The ACEEEO brings together occasionally and on an annual basis experts and heads of the election management bodies to discuss how to strengthen good governance through the conduct of democratic elections. This professional meetings provide opportunity for electoral experts to exchange experiences with their colleagues from all around the world.
Each year we put on the agenda exchange of experiences on and the international comparison of issues rof common importance. The conference features professional development workshops, panels of election experts, an exhibition of electoral equipment and services.
You can read more on the occasional and annual conferences organized since the inception of the ACEEEO in 1991 by browsing our Upcoming and Past events collection below.
Past events
It is widely considered that democracy around the world is going through very complex times and is facing multiple risks. Democracy is questioned in terms of its capability to govern over the contemporary society. The weakness of the Rule of Law entails serious consequences: economic inequality, ill-distribution of wealth, violence, health, weak environment protection, inclusion, justice delivery, among others. Criticisms against democracy are affecting the credibility of electoral processes. Interest is lost in elections because the citizens see that instead of their problems and needs being solved, they grow bigger.
In order to respond these challenges, international organisations and electoral practitioners need to evaluate the ongoing processes and call for an action plan to tackle them. Recognizing this need, the National Electoral Institute of Mexico (INE Mexico) in cooperation with different international organizations, electoral associations and electoral bodies organize organizes the Global Summit for Democracy 2022, which aims to develop a comprehensive and global process for the reflection, debate, and proposal on the great challenges democratic regimes face nowadays, in particular, those related to free and fair elections.
The event will be held after the 30th Anniversary ACEEEO Conference, in the autumn.
The future of Europe’s democracy is in the hand of today’s young people. The European integration project depends on whether young people are attached to European values and whether a thicker European identity can be articulated based on shared values and experiences. Elections play a paramount role in this aspect, as they are the manifestations of the underlying political community and of democracy. Namely, through elections voters can feel that they belong to the European community. The election of the members of the European Parliament might be key in this respect, as the ultimate expression of the transnational political community. However, the question arises whether EP elections indeed fulfil this role.
In 2020 Romania took over the Presidency of the Association and hosts the 30th Anniversary Conference. With the active participation of electoral officials, academia and other electoral stakeholders, in this year we intend to discuss the topics of ‘Youth Participation' and 'Campaign and Party Finance'.
First, ACEEEO celebrates by looking forward to the future of democracy and elections – to the youth. Today’s first voters will shape tomorrow’s democracy, it is therefore paramount to understand how the youth think, what attitudes they have, and how their meaningful engagement might be increased. ACEEEO has been devoted to this topic in the past and dedicates its activities in 2021 mostly to this theme.
Second, the Conference deals with the topic of campaign- and party finance. In the modern political contest money and politics cannot be disentangled. The question how political actors receive funds, how they spend it, and how they need to report it is of utmost importance in any democracy. The Conference focuses on the question of how money is spent during electoral campaigns, either from dedicated campaign fund or from the general resources available to parties.
The ACEEEO in cooperation with the ArabEMBs on 22 April 2021 organized the Second Online Symposium on Youth Participation, in which with the valuable contributions of international experts we continued to discussed the theoretical and practical approaches to the topic.
The Symposium was opened by Zsolt Szolnoki (Secretary General, ACEEEO) and Hisham Kuhail (Executive Board Chairman, ArabEMBs). Mr. Szolnoki highlighted the importance of the cooperation between the European and the Arab regions especially in the topic of youth participation both sides have lessons learnt to share. Mr. Kuhail also emphasized the need of a meaningful cooperation between the two institutions and envisaged further strengthening of professional ties between the
'They vote for the first time, but not the last'
Trends, challenges, and best practices of youth participation
The Association decided to focus on youth participation throughout the year 2021. As the first step in our journey, the ACEEEO organized an Online Symposium titled ‘They vote for the first time, but not the last – Trends, challenges, and best practices of youth participation’ on 4 February 2021.
The Symposium dealt wit