The African Democracy Forum (ADF, www.africandemocracyforum.org) launched in Abuja, Nigeria, in October 2000, is an African regional network of democracy, human rights, and governance organizations. The ADF seeks to consolidate democracy in Africa by providing opportunities for democrats to openly express their views while also acting as a platform for mutual support and the sharing of resources. Over 450 organizations and individuals working on democracy issues in Africa currently participate in ADF activities. The ADF is an Africa regional network of the World Movement for Democracy ( www.wmd.org), a global network of democracy and human rights activists, practitioners, and scholars. The ADF is designed to strengthen democracy movements in Africa by benefitting from the wealth of experiences, expertise, and knowledge among its members. Members include a number of leading democracy and human rights organizations that have helped achieve democratic gains that we see in Africa today. They bring their rich experiences and expertise to the network, and help enable each other strengthen their capacities further. The diversity in background, expertise, and field of activities among ADF members helps the ADF become a strategic network that seeks to advance values and practices of democracy in the region. The objectives are: - Monitoring democracy in Africa;
- Working to protect democrats;
- Providing support for the development of information technology in Africa;
- Sharing advocacy skills;
- Training network members;
- Establishing and maintaining dialogue with state leaders and empowering people at the grass-roots; and,
- Encouraging civil society in countries of conflict to use the Africa Democracy Forum to seek support, especially in repressive regimes.
Constitution. After over two years of wide consultations with ADF members, the ADF Constitution was developed and accpeted by members at the ADF meeting in April 2006. The Constituion defines the strcture, membership, and activities of the ADF. Text of the ADF Constitution: ADF Constitution (English), Statuts du l'ADF (français), Estatutos do ADF (português) Leadership The ADF is led by a Management Committee elected by ADF members. The role and responsibilities of the Management Committee include: to prioritize ADF activities; to oversee the work of the ADF Secretariat and the ADF coordinator; to provide the Secretariat and the coordinator guidance as necessary; and to assist in fundraising for ADF activities.
Management Committee:
The following members of the MC are ex-officio (by virtue of being African members of the World Movement for Democracy’s Steering Committee):
Francesca Bomboko (DRC) - ex-officio Reginald Matchaba-Hove (Zimbabwe) - ex-officio
Former members of Management Committee include:
- Zainab Bangura (Sierra Leone)
- Margaret Dongo (Zimbabwe)
- Ayesha Imam (Nigeria)
- Chris Landsberg (South Africa)
- Ayo Obe (Nigeria)
- Livingstone Sewanyana (Uganda)
Secretariat
The ADF Secretariat is hosted by IDASA (Institute for Democracy in South Africa, www.idasa.org.za), based in Pretoria, South Africa.
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