Across the world, the unfolding Coronavirus pandemic affects all our lives.  As we grapple with the potential long-term effects of COVID-19 on political, social and economic structures worldwide, we are also all facing new restrictions on the ways we work.

Determined to continue to uphold democracy at this crucial time, the NIMD network is embarking on new ways of working. Across our network, our country offices and partners are working with new tools and instruments to hold virtual meetings, give online or remote training, and bring political actors together digitally.

In Tunisia, we are preparing to roll out a new digital training programmes, alongside our partner the Centre des Etudes Méditerranéennes et Internationales (CEMI).

As a first step, CEMI held a two-day training session for its new Parliamentary Assistant Academy.

The class was made up of 12 parliamentary assistants, who are alumni of CEMI’s Tunisian School of Politics (TSoP), supported by NIMD and Demo Finland.

Through the online pilot, held on 1-2 April, CEMI brought together this group for the first time. The session aimed to:

• Deepen knowledge among parliamentary assistants of internal rules governing the Tunisian Parliament.
• Deepen their knowledge of the nature and enforceability of internal regulations.

To ensure continuity and further learning, the online training sessions will continue twice per week. Based on the outcomes of this pilot, CEMI will expand its digital learning approach to a larger group. About 40 students from the full TSoP political party class are set to take part in future online sessions. Through the digital platform, CEMI will provide feedback on assignments from previous classes, and ensure the students still have the chance to interact, and learn from one another, despite the current lockdown.