Project Summary

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), with the support of the U.S. Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), is undertaking a legislative exchange program with parliaments of North Africa and the Middle East that will promote democratic development, institutional capacity building, and improved mutual understanding through the provision of technical training for both staff and members of parliaments. 

Engaging staff and members from the parliaments of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Lebanon in exchanges with American legislative experts, this program allows parliaments to benefit from extremely successful programs already undertaken by NCSL across Francophone Africa; creates links between the staff of U.S. state legislatures and the staff of the parliaments of the participating countries; and then expands upon those relationships to generate legislator-level linkages between all of the countries involved.  In so doing, the program encourages the development of productive relationships and general goodwill between all of the regions involved and the United States.

The program also promotes the inclusion of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria in the francophone African Network of Parliamentary Personnel (Réseau Africain des Personnels des Parlements or RAPP), a professional association for parliamentary staff created in 2003 to provide opportunities for information sharing, facilitate the exchange of experiences, and offer professional development opportunities. 

Through a series of activities and trainings over the first eighteen (18) months, July 2004 to December 2005, the program offered technical support and assistance to the participating parliaments while at the same time creating relationships of mutually reinforcing interests and experiences.  Included among the activities carried out were:

• Assessment and Orientation Missions in each country to identify specific areas for parliamentary staff training, dialogue, and development;
• Two Regional Workshops for skills development and legislative improvement, one each for parliamentary members and staff
• U.S.-Based Training Programs for senior staff from the participating countries; and
• Technical Assistance visits conducted in and specific to each participating country, intended to address unique cultural and otherwise specific concerns within a given country, and to further develop the staff skills for the provision of independent information and support to the legislative branch of government.

The second phase of the program, which began with a second assessment visit to the Algerian Parliament in January 2006, will build on themes developed during the first phase and address specific requests from the Algerian Parliament.  Between January and October 2006 NCSL will provide technical assistance geared specifically to Algerian Parliament needs.  Activities to be carried out include:

• In-Country Workshop for parliamentarians on constituent relations and outreach;
• U.S. Study Tour for staff on library, information technology, and research development;
• In-Country Workshop for legislative assistants, committee staff, and research staff  on report writing, review and critique techniques, bill tracking and monitoring, bill and policy analysis.

By providing these opportunities for professional development and information exchange between U.S. state legislative staff and African and Middle Eastern parliamentary staff, the program will continue to promote a relationship between Francophone North Africa, Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and the United States.  This will form an improved foundation for lasting political stability and growth throughout the region.