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The Inter-American Electoral Training Seminars are initiatives led by the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (GS/OAS) in collaboration with the Federal Electoral Institute of Mexico (IFE) and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). These training seminars are events designed to promote the improvement of the organization and administration of electoral processes and systems throughout the hemisphere. These five editions of the Seminar have involved the participation of 170 officials of electoral bodies from 33 OAS Member States. The selection process is designed so that there are no repeat participants, ensuring that the training is imparted to the largest number of staff in various technical areas of the electoral bodies.
The Fifth Inter-American Electoral Training Seminar, held from November 26-30 at IFE headquarters in Mexico City, represented another successful step in the ongoing series of professionalization activities for electoral authorities in the region. Like its predecessors it aimed to enrich the knowledge of participants by stimulating theoretical and practical discussions and providing a forum to share regional experiences of electoral management.
This year’s seminar focused on two topics: “Overseas voting: challenges and realities” and “The political participation of women: gender quotas and projects developed by Electoral Management Bodies to promote female participation”. The methodology of the training seminar comprised two distinct areas:
a. academic and technical training facilitated by professors and experts in the field, and
b. discussions and horizontal cooperation between electoral authorities with extensive experience in the program topics.
One initiative that provides continuity to the work of the Inter-American Electoral Seminar is the “Advanced Course on Electoral Processes in the Americas”. This initiative constitutes a complementary initiative, through which the OAS General Secretariat hopes to continue strengthening the technical capacities of electoral authorities, with the aim that this effort will be contribute to the continuous strengthening of democratic systems in the region.