| Activities 2005-2006 |
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Briefing and De-briefing sessions for Italian Election Observers Briefing and debriefing sessions, organised in collaboration with Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), are held for those leaving for or returning from an Election Observation Mission. The reports for these sessions are sent to the relevant units of the MFA, the European Commission (EC) and the Organization for Security and CO-operation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR).
Training for Italian Election Observers Basic training courses are scheduled for observers without experience and refresher courses on specific issues or countries/regions for Long Term Observers (LTOs), Short Term Observers (STOs), Core Team members and journalists. The training courses are coordinated with MFA and OSCE/ODIHR and are held at the offices of the project partner.
Materials For all Election Observation Missions in wich there are Italian Observers, a dossier, available on-line, is preparaed on the country. The dossier contains links to a variety of resources concerning the country, the government, the elctoral laws and the electoral commission, the political parties, the media, the election observation mission, previous election, human rights, the Italian Embassy, European Union (EU) and United Nations delegation, health information, etc. The dossiers are regurarly update during the entire election observation mission, right up to the publication of the final results.
Didactic material such as role-play, simulations, tests, training papers, group games and case studies are used during the training sessions. The materials are also available for other Italiand and international organisations and institutions (see web page Resources & Documentation).
Information/visibility The project aims to increase the awareness about human rights and democratisation and give greater visibility to election processes, the election missions and the results of the project: reports, summaries, publications etc. The project aims to establish a continuous dialogue with general and specialised media through press releases, interwies, information on the web site, meeting and seminars. A fact sheet on the country hosting the Election Observation Missionhas been prepared for journalists reporting on foreign affairs since 2003. In addition to being published on thje web site, it is also sent free to all those who request it.
Press cuttings of Italian and foreign press concerning the elections in the country and the electoral observation mission are also available.
After the briefing and debriefing sessions interviews with the members of the electoral observation missions are organised for journalists. The web site The web site in an importan instrument for the diffusion of information and documents (dossiers, form, etc.). It also represents an important means of communication in Italy and overseas. For each country where elections are expected (presidential, legislative,and in some cases municipal and referendums) there is a country page with useful links to the country profile, the political parties, and the election process. Particular attention is given to European sources, to the presence of the Italian Co-opertion, the European Union and the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission (ECHO) in the area, to the work of the Italian and European NGOs and the issues of human rights and human development. The web site also provides visibility to the activities of election observation and provides spaces for Italian Observers to give accounts to their experiences. Furthermore, the site contributes to the creation of "historical memory" of the missions carried out in different countries and, after their conclusion, allows the follow up of the situation in the countries where these missions have been held.
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