Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation


Third Inter-American Electoral Seminar



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), the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) and the Latin American School of Social Sciences (FLASCO). The aim of these seminars is to promote the strengthening of the organization and administration of electoral processers and systems in the Americas, by building the capacity of electoral authorities.

With these aims in mind, the “Third Inter-American Electoral Seminar,” took place this year from September 6-10 in Mexico City, Mexico. Two principal topics were addressed: “strategic planning for Electoral Management Bodies” and “georeferencing for electoral purposes.” The methodology applied in the seminar comprised two distinct areas: (a) academic and technical training given by teachers and experts in the field, and (b) discussion and horizontal cooperation between electoral authorities with extensive experience in these topics.

Since the ultimate goal of the seminar is to bring about practical improvements in electoral management, each participant is required to formulate a concrete initiative, based on the main seminar topics, which will either contribute to the improvement of a particular practice or incorporate innovation into the institutional operations within the participant’s area of responsibility.

In order to provide continuity to its objectives, the seminar involves a component to follow-up on the commitments made by each participant. This follow-up is manifest in three distinct ways: (a) through the diffusion of Seminar materials and presentations through the Network of Electoral Practices and Information (RIPE); (b) through the tracking of the projects of electoral authorities and (c) through the preparation of long-distance courses in order to more effectively disseminate the knowledge and information shared during the Seminar.