Romania,

27 July -1 August 2015

1. Background

Despite a strong interest of youth in public life, research suggests that there is an increasing fatigue and mistrust of young people in formal/classic politics, including elections, not only in Romania, but also in the partner countries of our region (including the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia). This summer school intends to promote, encourage and support the active participation of the young people in the electoral field, focusing on how social media can make a difference in engaging youth in the electoral process. Also, the summer school will provide the participants with the opportunity to brainstorm and exchange experiences on the way they understand and use social media in report to politics.
The activity is part of a larger 2015 electoral assistance project implemented by the Romanian Permanent Electoral Authority in partnership with the UNDP Istanbul Regional Center, financed by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the Romanian Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget. The Permanent Electoral Authority is the Romanian official electoral management body (EMB), responsible with the management and implementation of the entire electoral cycle in Romania, and also the main provider of electoral assistance in Romania, supporting its ODA partner countries to conduct free and fair elections.
The general objective of the summer school is to enhance the capacity of EMBs and relevant stakeholders in the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia to make use of social media in order to inform, mobilize, and engage young voters, leading to a more meaningful participation of youth in political life. The activity is designed as an experience sharing exercise, where practitioners and interested stakeholders (youth in particular) can meet in an interactive and informal learning environment to discuss about the emerging trends in social media and elections.

2. The summer school

The summer school will bring together 20 junior EMB representatives, CSO members, students (enrolled or recently graduated, with a particular focus on political science, law, international relation and sociology students) from the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia and Romania (5 from each country) in an interactive learning environment, where they will share experiences and debate on the use of social media in elections. The participants will have the opportunity to interact with experienced PEA practitioners, Romanian civil society representatives and experts from international organizations, who will facilitate the summer school sessions, will deliver lectures and lead group activities.
The main topics to be addressed by the summer school are:
 Exploration of various electoral systems (foundation for later sessions);
 Exploration of various social media instruments, applicable to the field of elections;
 The specific usability of various social media channels in elections from multiple perspectives (voters, activist/watchdog/CSO representative, EMBs, mainstream media, etc);
 Examples of best practices from the participating countries and others on the use of social media in elections;
 The role that social media can play in voter mobilization, voter information, and civic education, particularly for young people.
The 5-day course will be interactive, with a minimal theoretical component. The bulk of the course time will be dedicated to practical group activities. The training will also create the opportunity for participants to share case studies from their own countries. A set of recommended readings will be provided by the organizers, to ensure a common understanding of basic concepts regarding electoral processes. All courses and group activities will be conducted in English only.

3. Participants & enrollment process

The summer school is addressed to youth (under 30 years old) representing electoral management bodies (maximum 3 years’ experience), NGOs, and university students or recent graduates (preferably with academic backgrounds in political science, law, international relations and sociology) from the Republic of Moldova (5 participants), Ukraine (5 participants) and Georgia (5 participants). Interested Romanian applicants must be students, aged 30 or below, with the academic background described above (5 participants will be selected). Eligible candidates must have a basic understanding of electoral processes and social media instruments.
Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online, motivating their interest in electoral affairs and social media and explaining briefly how they expect this summer school will contribute to their professional development, using the form accessible here:
http://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-pqk0pQPk_2OuL_weJLjD50DVRQqmzjjC59KThIR2TQ/viewform 
Recommended previous knowledge: basic knowledge of electoral systems and electoral management; basic knowledge of social media tools (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blogging etc).

4. Logistical arrangements:

All international and local transportation, accommodation and meals will be managed and fully financed by the organizers. The training will take place in a location outside of Bucharest (within 100 km from Bucharest, to be determined shortly).
5. Management arrangements:
The training will be implemented by the Romanian Permanent Electoral Authority in partnership with the UNDP Istanbul Regional Center. The PEA will be the main responsible party for the technical aspects of this activity, leading the formulation of the agenda and providing expertise for the lectures and working sessions. The UNDP is responsible for the administrative and financial management of the project, procurement and the effective use of resources, as well as for the monitoring and evaluation of project interventions. In so doing, the UNDP ensures that risks are being tracked and mitigated as effectively as possible and briefs the Project Board and relevant stakeholders about the project progress. The PEA, on the other side, given its specialized technical knowledge and skills in the field, will ensure the successful achievement of project outputs.