The Stakeholders' Seminar on the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 26-27 July 2022 and was organised by the African  Union Commission’s (AUC) Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS) through the  African Governance and Peace and Security Architecture Secretariat (AGA-APSA). It brought together various stakeholders, including: the member states that form the Sub Committee on Human Rights,  Democracy and Governance (HRDG) of the AU Permanent Representatives Committee, the African Union  Commission Office of the Legal Counsel, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), and representation  from civil society of which the Charter Project Africa was a part of. 

The discussions reflected on the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) in the context of AU Shared values and the contemporary challenges brought by unconstitutional changes  of government to democratic governance in Africa. Some of the key recommendations that emerged in  relation to the ratification and implementation of the ACDEG included:  

• Civic education to mainstream the ACDEG in the formal and non-formal education spaces; 
• Establishing knowledge management systems at the state level;  
• Promoting citizen driven approaches to awareness raising, popularisation and sensitisation on the  ACDEG’s provisions and obligations.  

It was in this context that the Charter Project Africa got to highlight some of its ongoing activities as an  example of how civil society and the use of civic technology can boost citizen engagement on  democratic governance issues. You can read more here.