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Welcome
The Namibia Institute for Democracy (NID), founded in 1991,
implements civic education, civil society development, socio-political
survey and research and anti-corruption programs in Namibia.
Current programs include a domestic civil society election
observation program, political party training, civic and
voter education, anti-corruption and study circle programs.
read
more
Anne Saloranta, Embassy of Finland,
Nangof Director Ivin Lombaard and Naomi Kisting.
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Guide to Civil Society
launched
The NID in conjunction with Nangof have launched
the second edition of the Guide to Civil Society in
Namibia, which contains details of 126 Non-Governmental
Organisations in Namibia. Funded by the Embassy of
Finland, the Guide serves as valuable reference tool
to local CSOs looking for program partners, and is
a good marketing tool for CSOs to market their activities
to possible international development institutions.
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Theunis Keulder in front of the Anti-Corruption
Academy in Laxenburg, Austria.
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UNCAC Review Mechanism
NID Director Theunis Keulder was in Vienna
in the first week of October upon invitation of the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for a training
course on the Review Mechanism for the United Nations
Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). The overall
objective of the course, which was presented by the
UNODC at the International Anti-corruption Academy
in Laxenburg, Austria, was to assist participants
to contribute to the UNCAC Review Mechanism. Namibia
will be reviewed in the fourth year of the first cycle.
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Connecting
the Dots Campaign launched
The NID has launched its "Connecting the Dots"
campaign, through which it is endeavoured to publicise
the work that Civil Society Organisations are doing
in Namibia. A series of short films featuring different
CSOs has been produced to be screened by the national
broadcaster. Newspaper print articles highlight CSO
activities.
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LRDC Chairperson Sacky Shanghala discussing the report
with political parties and other stakeholders. |
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Proposals
for Electoral Law Reform finalised
A report containing 59 specific recommendations for
electoral law reform in Namibia was recently completed
by the NID. The report is based on an extensive consultative
process conducted in partnership with the Law Reform
and Development Commission (LRDC) and the Electoral
Commission of Namibia (ECN), a process that was co-funded
by SIDA and Finland. The report will now provide the
basis for the LRDC to commence with the drafting of
six different bills:
1. Electoral Commission Bill
2. Electoral Bill
3. Delimitation Commission Bill
4. Referendum Bill
5. Political Party Funding Bill
6. Elections Tribunal Bill
Download
report here |
Anne Saloranta, Embassy of Finland, NID Director Theunis
Keulder and other grantees during the signing ceremony.
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NID signs funding agreement
with Finland
The Namibia Institute for Democracy has signed
a funding agreement worth N$2,1m with the Embassy
of Finland for a project to assist Namibian civil
society organisations with organisational management
as well as advocacy skills. The funding will also
be used for the Electoral Law Reform Project,
as part of which NID provides techncial assistance
to the Law Reform and Development Commission to conduct
consultations with all stakeholders in the design
of a new electoral act. |
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The
Constitution in the 21st Century
Namibia's Constitution is a remarkable achievement.
It was put together by 72 elected members of the Constituent
Assembly in just 80 days in late 1989 and early 1990
and is widely hailed as being one of the most progressive
in the world. The Constitution has stood the test
of time over Namibia's first two decades as a sovereign
nation. The book provides an overview of how the Constitution
was formed and views of young leaders and ten of the
original lawmakers. It can serve as a civic education
handbook and includes the full version of the Constitution.
Download
publication here
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Judge President Petrus Damaseb with HRDC Director
John Nakuta, Lotta Ambunda, Marika Matengu, Embassy
of Finland and NID Director Theunis Keulder during
the launch of the series.
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Justice
Sector Series launched
A framework for the rule of law is essential for the
effective regulation of the interaction and co-existence
of citizens within a democracy. A research project
was therefore conducted by the NID with support of
OSISA and in cooperation with the Human Rights and
Documentation Centre to investigate the framework
where the Rule of Law intersects with the administration
of justice. This research culminated in three publications,
that were launched recently:
• Legal and
Institutional Framework of the Namibian Justice Sector
and the Rule of Law (Dr. Oliver Ruppel
and Lotta Ambunda) Download
• Management of the Namibian Justice
System: Independence, Effectiveness and Access to
Justice (Dr. Oliver Ruppel, John Nakuta
and Faith Chipepera) Download
• Criminal Justice and Policing
in Namibia
(by John Nakuta and Vincia Cloete) Download
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Listen Loud 4 Education
In view of the popularity of mobile phones amongst
the youth, which provide great opportunities for young
people to contribute their voices and opinions about
what they see as important in their lives today as
active participants and citizens of Namibia, a mobile
based platform was set up to gather opinions of the
youth on education issues affecting them. Implemented
by the NID in partnership with UNICEF and the Ministry
of Education, poll results were shared with educational
experts during a national education conference, and
were used to train learners in advocating on educational
issues affecting them.
Read
more |
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Practical
Guide to Organisational Ethics published
The establishment of an effective ethics
program and a strong ethical culture that is pervasive
throughout civil society organizations are cornerstones
to the credibility of the sector in Namibia. Therefore,
the Namibia Institute for Democracy (NID) has compiled
and published a training manual that is used to train
representatives of civil society in Namibia in organizational
ethics as part of its “Zero Tolerance to Corruption
Campaign” and its program to strengthen civil
society in Namibia.
Download
PDF file here (2Mb)
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NID Director Theunis Keulder, ACC Director Paulus
Noa and Ms. Naita Hishoono during the launch of the
Anti-Corruption toolbox.
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NID
launches Anti-Corruption Toolbox
A set of educational materials enabling Namibians
to teach each other principles and practices of ethical
and non-corrupt behavior was launched by the NID in
partnership with the Anti-Corruption Commission. This
specially designed anti-corruption toolbox consists
of educational pamphlets and posters, a CD ROM, red
cards, whistles, training manuals containing actual
case studies for anti-corruption learning as well
as details on where and how to report corrupt activities.
Toolboxes are made available as training resource
to persons who are trained by the NID as anti-corruption
trainers. A series of 13 anti-corruption training
of trainers seminars is currently conducted by the
NID nationwide. |
“Listen Loud for Education” Campaign
launched
The youth of school going age in Namibia will, over the
next three weeks, have the opportunity to air their views
on educational issues affecting them using their cellphones
through a mobile based interactive voice response poll,
“Listen Loud for Education” that was launched
by the Namibia Institute for Democracy (NID) in partnership
with UNICEF and the Ministry of Education countrywide. By
dialing 0800 00 2011, scholars can respond to pre-set questions
on a variety of education-related issues such as enrollment
issues, causes of learner drop outs, repetition rates, teacher
absenteeism, quality of education, school environment, the
cost for schooling, issue of corporal punishment and abuse
at schools. Topics and questions were previously identified
and pre-tested with learners. The poll is open for participation
between 27th May and 17th June 2011. Learners can, during
this period, also share their views on educational priorities
and their opinions on the way forward via email to ListenLoud4Education@gmail.com
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Practical
Guide to the Financial Management of NGOs published
The NID has published the Practical Guide
to the financial management of NGOs as part of
its Fundamentals of NGO Management series.
This financial guide, which was compiled and written
by Theunis Keulder and Erika Benz, is used to train
NGOs in all areas of financial management and covers
issues such as the accounting system, budgeting, financial
reporting, staff administration and audits. Case studies
are provided and templates are provided for use by
organisations.
Download
PDF file here (1.92Mb)
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NURU
Research Final Report – Promoting Transparency
in Political Finance in Southern Africa
A comparative study on transparency in political
finance in five Southern African countries, Mozambique,
South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, has been
completed. Commissioned by Transparency
International (TI) the Namibian country
report was compiled by the NID in local cooperation
with the Institute of Public Policy Research.
View
Report here |
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NID
participates in Sudan referendum observation
NID's Naomi Kisting recetly returned from
Sudan where she was part of more than 100 Carter
Center observers deployed across Sudan
and in eight out-of-country voting locations to witness
voting in the referendum for the self-determination
of Southern Sudan, as part of one of the Center’s
largest observation missions.
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UNICEF supports NID’S "Listen Loud for
Education" campaign
A Cooperation Agreement to the value of US$68,180 was signed
by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the
Namibia Institute for Democracy (NID) recently. The objective
of the agreement is to improve civic participation of young
people in Namibia through mobile phone based opinion poll,
and engagement through a Study Circle program in schools.
Following the success of the Listen Loud campaign held in
2009 which covered various issues affecting young people,
the poll in 2011 will specifically focus on issues of Education
in Namibia.
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NID
launches youth integrity survey report
The NID released its Youth Integrity Survey Report
on International Anti-Corruption day (9th December).
Conducted in eight regions in Namibia, the Youth Integrity
Survey examined existing values and attitudes towards
integrity and corruption exhibited by young people.
The target groups of this study were secondary school
pupils studying in public and private institutions.
The survey is part of the NID’s Zero Tolerance
for Corruption Campaign.
Download
Report here |
NID Board announces new executive
management
The NID Board of Directors during its Board meeting
held on 18th October has (re)appointed Mr. Theunis Keulder
as Executive Director effective 1st January 2011. This follows
the resignation of current Executive Director Dr. Justine
Hunter, who will be pursuing other opportunities in Germany,
but will remain as ordinary board member. At the same time,
current Programme Manager Ms. Naita Hishoono has been appointed
to the Board as Programme Director.
read
more
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NID
participates in election observation in Sweden
As part of an electoral reform project for
Namibia, NID's Theunis Keulder and Naomi Kisting participated
in an election observation mission of the Swedish
national elections held on September 19th, 2010.
The visit included presentations by the Swedish
Election Authority, the Election Review Board, the
Uppsala Municipal Election Commission and Regional
Council.
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Ohangwena
Community Radio supported
Minister of Information and Information Technology
(MICT) Joel Kapaanda, together with NID-staff Naita
Hishoono and Lucy Kangombe, handed over N$10.000,-
to the Ohangwena Community Radio (OCR) on 24th August
2010 at the OCR-studio in Eenhana. The OCR was one
of four community radio stations which had previously
benefitted from NID support and techncial assistance.
After the handover Lucy Kangombe presented to OCR-volunteers
an information session on modern radio production.
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World e-Parliament Report
2010 available
The United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union
just released the World e-Parliament Report 2010. The
Report, prepared by the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament,
intends to help legislatures to harness the potential
benefits of ICT for their work and establish key goals
and priorities for exploiting this valuable resource.
The Report suggests ways to overcome some of the obstacles
to the effective use of technology in parliamentary
settings. The NID's Listen Loud campaign conducted
in 2009 in partnership with UNICEF and SADC PF is presented
as a case study in the report.
Download
Report here
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Guide to Civil Society in Namibia
In order to further strengthen civil society in Namibia
and support the interaction between government and civil
society, the NID compiled this guide to provide an overview
of the mandate of NGOs and CSOs in Namibia, together
with contact details and the sectors in which they are
active. Organisations who responded to a questionnaire
that was distributed and announced in the media are
included. It is hoped that the guide will serve as reference
tool to local and international development institutions
and NGOs requiring information on the activities of
civil society or looking for partners for specific programs
in Namibia.
Read
more |
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Monitoring
& Evaluation
This training manual, compiled by Justine Hunter, is
part of the NID's Fundamentals of NGO Management series.
It is used in training NGO representatives in the evaluation
and monitoring of their programmes as part of the NID's
training and technical assistance to NGOs in institutional
capacity skills.
Download
PDF file here (991kb)
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Principles
of Internal NGO management
Part of the NID's Fundamentals of NGO Management series,
this training manual focusses on planning, organisation,
leading and control as part of the internal management
of NGOs. Compiled by Theunis Keulder, it is used to
train NGOs as part of the NID's training and technical
assistance programme to NGOs in institutional capacity
skills.
Download
PDF file here (1.1Mb) |
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COMING EVENTS
April 2013
Countrywide public hearings for National Anti-Corruption
Strategy
Organisational management training for NGOs.
Ongoing consultations on electoral law reform.
 "In
my view, this campaign is testimony to the consensus that
has taken root in our country that corruption must be fought
by all members of our society." read
more
Namibia´s President Hifikepunye Pohamba during the launch
of the NID`s Zero Tolerance for Corruption Campaign (ZTFCC)
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