Brussels – March 6th, 2013 – About 50 representatives from the European institutions and Civil Society organizations assisted today to the presentation of INSPIRED: Integrated Support Programme for Inclusive Reform and Democratic Dialogue at the Residence Palace.
The roundtable, organised by the European Partnership for Democracy, aimed at presenting this EU-funded programme that is designed to support inclusive national dialogue processes on key policy issues in Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco and Tunisia, and to contribute to the operationalisation of the Agenda for Action on Democracy Support in EU External Relations.
Participants debated around this innovative initiative which combines the knowledge and capacities of five local partner organisations with the knowledge and experience of European organisations that have a long track record of supporting political dialogue and strengthening leadership capacities of key policy stakeholders, i.e. the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) and the Club de Madrid (CdM).
The Directors of the Partner Organisations of INSPIRED – Jean Mensa (IEA), Ahmed Driss (CEMI), Mohamed Nesh-Nash (OMDH), Marina Glushkova (CSIP), Sorin Mereacre (EEF), Ambassador Carlos Westendorp (CdM), and Hans Bruning (NIMD) explained their vision of such an important approach, and why INSPIRED can help deliver.
Nicolas Rougy, Executive Director of EPD: “We are proud to launch this initiative with the support of the European Commission as it will not only help advance the democratic transition processes in the partner countries, but also allow us all to develop an operating model that can serve others in the future. INSPIRED is a way to respond pragmatically to the Agenda for Change and make it operational.”
The roundtable gathered also officials from the European Commission, European External Action Service, Members of the European Parliament, representatives of NGOs and think tanks working on democracy assistance. The objectives were to present the main characteristics and objectives of the project and to collect feedback from the participants in order to improve the project’s impact and synergies with other initiatives.
Discussions were moderated by Hans Bruning, Executive Director of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy; Chair of the EPD Board of Directors.
To read the full report of the Public Event, please, click here.