BACKGROUND:

The Practice Parliament series is an initiative conducted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Maldives in partnership with People’s Majlis of the Maldives, with the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Australia.

Building on the success of the Practice Parliament for Women and Youth series held in 2021 and 2022, UNDP Maldives in partnership with People’s Majlis of the Maldives is conducting 2 additional cycles of the initiative this year (batch 01 and batch 02). The Practice Parliament for Women series held in 2021 and 2022 saw the participation of 116 women and 21 Persons with Disabilities from across the country.

The series aims to provide the opportunity for women to build their capacity and confidence to participate in democratic processes, become change makers in their communities and eventually, contest for elected positions. In particular, the Practice Parliament for Women is to enable women to be more involved in the decision-making processes in the country by increasing capacity development and training programmes for women active in the political arena to build their skills and knowledge to contest for elected positions.

The Practice Parliament series will consist of two components; a training component where participants are informed on the fundamentals of civic education, key parliamentary processes, and relevant policy issues, followed by a Practice Parliament Sitting where they perform parliamentary proceedings.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

• Maldivian woman
• Aged above 25
• Living in the Maldives
• Able to commit to the full duration of the event (however flexibility will be given to those who require it to ensure as many women are able to join).
• Seats will be reserved for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) for the event and all participants are required to list down whether they have any additional requirements such as a translator, helper or sign language interpreter who can assist them. Special considerations and assistance will be provided to such individuals throughout the event.

SELECTION PROCESS:

Women interested in applying for the Practice Parliament will send their details to the designated contact number to express their interest. Interest and willingness to commit and participate in the Practice Parliament as well as any previous experience in political parties, Women’s Development Committees, NGOs, or community activities will be considered during the evaluation process. A pre-screening of all applicants will be done to ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria. Phone interviews will then be held with eligible applicants and scored against the selection criteria. The top 35 scorers will then be selected to join each batch of the event.

WHEN AND WHERE:

The Practice Parliament for Women (Batch 1) will be held from 12th to 18th February 2023.

The Practice Parliament for Women (Batch 2) will be held from 26th February to 04th March 2023.

Both programs will be held in Male’. Travel related support will be provided to those living outside of greater Male’ area.

The deadline for submission of applications is 22nd January 2023.

Interested applicants can send their details to:

UNDP Maldives | 9397651

To register, please send a text message with Full Name, Island of Residence and National ID Card Number.

CONTACT:

For all media enquiries, from People’s Majlis please contact:

Mr. Hassan Ziyau

Director, Media & Communications

People’s Majlis Secretariat (Parliament of the Maldives)

Tel: 3032636 Email: media@majlis.gov.mv

People’s Majlis on Twitter: @mvpeoplesmajlis

For all media enquiries, from UNDP Maldives please contact:

UNDP Maldives | 9518163 | comms.mv@undp.org

UNDP Maldives | 9397651 | nabeeh.asim@undp.org

Read in Dhivehi