African Union Commission to organize BRIDGE Train the Facilitator (TfF) Workshop for Five Countries in Pretoria South Africa 10 – 21 September 2012.

PRETORIA, South-Africa, August 30, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- INVITATION TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEDIA

When:

Monday 10 – Friday 21 September, 2012

Where: Alpine Attitude Hotel and Conference Centre 522 Atterbury Road Menlo Park,

Pretoria South Africa

Tel: +27 (012) 348 6504

Who:

Organized by the Democracy and Electoral Assistance Unit (DEAU) of the Department of Political Affairs of the African Union Commission (AUC)

Objectives:

This Five – Nation BRIDGE TtF Workshop is designed to train staff of selected EMBs as BRIDGE Facilitators who can deliver electoral trainings internally in their own countries. The training will equip the participants with the requisite facilitation skills to deliver electoral trainings using BRIDGE, currently the world's most comprehensive electoral training curriculum. Upon completion of the workshop, the participants will become semi – accredited BRIDGE Facilitators.

Participants:

Participants are staff and Members of Electoral commissions from the following countries: Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroun, Botswana and Malawi.

Background The Democracy and Electoral Assistance Unit (DEAU) in its mandate is charged with the responsibility of improving the national electoral processes of member states of the African Union towards the conduct of free fair and credible elections within a framework of direct technical assistance to Election Management Bodies, EMBs. In this regard, the DEAU has been developing electoral process standards which include the provision of BRIDGE electoral trainings in different aspects of electoral management to the various EMBs in the continent.

This programme is part of the expanded National Capacity Building Programme of the Democracy and Elections Assistance Unit aimed at addressing specific electoral training needs of members and staff of Electoral Commissions of member states who have so requested from the African Union Commission.

Journalists are invited to cover the AUC National BRIDGE TtF Opening ceremony in Pretoria, the Republic of South Africa

For Further Information consult the AU website: www.au.int