Conflict Management, Democracy & Electoral Education

The Conflict Management, Democracy and Electoral Education (CMDEE) department designs and develops training packages and conducts training. EISA offers a range of educational programmes including voter education, democracy and human rights education, electoral observation and electoral staff training, electoral conflict management, capacity building programmes, course design programmes and citizen participation.

The programmes use an interactive and participatory approach drawing on the learner's knowledge and experience. It has a body of highly trained facilitators and materials developers competent in the EISA methodology and programme content.

The methodology is interactive and participatory, relying on a diverse range of supporting training aids. Training materials include

• facilitator and participants guidebooks
• posters (in the case the youth and schools programmes)
• supporting videos as a training aid
• CDROMs in some of the courses

CMDEE also facilitates and convenes roundtable discussions and workshops which are issue based. Recently a SADC regional conference was held in Johannesburg to examine the infusion of democracy and human rights in the curriculum. Academics, practitioners, educationalists, representatives from educational departments, electoral management bodies and human rights commissions were invited. Out of this conference it is hoped that an ongoing Democracy and Human Rights Journal, preparing materials for use in schools and ongoing discussions, will emerge.

CMDEE has conducted training for electoral authorities throughout SADC in its Elections, Democracy and Conflict programme as well as civil society institutions and security forces. It has also collaborated with electoral authorities in Zambia, South Africa and Lesotho to put in place a panel of mediators available to their respective electoral commissions to intervene in and assist in diffusing and minimising electoral conflict.

The department works in schools and with youth groups, NGOs, religious groups and womens groups, preferring, where possible to train trainers in these organisations to continue the training. Underpinning the training is the focus on citizen participation and participation in democracy. EISA tries to work through schools as the outreach is so much greater.