Democracia eres Tú (You Are Democracy)

Democracia eres Tú (You Are Democracy) is an electoral education program for university students carried out by Peru’s National Election Procedures Office [Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales] (ONPE).

Description of the Initiative:

Democracia eres Tú was an electoral education program for university students executed in 2012 and 2013. The Program was implemented in two ways: in person and on-line.

The Program's objectives were as follows: (a) to provide training to university students on issues relating to democracy, citizenship, and electoral processes; (b) to train electoral education extensionists (mediadores de educación electoral); (c) to boost the capacities of electoral education extensionists trained in previous years; (d) to contribute to the creation of a discriminating and informed electorate.

One of the Program's most important objectives is to train electoral education extensionists. An electoral education extensionist is a political and/or social leader who provides guidance and promotes learning about democratic and electoral issues, sharing their experience and insights in a joint knowledge-building process.

As a result, the young people who took part in the Program were trained as electoral education extensionists and received instruction on spreading awareness of the importance of democracy, responsible citizenship, and a culture of political and electoral participation in their social circles by means of specific educational practices and plans, using a constructivist learning approach.

Apart from training electoral education extensionists, Democracia eres Tú also seeks to impart information about the importance of elections, one of the fundamental pillars of the democratic system.

Democracia eres Tú is a program comprising different projects. Each project is implemented in both public and private universities. In 2013, the Program consisted of six projects (each implemented at a university). One of the core activities of the projects is to organize education sessions on the following topics: Politics and the Political System; Political Regime; Parties and the Party System; the Electoral System; Electoral Actors; Electoral Processes and Citizen Consultation Mechanisms; Democracy; Citizenship and Civil Society; and Culture of Political and Electoral Participation.

Developing these topics in education sessions has enabled students to gain a positive view of the democratic system and the practice of democratic values. In turn, they have fomented political and electoral awareness in their social circles. Therefore, these university students are part of a public policy aimed at spreading electoral education.

Activities:

The Democracia eres Tú Program featured education sessions with university students. An education session is a mutual learning exercise among the participants, electoral education extensionists, and facilitators, in which new lessons are constructed based on prior knowledge, experience, and the consulted theory.

In 2012, 21 education sessions were held among the three universities where the Program was implemented. In 2013, 53 education sessions were held, covering six universities. In the case of the online course, in 2013, eight modules were carried out.

The training imparted to university students was based on education sessions at universities in both Lima and Chiclayo. The training covered topics connected with democracy, citizenship, and electoral processes.

The target group comprised students at the following universities: César Vallejo University, Federico Villarreal National University, San Marcos National University, National University of Engineering, Antonio Ruiz de Montoya University, the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, and Pedro Ruiz Gallo National University (UNPRG) in Lambayeque.

At the universities in Lima the Program was implemented from September to December 2013, while in the case of the UNPRG, the Program ran from August to November 2013.

In terms of materials, "dissemination textbooks" were used. There are nine such textbooks (reference materials), whose contents refer to each of the topics developed in the sessions: Politics and the Political System; Political Regime; Parties and the Party System; the Electoral System; Electoral Actors; Electoral Processes and Citizen Consultation Mechanisms; Democracy; Citizenship and Civil Society; and Culture of Political and Electoral Participation. Four guides were also used, containing techniques and tools for electoral education facilitators, enabling them to acquire the competencies, teaching techniques, and personal skills that an electoral education facilitator needs to hold education sessions and, thereby, strengthen democratic values in their social circles. In addition, folders, pens, exercise books, and writing pads, among other materials, were distributed free at the education sessions.

Furthermore, upon successfully completing the Program, university students became accredited electoral education extensionists and given a vest, a cap, and a backpack.

“Last year I took a number of important courses, including democracy, electoral systems, culture of political participation, types of government, and others, and we have implemented what we learned through my group in San Juan de Lurigancho (a district of metropolitan Lima), raising awareness of the importance of citizen participation so that people can transmit their demands to institutions, thereby putting a culture of democracy and participation into practice.” 

Geyci Paredes, UNFV student

Results:

One of the objectives of the Democracia eres Tú Program is to train electoral education extensionists. An electoral education extensionist is a political and/or social leader who provides guidance and promotes learning about democratic and electoral issues, sharing their experience and insights in a joint knowledge-building process.

In 2012, a total of 53 electoral education extensionists were trained at three universities: Federico Villarreal National University, San Marcos National University, and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. In 2013, 163 electoral education extensionists were trained at six universities: Federico Villarreal National University, San Marcos National University, the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, César Vallejo University, Antonio Ruiz De Montoya University, and the National University of Engineering.

2013 also saw the introduction of the Democracia eres Tú online course, with students from Pedro Ruiz Gallo National University in Lambayeque. Fifty-five electoral education extensionists were trained as a result. The training of these 271 university students as electoral education extensionists is the Program's main success, given that these young people have been trained in holding education sessions on democracy, citizenship, and a culture of political and electoral participation. Accordingly, it is safe to conclude that the Program, through the electoral education sessions, has strengthened democratic values in university students. The latter, in turn, will have a multiplier effect as they pass on the importance of democracy and promote a political and electoral participation culture in their social spheres.

Finally, following their certification in 2013, on December 14 of that same year, those electoral education extensionists took part in the Electoral Education Extensionists’ Event, at which they put on a variety of artistic productions (songs and dramatizations) connected with democracy, citizenship, and a culture of electoral participation. This is very positive in the sense that the young people were able to channel what they had learned into an artistic performance. At the event, the electoral education extensionists were incorporated into the Electoral Education Extensionists’ Network and each given their electoral kit, comprising a vest, a cap, and a backpack identifying them as members of the Network.

Challenges:

The challenges identified in the Democracia eres Tú Program were as follows:

• Holding 53 education sessions from September to December 2013 for the Democracia eres Tú Program was a challenge. Initially it seemed an enormous task but eventually it was satisfactorily completed, strengthening awareness of the importance of democracy and of a culture of political and electoral participation in university students.
• It was a challenge to hold education sessions with young people in both public and private universities. They recognized that society sets little store by democracy, a fact evident in the disinformation and lack of interest that often exists when elections come around.
• The challenge for 2014 in the Democracia eres Tú Program is to train 118 new electoral education extensionists while at the same time continuing to empower 80 electoral education extensionists trained in 2012 and 2013.
• The main challenge by 2015 is for the educators themselves to implement education sessions based on a matrix of activities. Though certain phases of that matrix have already been developed, it is hoped that they will take the lead in electoral education. This would enable ONPE to diversify its range of activities among universities and begin to implement education sessions in other universities all over Peru.
• It is also hoped that by 2015, the educational materials at the disposal of the university students taking part in this program will have been improved and increased.
• Mass rollout of the online courses to reach more participants in different areas of the country.

Lessons Learned:

The following lessons have been learned from the Democracia eres Tú Program:

• The importance of disseminating democracy and a culture of political participation among university students with the aim of strengthening and fomenting democratic values, such as tolerance and respect, which are extremely valuable for ensuring harmonious coexistence in a society where justice and equality prevail.
• There were many obstacles. One was a shortage of human resources to hold education sessions. This obstacle has been overcome since the electoral education extensionists trained by the program will be invited to become more directly involved in education sessions.
• During education sessions participants felt much more comfortable when there were two people presenting the contents of each session. Listening to presentations from two people encouraged participants to play a more active role in the discussions and gave them greater confidence.

Evaluation:

The program was evaluated using an “evaluation sheet” on which participants rated each education session. The evaluation measured the following variables: (a) content; (b) methodology; (c) facilitation; (d) organization.

The evaluation sheet was completed at the end of each education session. The results for each of the above variables were very positive, the average score being 4 in a range from 0 to 5.

Links http://www.educacionelectoral.edu.pe/red/

Electoral Education Network (Red de Educación Electoral) Blog. A forum where electoral education extensionists share experiences and keep abreast of political and electoral participation issues.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/S8tSyG3XmRM

2013 presentation video of the Electoral Education Extensionists’ Network

Contact information:

Amparo Ortega, Manager of Information and Electoral Education, National Election Procedures Office (ONPE) (E-mail: aortega@onpe.gob.pe)