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On 4 and 5 April 2017, the Secretary-General of International IDEA, Yves Leterme, undertook a working visit to explore future partnership opportunities with Senegal.

The Office of International IDEA to the European Union (EUO), with the support of the Canadian Mission to the European Union and in collaboration with the European Institute for Peace (EIP), WeCitizens and the European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS), organized a Roundtable in Brussels on 23 March 2017 enti

The concept of open data is based on the idea that data should be freely available for anyone to access, use and share.

In recent years, the concept has taken root as an increasingly accepted practice for public and government produced data, with data seen as a public good, and data infrastructure as the key to accessing it.

On the 20^thand 21^st of March 2017, International IDEA’s Secretary-General Yves Leterme and Daniel Zovatto, IDEA’s Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, travelled to Brasilia, to participate in the seminar “Models of electoral systems - international contribution to the political reform in Brazil” organized by the Superior Electoral Court and the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil, with support of International IDEA.

Africa has significant natural resource wealth. However, the continent suffers from the paradox of plenty, meaning that abundant endowments of natural resources do not lead to equivalent levels of prosperity for Africans in terms of broad-based development and resource-based industrialisation.

Yves Leterme, International IDEA’s Secretary-General, travelled on 9 March 2017, to present the work of International IDEA in support of Agenda 2030 at the United Nations Office in Geneva. During his presentation, Leterme highlighted International IDEA’s contribution to the implementation and monitoring of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) through the strengthening of democratic institutions and accountability at both national and global levels.

The elder generation comprises the fastest-growing age group in Europe; the proportion of elderly people has increased significantly compared to the younger generation.

On 21 March 2017, International IDEA's Secretary-General Yves Leterme signed a cooperation agreement with the Electoral Court of Mexico, represented by its Chief Justice, Janine M. Otálora Malassis. The partnership will aim at promoting and implementing bilateral and multilateral projects on issues related to the development of democracy, electoral processes and electoral justice.

One of the most enlightening debates on international democracy support is turning 15 this coming April. In his 2002 “The End of the Transition Paradigm,”[1] Tom Carothers argued that democracy supporters at that time operated within a framework derived in part from a “superficial transfer of ideas” from scholarly literature on transitions away from authoritarian rule.

“Our role is to be transparent, accountable and responsible in our oversight function, now that Myanmar is transitioning towards democracy”, said by U Aye Tha Aung, Deputy Speaker of the Union Parliament of Myanmar and of the Amyotha Hluttaw and Chair of the Parliament’s Joint Public Accounts Committee (JPAC).

Throughout the world, the number of women elected to office remains significantly lower than the number of men. Different factors contribute to the existence of gender inequality in politics. An increased understanding of the issues surrounding political finance has demonstrated a link between political finance and women’s participation in politics. Lack of access to financial resources is regularly identified as a key barrier to the participation of women in politics.

On 17 March, International IDEA’s Secretary-General, Yves Leterme, took part in the 5^th Global Baku Forum on “The Future of International relations: Power and Interest”, discussing the future of Europe.

Leading figures in global politics, gathered at the 5th Global Baku Forum on16 and 17th of March to discuss and analyze the future of international relations and share their vision on potential solutions to the multiple threats the world is facing today.

To observe the International Women’s Day, the 2^nd National Conference on Women in Governance, Leadership & Politics in Bhutan with a regional dimension was organised between 8 -10 March 2017 by the National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC) and the Bhutan Network for Empowering Women (BNEW) in collaboration with Women Children and Youth Committee of the National Assembly, Election Commission of Bhutan, Department of Local Governance and Bhutan Democracy Dialogue.

Myanmar has trained 1,500 election officials ahead of its by-elections on 1 April 2017, when more than 2 million citizens will choose 19 parliamentary representatives among 94 candidates. The by-elections will be held in 22 different townships scattered across eight of Myanmar’s 14 states and regions. These areas include places where general elections could not be held in 2015 due to continued armed insurgency.  

Peru was elected Chair of International IDEA for 2017 by the Council of Member States on 8-9 December 2016. Taking up its new role, Peru has set "Corruption: A threat towards a democracy of quality" as the theme of its Chairship.

Education, increased awareness on the need to have women running for political leadership positions, overcoming traditional challenges based on stereotypes and understanding the difference between having quotas and having substantive participation of women are some of the main challenges and opportunities that men and women are identifying for the advancement of gender equality and political empowerment in Africa.

Achieving gender equality and political empowerment of women is now more relevant that ever and it is a responsibility that pertains to all the local, national, regional and international actors.

Last year, women made up less than a quarter of parliamentarians worldwide. While the number has been steadily increasing, more needs to be done. The key to having more women as representative is to influence political parties since they are the ones who choose the candidates for elections.

Does the constitution have a special provision for gender equality? Who implements the rights enshrined in Myanmar’s constitution?

These were some of the questions on the lips of participants from civil society, academia, the judiciary and parliamentarians at an introductory workshop on the constitution assessment for women’s equality held in Yangon in February 2017.