18 March 2014 - Twenty four electoral staff from Libya and Tunisia have completed a BRIDGE “Train the Facilitator” course administered by the UN Electoral Support Team to Libya, including members of UNSMIL and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with UNDP Tunisia’s Support to the Electoral Process Project. The training took place in Hammamet, Tunisia, between 1 and 11 March 2015.

BRIDGE, which stands for Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections, is a modular professional development programme with a particular focus on electoral processes.

Participants were drawn equally from Libya’s High National Elections Commission (HNEC) and Tunisia’s Instance Supérieure Indépendante pour les Élections. Joint events enable staff from both countries to share lessons and helps to create a strong community of practice.

The training followed the delivery of several BRIDGE modules by the UN Electoral Support Team in late 2014. Modules were delivered to Libyan electoral officials, as well as media and civil society representatives, generating increased interest in the BRIDGE programme.

Expanding the pools of existing BRIDGE facilitators in both countries will assist national electoral management bodies to deliver training on basic electoral concepts.

Libyan participation in the event was organized with the support of the European Union.