October 2008 Bulletin - Democracy Digest

Democracy Digest

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Inside this Issue:

Call for Applications for Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowships
The Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program at the Washington, D.C.-based National Endowment for Democracy invites applications for fellowships in 2009-2010. Established in 2001, the program enables democracy activists, practitioners, scholars, and journalists from around the world to deepen their understanding of democracy and to enhance their ability to promote democratic change. The program is intended primarily to support activists, practitioners, and scholars from new and aspiring democracies; distinguished scholars from the United States and other established democracies are also eligible to apply. Projects may focus on the political, social, economic, legal, and cultural aspects of democratic development and may include a range of methodologies and approaches. A working knowledge of English is required. The application deadline for fellowships in 2009-2010 has been extended until Monday, November 10, 2008. For more information and application materials, please visit www.ned.org/forum/reagan-fascell.html.

Arthur C. Helton Fellowship Program: The American Society of International Law
The Arthur C. Helton Fellowship Program, established in 2004 on the recommendation of the ASIL Honors Committee, recognizes the legacy of Arthur Helton, a remarkable ASIL member who died in the August 19, 2003 bombing of the UN mission in Baghdad along with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Viera de Mello and 20 others.

Law students, practicing lawyers, human rights professionals, scholars, and other individuals seeking assistance in conducting international fieldwork and law-related research are encouraged to apply for micro-grants for logistics, housing and living expenses, and other costs related to the Fellow’s fieldwork and research. Applicants must also be affiliated, for purposes of completing their project, in some way with an educational institution, international organization, or non-governmental organization.

The application form and guidelines for a qualifying proposal as well as general information may be found at the ASIL Web site or call the service center at (856) 380-6810. Only the first 50 completed applications will be considered. Fellowship awards will be announced in late March 2009. All materials for a fellowship in 2009 must be submitted electronically to fellowships@asil.org no later then February 13, 2009.

Jobs

Various Vacancies, National Endowment for Democracy, Washington, DC
The National Endowment for Democracy, a congressionally funded, private, nonprofit grant making organization that works to support freedom around the world, currently has the following vacancies: Program Assistant for Latin America & the Caribbean; Audit Assistant ; Grants Assistant (Europe/Eurasia) ; Budget Analyst ; Program Officer for Russia and Ukraine ; Grant Systems Manager Further details here.

Legal Advisor, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, Washington, DC
The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) has engaged in over 90 countries to promote the legal framework for civil society, the freedom of association, and philanthropy. We are seeking a full-time Legal Advisor, based in Washington, DC. The Legal Advisor will provide support to our programs in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East/North Africa, and Asia, as well as our global research initiatives.

Illustrative duties include: providing technical legal assistance to government officials, Members of Parliament, NGO representatives, and other interested parties on issues of NGO law; undertaking research and producing analytical reports on issues of NGO law; developing training programs for NGOs, lawyers, and government officials; representing ICNL at regional meetings, workshops and conferences; and assisting with proposal writing and fundraising activities.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Please send a cover letter and curriculum vitae in Word or PDF format to hr@icnl.org. Reference “Legal Advisor” in subject line. You may also send applications to: ICNL Legal Advisor Search Coordinator 1126 16th Street, NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20036 Click here for further details and to apply online for this position >>

Various Vacancies, National Democratic Institute
Currently available international openings include: Resident Senior Program Manager, Local Governance (Afghanistan); Bosnia-Herzegovina: Senior Resident Director; Iraq: Civic Organizer and Advocacy Specialist; Iraq: Civil Society and Election Monitoring Expert; Iraq: Director of Operations; Iraq: Senior Program Officer, Political Party Building Specialist ; Pakistan: Resident SPM (Party Secretariats and Internal Training); Pakistan: Resident Senior Program Manager(Women and Youth); Sri Lanka: Resident Director; Sudan: Resident Director of Elections; Sudan: Resident Program Officers; Sudan: Resident Senior Program Manager; Uzbekistan: Resident Director. Currently available Washington DC-based openings include: Senior Agreement Administrator: Program Coordination; Senior Operations Manager- Procurement; Senior Program Assistant: Latin America and the Caribbean. Full details here.

Various Vacancies, International Republican Institute
Currently available international openings include: Deputy Country Director, Sudan; Resident Program Officer, Bangladesh; Resident Country Director, Angola; Resident Program Officer/ Political Parties and Research Iraq (Erbil); Resident Program Officer, Afghanistan; Resident Program Officer/Civil Society, Iraq (Erbil); Resident Program Officer, Jordan. Full details here.

Director: International Development Law Organization (Middle-East and North Africa – Cairo, Egypt)
The International Development Law Organization (IDLO) is searching for a new Director to lead the Organization’s growth in the Arabic speaking region and to manage the IDLO Arab Regional Office, Ibrahim Shihata Center, in Cairo, Egypt. For further information on IDLO please consult the IDLO website Please send letter of application and curriculum vitae, including date of birth, gender and nationality, with names and full contact details of at least two (2) referees as well as your salary history for the past three years to: Human Resources Unit, IDLO, Viale Vaticano 106, 00165 Rome, Italy. E-Mail: vacancy@idlo.int or Fax: 39 06 404032 32 Please put reference ARO/Cairo in subject line. Closing date: 30 October 2008.

Solidarity Center Country Program Director, Nigeria (Abuja)
The Country Program Director is responsible for the effective management of a field office and field programs; designs and implements field programs; works closely with AFL-CIO affiliates, the ITUC and its regional organizations, and the international trade secretariats, within approved communications guidelines, to facilitate their participation in Solidarity Center programs; must have the ability to work independently and without supervision; must have extensive knowledge of international relations and trade union and socio-economic and political developments in the U.S. and abroad. Compensation: $78,812. Contact Information: Lisa Humphries lhumphries@solidaritycenter.org Fax: 202-974-8266

Program Officer I or II, Americas, Solidarity Center, (Washington, DC)
The Program Officer II is responsible for day-to-day contact with and support to field offices and programs. S/he is thoroughly conversant with all aspects of regional program activities and current events relevant to the on-going political, economic, social and trade union developments in the region. S/he is the main contact between the Washington office and the field. Full details here. Email: Lisa Humphries lhumphries@solidaritycenter.org

Field Technical Assistant Specialist, Solidarity Center, (based outside the United States, place to be determined)
The Field Technical Assistance Specialist is responsible for training partner-union activists and staff in union research, organizing, collective bargaining, and other trade union technical areas in coordination with the appropriate regional offices, field offices, and the Trade Union Strengthening (TUS) Washington office. S/he will also advise and assist partner unions in ongoing research, organizing, collective bargaining, and other activities. S/he is conversant with all aspects of regional program activities and current events relevant to the ongoing political, economic, social, and trade union developments in the region. S/he is the main contact between the TUS Washington office, the field offices, and the partners of the union-strengthening field programs in the assigned area. Full details here.

Project Manager, Iraq Center for International Private Enterprise (based in Arbil or Amman with frequent visits to Kurdistan Region)
Project manager will be responsible for the management and implementation of an eight month project to establish Provisional Investment Commissions in the 15 southern governorates of Iraq. This will include building awareness about the Investment Law and the importance and benefit of establishing Provisional Investment Commissions, in addition to holding several capacity building workshops for commission members. Candidate will be responsible for all logistical planning, preparation of training material, coordination of trainers and working with in-country staff on implementation of the project. Interested candidates should email their resume and cover notes in English and Arabic to jobs@cipe.org, subject line: IRAQ-YOURLASTNAME. No phone inquiries please. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Full details here.

Program Officer (Level I), Asia. Center for International Private Enterprise
The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), a non-profit, non-partisan affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is seeking candidates for the position of Program Officer, Asia. As part of a team reporting to the Regional Director this position is responsible for providing management, programmatic, and communications support. The ideal candidate will be able to handle multiple detail-oriented tasks with limited supervision, have a demonstrable interest in economic development and democratic and market-oriented reforms in China and Southeast Asia, and work well with a widely diverse staff. Please send cover letter, resume or CV, and brief writing sample to jobs@cipe.org with ‘PO-Asia-LASTNAME’ in the subject line. No phone calls. Full details here.

Research Assistant, Knowledge Management. Center for International Private Enterprise
The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), a non-profit, non-partisan affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is seeking candidates for the position of Research Assistant, Knowledge Management. This position is responsible for providing research, writing, and administrative support. Please send cover letter, resume, academic transcript, and two writing samples (ten page limit) to jobs@cipe.org with ‘RA-KM-LASTNAME’ in the subject line. Full details here.

IFES Democracy at Large Senior Program Manager: Europe & Asia (Washington, DC)
IFES is an international, nonprofit organization that supports the building of democratic societies. IFES is seeking a Program Manager to provide senior level management to include administrative, contractual and financial management support to IFES’ USAID-funded STEP contract in Afghanistan. Applications will be accepted online only. A cover letter is welcome and can be placed in the applicant notes section.

Program Officers – Center for Conflict and Analysis and Prevention/Center of Innovation for Media, Conflict and Peacebuilding. U.S. Institute of Peace
The United States Institute of Peace is an independent non-partisan institution established by Congress to increase the nation’s peacebuilding capacity. The Institute is currently looking to fill the following positions: Program Officer (Center for Conflict and Analysis and Prevention) Program Officer (The Center of Innovation for Media, Conflict and Peacebuilding) Click here for full details and to apply online for this position >>

EVENTS

October 29. 2:30-4:00 p.m. The Struggle for Press Freedom in Russia: The role of independent regional newspapers. The Center for International Media Assistance and the Europe and Eurasia Program at the National Endowment for Democracy and the Eurasia Foundation host a roundtable discussion featuring: Anna Koshman, Executive Director, Russian Alliance of Independent Regional Publishers; Andrei Piontkovsky, Visiting Fellow, Hudson Institute. Moderated by Nadia Diuk, Senior Director, NED’s Europe and Eurasia Program.

Although the Russian constitution guarantees freedom of speech, Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders rate Russia as “not free” and rank it below such countries as Azerbaijan and Yemen. Since Vladimir Putin assumed power at the end of 1999, the Kremlin has steadily increased control over independent media by using financial and legal leverage to acquire or shut down outlets whose coverage was deemed too critical of the government. As a result, the Kremlin now exerts strong influence over the news agenda. The government holds regular meetings with media executives and provides them with lists of political opponents with whom they should avoid interviews. With major media outlets under such tight control, how independent are regional newspapers, whether from the government or local oligarchs? With their limited readership, are regional print outlets effectively marginalized and ultimately irrelevant, or do they instead serve as a real alternative to tightly controlled national outlets? What role, if any, do they play in shaping public opinion or policymaking?

Venue: NED, 1025 F Street, N.W., Suite 800, Washington, DC 20004. RSVP (acceptances only) with name and affiliation by Tuesday, October 28 to CIMA@ned.org

October 30. 5pm. Political Parties in Conflict-Prone Societies: Regulation, Engineering and Democratic Development. The Hon Bob McMullan, Australia’s Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance will launch CDI’s new study of political party development. Political Parties in Conflict-Prone Societies: Regulation, Engineering and Democratic Development, is co-edited by CDI Director Ben Reilly and was produced in cooperation with International IDEA and the United Nations University (UNU). It looks at the ways in which new democracies can strengthen their party systems by regulating the way parties form, organise and behave. The study is the first work to analyse the growing trend towards ambitious political party regulation in new democracies, drawing on the comparative experiences from new democracies in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the South Pacific. As well as contributing to the scholarly work on this subject, it also offers guidelines for governments and international organisations seeking to strengthen party systems in developing democracies. Venue: CDI office, Sir Roland Wilson Building, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. RSVP to Suzanne.Francis@anu.edu.au by 24 October 2008.

November 3. 6 p.m. Power, Politics and the Prism of Literature. Reading and discussion featuring: Azar Nafisi, Director, SAIS Cultural Conversations, Author of Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books; Marie Arana, Book Editor, The Washington Post, Author of Cellophane; Joanne Leedom-Ackerman, Vice President International PEN, Author of The Dark Path to the River. SAIS Nitze Building, Kenney Auditorium, 1740 Massachusetts Ave., NW. Washington, DC 20036. RSVP to laustin@jhu.edu

November 6. 6.00-8.00pm. The Thin Blue Line: How Humanitarianism Went to War. Book Launch & discussion event. Venue: Thatcher Room, Portcullis House, Victoria Embankment, London SW1A 2LW. Speakers: Conor Foley, Author, Journalist & Humanitarian Aid Worker; Rt Hon Dr Denis MacShane MP, former Minister for Europe; Oliver Kamm, Leader Writer, The Times (tbc). Chair: James Darcy, Director of Programmes, Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute. At this Foreign Policy Centre and Verso Books event, humanitarian aid worker Conor Foley will outline the thesis of his new book and Rt Hon Dr Denis MacShane MP and Oliver Kamm of The Times (tbc) will respond. RSVP to: events@fpc.org.uk

November 13. “Political Foundations in Democracy Promotion, Development Cooperation and Political Dialogue”. The first conference of the European Network of Political Foundations will give partners and donors the possibility to exchange views. Venue: Bibliothèque Solvay, Brussels, Belgium. 9.30 – 12.00 a.m. For further details: Tel.: +32 (0) 2 282.09.48 Fax: +32 (0) 2 282.09.43 Email: info@enop.eu Internet: www.enop.eu

November 25, 6.15-7.45pm. Vulnerable groups in Iran: The experience of women, Kurds and Baha’is.
The Foreign Policy Centre is launching a new pamphlet on women’s and minority rights in Iran. The pamphlet, written by Tahirih Danesh and Geoff Cameron, focuses on the legal mechanisms used to discriminate against women, Baha’is and Kurds, and examines common features of the problems faced by these groups. It also analyses what British and European policymakers can do to improve the treatment of women and minorities in Iran. Venue: Wilson Room, Portcullis House, Victoria Embankment, London SW1A 2LW. Speakers: TBC. RSVP by email with ‘Iran’ in subject line to: events@fpc.org.uk