European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA)
Kampala, Uganda. Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
The Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA) is an international non-governmental organisation that supports parliaments in Africa and works to keep Africa high on the political agenda in Europe. It has some 1500 current and former parliamentarians as members from almost all EU member states, plus Norway, Switzerland, Romania, Bulgaria and the European Parliament.
With its roots in the campaign to end apartheid in South Africa, AWEPA now works in Africa from a development perspective to strengthen the core functions of parliaments: oversight, representation and legislation. It believes that strong Parliaments in particular, and good governance, transparency and accountability in general, are essential prerequisites for Africa's development and ultimately for its stability, peace and prosperity. In Europe, AWEPA members improve the understanding and commitment among parliamentarians and other political leaders towards important issues in Africa.
As a non-partisan organization, AWEPA has members from the whole political spectrum. It has Special Consultative Status at the UN Economic and Social Council and is on the list of ODA eligible organizations of the OECD/DAC.
With more than 20 years of experience, AWEPA has been a catalyst for change and has made an important contribution towards the growth of parliamentary capacity and democracy in Africa.
Select members of AWEPA´s parliamentarian network will participate in mission activities such as the leadership capacity building workshops and strategy planning session. AWEPA members and staff will also facilitate securing high-level government meetings in the target countries, and may also help identify other appropriate international experts for the project’s mission activities.
AWEPA also informs and mobilizes European parliamentarians on policy issues in African-European relations, development cooperation and democratization in Africa. It facilitates democratic changes by organising training, workshops, seminars and fact finding missions for members and staff of African Parliaments.
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