Massouma Al-Mubarak, Kuwait’s Minister of Planning and Minister of State for Administrative Development and Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada are slated to make keynote addresses at the opening of the fourth Partners in Participation Regional Campaign School in Kuwait today.
More than 50 women from across the Middle East and North Africa have gathered for this intensive four day program to share experiences, learn how to run successful political campaigns and help build a regional network of women with the skills to succeed in politics over the long term.
Participants will include elected members of parliament, cabinet members, civil society leaders and journalists from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, West Bank/Gaza and Yemen.
Other keynote speakers over the course of the campaign school include Algerian Member of Parliament, Samia Moualfi; Moroccan Member of Parliament, Amina Ouchelh; as well as U.S. Congresswoman Jane Harman, senior Democrat on the House Select Committee on Intelligence.
"We are proud that the Partners in Participation campaign school for women is going to be held here in Kuwait. The practical trainings on running for office and voting rights will be helpful for Kuwaiti women and women joining us from throughout the region. We will share our ideas and experiences and learn from each other," said Al Mubarak, Kuwait’s Minister of Planning and Development.
The campaign school is being organized by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), in cooperation with the Kuwait Economic Society’s Women’s Committee, the Women’s Social and Cultural Society in Kuwait, and the International Republican Institute (IRI).
Workshops at the event are designed to build women’s political skills. Topics include:
Building a Campaign Team
Message Development
Communications/Media Relations
Public Speaking
Voter Research and Tracking
Fundraising
The campaign school takes place against the backdrop of upcoming elections throughout the region, including Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, the West Bank and Gaza, and Kuwait, where women won the right to vote earlier this year. While there are more women than ever before running for office and being elected in the region, obstacles remain. This event will help women strengthen their political skills and position them to support democratic development in the Middle East and North Africa. Many of the participants coming to Kuwait are themselves candidates in election campaigns.
The Partners in Participation Regional Campaign School is the fourth in a series of events sponsored by the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). The first three – in Qatar, Tunisia and Jordan – trained more than 150 women from the Gulf, North Africa and the Middle East to take active roles in political life.
