FRIDAY 19TH MARCH 2010

As the people of Solomon Islands are looking forward to elect new members of Parliament to represent them in the next four years, the Women in Shared Decision Making Group (WISDM), in collaboration with the Centre for Democratic Institution Institute (CDI) in Australia, organized a week workshop for the Solomon Islands women intending candidates. The WISDM comprises stake holders such as the National Council of Women, Machinery of Governance (MOG), UNIFEM, NGOs and National Parliament. The workshop was held in the Flamingo Conference Room at Honiara Hotel from 8 to 12 March, 2010. This is an on-going support activity by the WISDM Group in an attempt to improve women representation in Solomon Islands political levels.

The core funders of the training include CDI and UNIFEM. The week long training workshop was facilitated by CDI Associate, Dr. Norm Kelly, assisted by Ms. Linda Reynolds, a former National Campaign Manager for the Liberal Party of Australia; and Hon Dr. Meredith Burgmann, from the Australian Labor Party, a former President of the New South Wales Legislative Council and current Sydney Councillor. To assist contextualize some of the issues discussed during the week, the local facilitators included the Director of the Vois Blo Mere Solomon, Ms. Josephine Teakeni, who highlighted the need for fair and good representation in Solomon Islands Politics. The Education Officers of the National Parliament, Mr. Patteson Lusi and Ms. Ellen Rii with the assistance of the Deputy Clerk, Ms. Florence Naezol facilitated a session on the role of Members of Parliament in the Solomon Islands context. Logistical support for the workshop was partly provided by the Executive Officer for CDI, Mr. Luke Hambly, who was part of the CDI team.

The primary aim of the training workshop was to enhance the knowledge and skills on election preparation and campaigning of potential Solomon Islands women leaders, particularly those who wish to contest the upcoming general election. The topics covered included the three M’s of campaigning, namely, Machinery, Message and Money. The participants learned much about the campaign functions, particularly on building a campaign team, fundraising and structuring a budget, developing a clear message and techniques for delivering a message.

As Ms Linda Reynolds aptly put, “the training is to be facilitated in a participatory approach, which means that the sessions be facilitated in a manner whereby participants are allowed to contribute to discussions through group work, discussions and brainstorming of sessions. By doing so, it allows the participants to contribute and to contextualize the issues discussed. Hence, the workshop is to be carried out in two folds, in the morning will have theory sessions and in the afternoon the participants engage in small workshops where they collectively put down thoughts together on how to construct campaigning plan and possible methods of carrying out campaign strategy”.

The workshop was well attended, including 26 participants – 13 women intending to contest in the elections and 13 campaign managers; and one current female Provincial Member of the Makira Ulawa Provincial Assembly, Hon. Nester Marahora. Participants included women intending to contest in all provinces of Solomon Islands except for Choiseul and Temotu Provinces, although the National Council of Women indicated that other women have indicated interest to contest but are yet to confirm their intention.

A notable subject, besides the topic of campaigning, which was also addressed was the election process of Solomon Islands. On the first and final day of the workshop, a team from the Electoral Commission’s Office, led by Mr. Polycap Haununu, presented on that subject and provided further clarity on issues surrounding that process. The participants were greatly enlightened by these presentations on the significance of the process and were guided on how to identify areas in which they could be involved in this process.
Another related subject was that presented by the team from the National Parliament Office on the qualities expected of a Member of Parliament based on existing laws and rules and the experience of Parliament over the past 30 years. The ensuing discussion highlighted many areas of interests to the public in respect of parliamentarians including the structure of Parliament and government, and funding that are currently channelled through parliamentarians. While the National Parliament Office officers took part as facilitators, their focus remained on the expected ethical and procedural aspects of being a parliamentarian. These officers, however, kept a wide berth of any political discussion, and did not seek to encourage or discourage intending (women) candidates.

At the end of the workshop, both facilitators and participants felt strongly that it had been a very successful initiative. A message which resonated amongst participants y the end of the workshop was that there are many challenges which continue to constrain women representation, particularly when taking into account male domination, a common feature in Solomon Islands societies. This was recognized as a key constraint to women representation in politics so it was acknowledged that addressing this concern demands solidarity and cooperation amongst women leaders and aspiring politicians. The workshop was applauded by the participants for the high level strategic planning it imparted, and was welcomed and concluded by participants with much enthusiasm.