership with the Central Election Commission IATP began its campaign to promote fair and democratic presidential elections, when it invited interested Georgian citizens to take part in a series of online forums with the presidential candidates. Within this campaign IATP organized a similar forum on the parliamentary elections in the spring which became the biggest online event ever organized by IATP Georgia. The forum, which took place on May 15 and 16, hosted six major political parties and blocs, including the Labor Party of Georgia, the United Opposition, the Traditionalists bloc (the Our Georgia Party and the Women’s Party), the Christian-Democrat Party, Georgian Republican Party, and the Rightist Alliance - Topadze Industrialists. The event, already remarkable due to the fact that it was Georgia’s only pre-election online campaign took place in the period that was considered a watershed for Georgian democratic development, when the elections became a subject of intense scrutinizing from international community.

Despite busy election campaign schedules and regular TV appearances, political leaders managed to take part in the forum in order to connect with people by internet and bolster their popularity. Most of the questions during the forum were addressed to representatives of opposition parties and the discussion primarily focused on parties’ future plans and strategies to improve the country’s economic and political situation. Since many of the forum participants participated in the IATP-sponsored forums and training on voters’ rights, human rights, and gender issues, participants also posted questions pertaining to these topics. Nino Okroshidze from Batumi asked the representative from the United Opposition about the role of women in today’s political arena. In response, United Opposition Movement representative Manana Nachkebia provided statistics that showed that out of 162 candidates for parliament, only 26 are women – four of whom are from the United Opposition.

Nana Sepashvili from Telavi asked Kakha Dzagania, a representative of the Labor Party, to name the party most strongly competing with the Labor Party. Dzagania replied, “It is hard to name the National Movement a competitor since they are guilty before our country. But this party has governmental resources and they have lost their conscience, and thus they represent a big problem for the Labor Party.”

Later in the forum, the Labor Party gave its plan for improving the Georgian educational system and ensuring that education will be provided by the government. In addition, United Opposition Movement representative Manana Nachkebia shared her party’s attitude toward NATO.

Over 200 people from all over Georgia posted their questions on the forum, and approximately half of them were answered by political party representatives. Over 430 Georgians participated in the six online events held by IATP in the run-up to the parliamentary and presidential elections in 2008.

Kyrgyz Women Discuss their Role in Political, Economic, and Cultural Life

Twenty female leaders from Karakol, Bishkek, Jalalabad, Nookat and Balykchi met with Zamira Akbagysheva, the President of the Congress of Women in Kyrgyzstan, March 4 for an online discussion of current issues concerning women and politics, economics, and culture. The goal of the discussion, held in conjunction with International Women’s Day, was identifying how women can strengthen their role in the country in political, economic, and cultural life.

In response to the question “How will women actively participate in the upcoming local elections in autumn of this year?” posed by Chinara from Bishkek, Akbagysheva responded that the Congress of Women in Kyrgyzstan is going to lead a series of seminars and training for women on actively taking part in the elections. Akbagysheva also talked about opportunities for women to develop their own businesses. Another participant in Balykchy inquired “What is the role of women in the economy today?” Akbagyshevna informed participants that women are 18% of small business owners in urban areas and less than 16% in rural areas noting that for the most part women work in trade, manufacturing of foodstuff and clothes, services, and hotels and restaurants.

The last part of the discussion covered women and culture, the most complicated question for the local community. Participants talked about Kyrgyz customs and traditions, such as bride kidnapping, which negatively influence Kyrgyz women and discussed ways to protest against them. With the help of the Congress of Women in Kyrgyzstan participants plan to organize future discussions on similar topics in order to share information and further develop ties amongst Kyrgyz women.

Cabinet Official Joins IATP Users Online to Discuss Conflict Resolution in Georgia

In an IATP online forum held from February 27 to March 31 with Temur Yakobashvili, the State Minister for Reintegration of Georgia, more then 40 citizens voiced their concerns, offered feedback and become better informed about the current situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The two zones are de-facto independent republics with no international recognition within the internationally recognized borders of Georgia. Since the announcement of Kosovo’s independence and the March 7 call by Abkhazia’s government to the UN for recognition, many Georgians have become concerned about the territorial integrity of their country.

Yakobashvili discussed the issues of the breakaway regions both in the regional and broader contexts and conveyed the official state policies for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. In response to a comment by forum participant Anzor Teliashvili, who also expressed his concern over the situation in Kosovo, the minister noted that “the US and Europe stress that Kosovo is a unique case and it should not affect the peace process in Abkhazia.”