On October 26 and 27, 2017, in Cartagena, Colombia, the XII Inter-American Meeting of Electoral Management Bodies opened the dialogue for representatives of the electoral bodies of the Americas on direct democracy mechanisms; citizen education and electoral training, political parties: Internal Democracy and Registration of Members. Authorities also participated on a workshop on the use of social media by electoral authorities. During three plenary sessions and a workshop - on both days of the meeting - participants heard presentations from experts in the field, and discussed achievements, concerns and trends in the topics discussed at the meeting.