South Africa: World Movement for Democracy to Meet in Durban

The World Movement for Democracy will convene on February 1-4, 2004 in Durban, South Africa, for its Third Assembly. "Building Democracy for Peace, Development and Human Rights,” is the theme of the Assembly, which will take place at the International Convention Centre in Durban. More than 600 democracy activists, practitioners, and scholars from more than 100 countries in every region of the world will discuss practical solutions to a wide range of challenges. In more than 40 workshops, participants will explore how to expand and strengthen democracy in their countries and in their regions of the world; how to strengthen civic groups, political parties and the media; how to increase accountability of political institutions; and how to use civic education and culture as a means of promoting democratic values. Other areas of discussion include increasing women’s participation, the challenges of working in conflict-ridden societies, transitional justice, among others. Three South African partner organisations - the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD, http://www.accord.org.za), the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS, http://www.cps.org.za), and the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA, http://www.idasa.org.za) - are working with the World Movement Secretariat to organize the Assembly.