ZIMBABWE ELECTION SUPPORT NETWORK ANNUAL REPORT 2010 Seminar on Social Media In November Public Outreach and the Media and Information programmes of ZESN hosted a one-day Global Social Media and Democracy Seminar at the Bronte Hotel in Harare. Participants were drawn from UK, South Africa and Sweden. The seminar was transmitted via live Skype video conferencing to the other three countries enabling the live exchange of information among the participants in all four countries. Summary of activities by Region Masvingo, Manicaland and Midlands There were twenty (22) community workshops conducted in the provinces. The workshops targeted the general public, churches, community leadership from different political backgrounds, marginalized communities, youth, and women. A total of 1208 people were reached through workshops 367 females and 841 Male). Masvingo region attendance by gender Females 30% Harare and Mashonaland Region A total of 49 community workshops were conducted in Mash West, Central, East and Harare. Participants per workshop ranged from 38 to104. 1827 people were reached through workshops 799 being female and 1028 male. In addition, 11 public meetings were held in one Mash West, one Mash Central, one in Mash East and eight in Harare. Attendance ranged between 50 and 80. More than 15 000 flyers were distributed during the Community Workshops and up to 4000 distributed during the Public meetings. The flyers were translated into Shona language. The messaging on flyers between January-August encouraged participation by offering information on Possible Systems of governance, Possible Electoral Systems and Election Management Bodies were distributed during the workshops to participants. In the last quarter, the flyers incorporated Special Voting procedures. Matabeleland Region Thirty-five (35) workshops were conducted in the region. Total number of participants reached 1999, more specifically 973 males and 1026 females. The workshops targeted community leadership from different political backgrounds, youth, war veterans in resettlements, and women leaders. Bulawayo and Matebeleland region workshop attendance by gender Males 70% Six (6) public meetings were held reaching 1486 people (961 males and 525 females) Successes The department managed to surpass the planned 100 workshops and conducted 106 workshops and 20 communitybased public meetings throughout the year with the organization getting acceptance from traditional leaders. Owing to the general peaceful environment ZESN managed to penetrate areas that were frequented by civic organizations where relevant materials were distributed. The constitution making process presented an opportunity for in-depth civic education on the matter and the deliberations were well received by traditional leaders and local political party leaders especially councilors and Members of parliament. The police were quick to issue clearances in support of the programme ahead of the call for elections. Their attendance in large numbers also indicated their willingness to learn and contribute during the workshops. Challenges Females 51% There were a number of challenges including the continued existence of repressive Laws such as the POSA which hindered the organization of workshops and public meetings. Entrenched positions based on political lines are still visible in some areas and this made it difficult for other participants to contribute freely. The polarized nature of the environment led to accusations from political parties regarding the non-partisan Males 49% 11 PROMOTING DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS IN ZIMBABWE