The Inter-American Electoral Training Seminars are an initiative of the OAS’ Department for Electoral Cooperation and Observation that seeks to improve the installed capacity of the

hemisphere’s electoral authorities. The first session was held in Mexico City, Mexico, from November 17 – 21, 2008, with the participation of 40 electoral authorities from the Americas and the Caribbean. The primary goal of the project is to improve the organization and administration of electoral processes and systems in Latin America and the Caribbean through human development via the professionalization

of electoral authority staff, the institutionalization of processes and good practices, and the improvement of technical electoral infrastructure.

During its first year, the initiative’s components included training, inter-institutional cooperation, and the application of shared knowledge. These efforts were focused on three themes identified as key by the electoral authorities themselves:

• the improvement of voter registration lists,
• political party and electoral campaign financing; and
• strengthening electoral participation through the design of civic education programa and poll worker training.

	In order to begin the facilitation of a continuous improvement process, the academic and technical training by professors and experts in these three areas was offered in Mexico in 2008. In addition, the Training Seminars are designed to strengthen inter-institutional cooperation by establishing an online information exchange mechanism (RIPE), and by

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