Latest activity
News, commentary, and stories from WFD
Image
Filter
The toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on individual workers across all sectors is matched within the institutions of our democracies. This commentary piece analyses, like all other organisations, how parliaments are still learning, adapting, and switching between in-person and virtual processes to deliver democracy.
The Social Scientists Association undertook a survey of the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of Sri Lankans about Sri Lankan LGBT persons.
In cooperation with Democracy Plus, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy published the study on “Cost of youth Emigration” on Kosovo, which is a first ever analysis to provide data on how much does Kosovo loose due to young people leaving the country.
In June 2021, WFD hosted a meeting with political parties, disabled persons organizations (DPOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), Parliamentary and County Assembly Caucuses to evaluate commitments and progress of persons with disabilities inclusion by political parties in Kenya.
WFD, through the Commonwealth Equality Project (CEP), supported the Oyo State House of Assembly and the people of Oyo state to review and pass the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Bill into law.
Despite young people (0-34 years) comprising 75% of Kenya’s population, they represent just 6.5% of MPs in parliament. So, what is blocking their entry? The key hurdles include socioeconomic status, lack of support from political parties, and limited democratic culture during nominations.
Together with Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), WFD is implementing a programme that is supporting Kenyan parliamentarians to prepare for the upcoming Conference of Parties 26 (COP26) in Glasgow, United Kingdom.
The “I Vote for Women” campaign presented strong and successful women, who have created positive change in the local communities of B&H. Building trust in women as leaders, these stories aimed to motivate voters to elect more women in legislative bodies of B&H in the local election of 2020.
Analysing and improving the available relevant bills in Kenya could be a step forward towards promoting persons with disabilities inclusion in politics (PWDs). In March 2021, WFD held a two-day workshop where participants gained in-depth knowledge of the current legal reforms relevant to the inclusion of PWDs in politics; identified the existing gaps within laws; and they were also enabled to undertake advanced public participation initiatives.
WFD is supporting Western Balkans Parliaments on their post-legislative scrutiny journey.
New research from Westminster Foundation for Democracy sheds light on women’s motivations for getting into formal politics: many women emphasise a desire to make a positive difference to the world. What is more, their decisions to embark on a career in politics are also shaped by exposure to political issues, as well as their experiences. Armed with this knowledge, political parties and policymakers need to provide support in five key areas to ensure that more women are able to choose the path of political leadership.
The ability to speak your mind in a public or social matter should not be a privilege. We like to think that getting involved in local or even national politics is an option for those willing to contribute and help improve life in their community. Until recently, however, this was not a possibility within reach for Ljubisha Saveski, a 40-year-old father and fashion designer from Tetovo, North Macedonia.
Hungry for good news about politics? Here’s some: more women than ever before are participating in politics worldwide. It’s a global trend that signals positive outcomes for inclusive governance.
The right to vote is unfortunately still not completely accessible to all citizens in North Macedonia. 76 percent of voting stations have stairs and half of them (49% percent) have no access ramps. One third of access ramps cannot be used, due to improper inclination and width. These are some of the findings of the monitoring of parliamentary elections 2020 in North Macedonia conducted by persons with disabilities.
Political parties have a key role to play in addressing some of the long-standing barriers facing PWDs. To support political parties to be more inclusive, WFD Kenya facilitated the review of 11 political parties’ documents – including policies and manifestos – to identify the areas where the documents promote or inhibit the inclusion of PWDs in their activities, practices, and processes.