tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-193322019151852392024-03-08T08:40:04.352-08:00Foundation for Democracy in Africa BlogFDA Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08486962167470762148noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19332201915185239.post-39769741415118880152009-06-03T16:12:00.000-07:002009-06-03T16:23:28.050-07:00Democracy in Hard to Reach Places<p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">June 2009<o:p> -- </o:p>In recent years, African countries have embraced the notion of participatory democracy.</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Inherent in a government by the people is the right to participate in political processes regardless of locale, rural or urban.</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-size:100%;">But while rural communities yearn to participate in public affairs, they also tend to be hard to reach because of poor road conditions.</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-size:100%;">They have limited electricity supply, poor access to education, healthcare and employment opportunities. Therefore, rural communities enjoy even less of the fragmented political freedoms that may be available in African countries.</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">The <a href="http://www.democracy-africa.org/WAfricaRegionaConhq.pdf" target="_blank" class="style87">2009 West African Regional Conference on <b><i>Smart, Appropriate and Resource Efficient Technologies and Products for Rural Communities</a>, to be held in Abuja, Nigeria </i></b></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" >includes efforts to ramp up dialogue with, and among rural communities </span><span style="font-size:100%;">towards political participation.</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-size:100%;">We invite your comments regarding democracy and political activities in your rural community:</span></p> <ul style="font-family: georgia;"><li><span style="font-size:100%;">What leadership attributes do people in your rural community value?</span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;">How do people in your rural community access news and information about political developments locally and nationally?</span></li><li><span style="font-size:100%;">During elections, does voter education in your rural setting foster the understanding of issues that affect your life?</span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Please send us your comments and questions to:</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" > </span> <span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: georgia;" href="mailto:%20info@democracy-africa.org">info@democracy-africa.org</a><span style="font-family: georgia;">. </span></span><o:p></o:p></b></p>FDA Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08486962167470762148noreply@blogger.com