2023 International Forum of Political Foundations

2023 INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF POLITICAL FOUNDATIONS

Political Parties & Perspectives on Democracy

15 - 16 May 2023 • Residence Palace, Brussels

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The International Forum of Political Foundations, titled “Political Parties and Perspectives of Democracy”, organised by the European Network of Political Foundations (ENoP) is a pilot cross-party initiative with the goal of bringing together different European political foundations and their partners. Ultimately, it aims at triggering an exchange on how to support and strengthen political parties that are committed to the promotion and defence of liberal, representative democracy, free and fair elections, independent judiciary, free media, and human rights. 

This International Forum pursues the following objectives:

  • Analysis of current challenges for liberal democracy and the role of political parties and political foundations in view of actual threats for democratic regimes;
  • Presentation and cross-party exchange of experiences and best practices among parties and political foundations; 
  • Exchange on policies and intra-party reforms in defence and resilience against democratic threats;
  • Encouragement to build modern party structures and to make integrity a distinctive feature of party leadership.

PROGRAMME

15 May
16 May
15 May

9:00    Perspectives on democracy and the role of political parties

This session aims at exploring the global state of democracy with the challenges and opportunities ahead. It will further look at the importance of building multi-faceted partnerships, inclusive of both political and civil society actors.  

WELCOMING ADDRESS

Denis Schrey
Programme Director, KAS Multinational Development Policy Dialogue (MDPD); Network Coordinator, the European Network of Political Foundations

KEYNOTE

Sam Rainsy is a Cambodian activist, economist and politician who most recently served as the Leader of the Opposition. He is now the interim leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party due to the continued ban on political activity by the party's leader, Kem Sokha.

Lutz Güllner
Head of Division for Strategic Communication, Task Forces and Information Analysis, European External Action Service

Lutz Güllner is Head of Division for Strategic Communications and Information Analysis in the European External Action Service. He leads a team of about 40 persons dealing with issues related to disinformation and foreign manipulative interference. In his work, he focuses on addressing disinformation threats for the EU and for the EU's neighbourhood region. Prior to his current position he served as Head of the EEAS's foreign and security policy communication team (2017-2019) and as Head of the European Commission's Directorate General for Trade's communication team (2013-17). He was also Deputy Head of the Trade Strategy Unit and responsible for the coordination of EU-US trade and economic relations.

Qyira Yusri
Co-Founder of UNDI18 and Special Advisor to the European Commission on Youth; 30 under 30 Forbes

Qyira is the Co-Founder and Education Director of #Undi18. #Undi18 is a Malaysian grassroots movement, spearheaded by a group of young people that successfully lobbied the Government and Parliament of Malaysia to take steps toward amending Article 119(1) of the Federal Constitution to reduce the minimum voting age in Malaysia from 21 to 18 years old. Qyira has participated in and coordinated multiple direct action activities in response to advocating for freedom of public assembly, speech and political inclusion. She has also consulted on various human rights campaigns in Malaysia and across ASEAN, with experiences in topics of citizenship, detention, death penalty abolition and more.

In 2022, she was appointed as the Special Adviser on Youth to EU Commissioner, focusing on matters of youth, peace and security. With #Undi18, she leads the voter education initiatives by creating workshop modules and creative content to ensure Malaysians are prepared to vote.

10:00    Political parties in decline: A threat to democracy?

This panel discussion will shed light on the state of democracy through the lenses of declining political participation. It will explore the challenges that political parties face in terms of non-voter turnout and the lack of civic engagement.

SPEAKERS

Tarja Halonen
Former President of Finland, Chair Emeritae of Council of Women World Leaders

Tarja Halonen served as President of Finland from 2000 to 2012. Prior to her election, she held the office of Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Minister of Justice, and Minister for Foreign Affairs. During her career, President Halonen has paid close attention to issues of human rights, democracy, civil society, gender equality and sustainable development. Among other duties, president Halonen is currently a member of UN’s Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation, UNCCD Drylands Ambassador, and a member of CTBTO Group of Eminent Persons.

Tundu Lissu
Member of CHADEMA party and Former Member of Parliament, Tanzania

Tundu Antiphas Lissu is currently the Deputy Chairman for Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA).

He served two terms as a Member of Parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania representing the people of Singida East Constituency. Before the said constituency, he served as Chief Legal Officer for Tanzanian opposition party CHADEMA.

He is also the former President of Tanganyika Law Society (TLS), the bar association of Tanzania mainland. After having survived 16 bullet shots fired at him after a parliamentary session in 2017, Tundu Lissu returned from his exile in Brussels/Belgium to Tanzania in 2020 to contest for the presidential elections as CHADEMA's presidential candidate. After the irregular elections of 2020 he again returned to exile. In December 2020 he was awarded with the Bush-Thatcher Award for Freedom by IDU.

Dr. Hakima El Haite
Former Minister of Environment of Morocco, President of Liberal International

Dr. Hakima el Haité is a member of the executive board of Mouvement Populaire Morocco. Ms El Haité was elected as the 14th president of Liberal International at the 62nd Congress in Dakar, Senegal in 2018 and she is the second female president in LI’s history and the first from the Middle East – North Africa Region.

El Haité is an internationally recognised leader in the fields of environmental sustainability development & climate change. As the former Minister of Environment for the Kingdom of Morocco, she was a major actor in bringing COP22 to Morocco. She was elected vice president of COP 21 (Paris Agreement) and appointed as Special Envoy and UN High-Level Champion of the International Climate Conference (COP 22).

Dr. Wilhelm Hofmeister
Fellow and Lecturer at the Düsseldorf Party Research Institute, PRuF 

Dr. Wilhelm Hofmeister is a senior political adviser in the field of international cooperation of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation from Germany. He lived for many years in Asia and Latin America and served as the director of political party consultancy and political education projects. He also participated in political training programmes in Africa and the Middle East. He holds a PhD in political science and has published extensively on the subject of political parties and democracy.

MODERATION

Michaela Hollis
Secretary General, Christian Democratic International Center, KIC

11:00    Coffee break

11:30    Intra-party decision-making: How to boost democracy within?

This session will provide an insight into inner-party decision-making processes and transparency. It will discuss different approaches of how to improve decision-making within political parties and allow for more transparency and inclusiveness

SPEAKERS

Knut Fleckenstein
Former Member of the European Parliament, Co-facilitator of Jean Monnet and Interparty Dialogue processes

Knut Fleckenstein is a German politician and a Former Member of the European Parliament from Germany,  member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, part of the Party of European Socialists. He was elected to the European Parliament in 2009, prior to which he had managed the Workers' Samaritan Federation in Hamburg. Fleckenstein served on the Committee on Transport and Tourism, and as of 2014, he has been a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET). In addition, he has been serving on the delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee since 2009. He was the Parliament's rapporteur on market access to port services and financial transparency. In addition to his committee assignments, Fleckenstein was a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals. Within the parliamentary group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Fleckenstein served as vice-president responsible for foreign policy, human rights, trade and development.

Nino Kalandadze
Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, Georgia

Nino Kalandadze is a founder of the Chavchavadze Center.

In 2008-2012 Nino served as a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia overseeing bilateral relations with 45 European countries. She served as a Parliamentary Secretary and was an official Spokesperson of the Ministry; led EU-Georgia Talks in 2008; Contributed to the elaboration and implementation of “Non Recognition Policy” of breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia; facilitated implementation of so called “Steinmeier’s Plan” aiming to integrate breakaway regions into Georgian political process; managed and supervised Consular Department, internal and external communications;

During 2012-2013 Nino served at the Administration of the President of Georgia as advisor and as Parliamentary Secretary.

 

David Farrell
Professor of Politics, University College Dublin

Professor Farrell is a specialist in the study of representation, elections, parties, and deliberative mini-publics. His most recent books include: The Oxford Handbook of Irish Politics (co-edited, Oxford University Press, 2021), Deliberative Mini-Publics: Core Design Features (co-authored, Bristol University Press, 2021), and Reimagining Democracy: Lessons in Deliberative Democracy from the Irish Front Line (co-authored, Cornell University Press, 2019).

MODERATION

Robert Križanič
Director of Institute Povod; Treasurer, the European Network of Political Foundations

12:30   Lunch break

14:00    Integrity of political party leaders

This interactive workshop exchange will bring concrete insights and examples of the preconditions needed for political leaders to meet in order to achieve integrity in their roles within their political party work.

WORKSHOP INPUT

Ana Radičević
Program Director, Regional Political Integrity Southeast Europe, National Democratic Institute

Ana Radičević is the Senior Resident Program Director for the National Democratic Institute’s Regional political integrity program for Southeastern Europe, based out of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She was educated in the US, graduated from the Faculty of Philology at the University of Belgrade and received her Masters Degree in the field of European Studies. She is also a Certified Transactional Analyst. Prior to her time in BiH, Ana’s two decades of service for democracy assistance organizations included positions in NDI’s Kosovo, Serbia and Washington DC offices, where she managed political party and parliamentary programs working with senior government and political party officials, as well as with media, foreign embassies, international organizations, aid agencies and research institutions to support democratic culture and civil society initiatives. She conducted numerous trainings and took part in democracy assistance discussions for NDI in Southeastern Europe and Westminster Foundation for Democracy in Central and West Africa. She serves on the Advisory Board of Foundation for Global Human Dignity, based in Malta.

Sam van der Staak
Director for Europe, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA)

Sam van der Staak is Director for Europe at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). His work focuses on supporting democratic developments in Europe, with a special emphasis on the topics of political parties, money in politics, and ICT in democracy. Van der Staak manages International IDEA's Regional Europe Programme, in which capacity he also leads International IDEA’s representation to the European Union in Brussels. Sam has been involved in International IDEA publications on Cybersecurity in elections, Citizen movements, Money in politics, and Political party dialogue. He makes regular media contributions on the state of democracy in Europe.

Nicholas Aiossa
Deputy Director, Head of Policy and Advocacy at Transparency International 

Coming soon

FACILITATOR

Jasmina Mršo
Publications Coordinator, the European Network of Political Foundations; Expert in Working with Political Parties and Foundations

15:30    Meet European political foundations

16:00    Empowering women in political parties: Investing in peace?

This interactive session serves as a platform for exchange of best practice examples, initiatives and toolkits, that exist to support women’s participation and representation in political parties, in positions of power and decision-making. It will further focus on the role of women in mediation and conflict mitigation.

SPEAKERS

Kira Rudik
Vice-President of the Alliance of Liberals & Democrats for Europe Party and Head of Holos, Ukraine

Member of Parliament of Ukraine, First Deputy Chairwoman of the Parliament Committee on Digital Transformation. Leader of Golos Liberal Political Party, Vice-President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). Before politics, Kira Rudik was an IT entrepreneur who headed Ring Ukraine company and ensured its acquisition by Amazon for $1 billion. Included in the TOP-100 most influential women in Ukraine according to the Focus and Novoe Vremya magazines. In November 2022 received the Women In Politics Champion of the Year Award from The Alliance of Her.

Monika Zajkova
Member of Parliament, North Macedonia

Coming soon

Halyna Yanchenko
Member of Parliament and Former deputy on the Kyiv City Council, Ukraine

Halyna Yanchenko was elected to the Ukrainian Rada in 2019 and is the Deputy Chair of Sluha Narodu, SN (Servant of the People), a centrist, pro-European and anti-corruption Party. She was number 5 on the electoral list of the party SN. President Zelensky tapped her to lead government investment efforts. In January 2022 she was appointed as a Secretary in the National Investment Council of Ukraine. In addition, she chairs the Temporary Special Commission of the Verkhovna Rada on protecting investor rights. Prior to being elected to The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, she leaded the Civil Oversight Council at the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine. In 2014-2015 was a deputy of the Kiev city council. Halyna Yanchenko earned a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the National University Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. She also studied for one year at the Wichita Falls High School in Texas.

Badria Zeino-Mahmalat
Director of ”Get involved!” project on women empowerment in politics, Morocco & Benin

Badria is currently working as a Programme Coordinator EU projects at the European Cultural Foundation. Previously,  she was working for 4 years at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) office Morocco where she was supervising and implementing the EU cofounded project “Get involved! Women Empowerment in Morocco and Benin”. Her educational background is in political science and international relations, with over 5 years of experience in managing international cooperation projects dealing with political participation, women empowerment in politics and representation of migrants and refugees in European Media.

MODERATION

Jana Sproul
Senior Human Rights & EU Funding Manager, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom; Deputy Network Coordinator, the European Network of Political Foundations 

17:30    Networking reception

16 May

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