Web statistics 1 Sub header text. Welcome There are more than 25 federal countries in the world today, which together represent 40 per cent of the world's.

1Web statisticsWeb statistics

Sub header text

WelcomeThere are more than 25 federal countries in the world today, which together represent 40 per cent of the world's population. They include some of the largest and most complex democracies - India, the US, Brazil, Germany and Mexico.

The Forum of Federations is the global network on federalism

Forum of Federations

Staff of 30 based in Ottawa, Canada

Abuja, Nigeria

Khartoum, Sudan

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Katmandu, Nepal

Field offices:

The Forum of Federations, an international network

of existing and emerging federations, seeks to

strengthen democratic governance by promoting

dialogue and understanding of the values, practices,

principles, and possibilities of federalism.

Mission Statement

Origins

• Mont-Tremblant Conference (Canada) October, 1999 Attended by over 500 participants

including elected officials, civil servants, academics and private-sector representatives from more than 25 countries

Forum of FederationsFounded Because:

● There is a growing appetite for knowledge-sharing

among more than 25 federal states● Its activities generate insights into federal-related

issues, domestic and international level● It addresses topical themes of immediate policy

relevance● It engages in nation building efforts in emerging

federations, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Iraq

What We DoPolicy and Governance Partnerships

• Tackle governance issues in partner, non-partner and development assistance countries

• Assist in constitution - and peace-building efforts

• Provide subject-matter expertise for local capacity building

Goal: Provide sound, comparative, policy options and recommendations on federal governance and constitution building

• Hold triennial international conferences

• Design and deliver programs for partner, development-assistance

countries and non-partner countries

• Deliver Global Dialogue programs, by theme

• Publish publications and public information and education materials

• Provide policy and governance partnership programs

• Engage in political dialogue processes in post-conflict countries

• Provide online multi-lingual library for effective learning

• Manage ‘Young Professionals’ programs

What We Do

Key activities that support our mission

Core Functions:

• Serve as a Centre of Excellence on Federalism

• Provide Governance related programs with local and international partners

• Engage in Global Dialogues on core functions and policy themes of federalism with stakeholders

What We Do

International expertise & materials

• The Forum draws upon a global network of renowned experts in federalism to facilitate workshops and other learning events

• Provides a wealth of federalism-related learning materials in print and online

Learning network on federalism

From its website www.forumfed.org

Learning network on federalism

From its books

Learning network on federalism

From its magazines

Learning network on federalism

From its electronic newsletter

Learning network on federalism

From its multilingual literature

Learning network on federalism

From its multimedia

Learning network on federalism

From its international conferences• 1st International Conference on

Federalism in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, October 1999

• 2nd International Conference on Federalism in St. Gallen, Switzerland, August 2002

• 3rd International Conference on Federalism in Brussels, Belgium, March 2005

• 4th International Conference on Federalism in India, November 2007

• 5th International Conference to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2010

Learning Activitiesin Partner Federations

Australia Austria Canada

India Mexico

Nigeria

Switzerland

GermanyEthiopia

Learning Activitiesin Partner Federations

• Australia; The Forum has held Global Dialogue sessions on such topics as diversity challenges facing Australia

• Austria; The Forum has worked with the Austrian Departments of Foreign Affairs and Aid, to seek potential partnerships for programs in developing federations

• Canada; This program continues to expand with involvement in several important conferences and study tours

• India; partnering with the Forum to hold India-specific events around the four themes of the International Conference on Federalism

• Mexico; the Forum's activities have addressed inter-municipal cooperation, decentralization, intergovernmental cooperation and public security

Learning Activitiesin Partner Federations

• Switzerland; The Forum has worked with the Swiss government in many ways. 3rd International Conference on Federalism Forum Vice-President Werner Thut is on a 3-year secondment from

Switzerland's Department of Foreign affairs Works in collaboration with the Institute of Federalism in Fribourg.

• Nigeria; Currently working on a fiscal federalism project with the World Bank and intergovernmental relations in the education sector

• Ethiopia; Collaborating with Ethiopian academics to create a new Institute of Federalism at with Addis Ababa University working actively with the House of Federation and the Ministry of Federal Affairs.

• Germany; Forum has been working with Germany since 2000. More recently, the Forum contributed to Germany’s major constitutional re-vamping process

Governance Workin non-partner countries

SpainBrazil South Africa

International roundtable was held in South Africa in 2007

Intergovernmental relations work

Fiscal Forum of Brazilian States and the Council of Secretaries of Finance

Development Assistance Workin non-partner countries

Iraq

Nepal

Forum has developed a three-year program to assist Nepal’s democratic transition towards a federal form of Government.

In Iraq the Forum of Federations has advanced the knowledge of federalism among parliamentarians, government officials and professors of law and political science.

Development Assistance Workin non-partner countries

Sudan

Sri Lanka

Sudanese trained in federalism as component to sustainable peace. Forum launched a course on federalism. The course was presented to participants from NGOs, academia, media and legislatures, as well as local, state and central government.

Raising awareness about the options and possibilities for power-sharing, including federalism, with the aim of facilitating a permanent settlement of conflict• Women politicians exchange ideas on power sharing• Workshop on power sharing options• Sri Lankans study Canadian federal model• Sri Lankans create common language for power sharing• Civil servants learn about power sharing in Aceh

Global Dialogue themes

Current Theme: • Intergovernmental Relations in Federal Countries

A defining feature of federal systems is the constitutional recognition of at least two orders of government, federal and regional. Each order has a direct relationship with the people, and defined powers are ascribed to each order.

Past Themes:

• Constitutional Origins, Structure, and Change in Federal Countries

• Distribution of Powers and Responsibilities in Federal Countries

• Legislative, Executive and Judicial Governance in Federal Countries

• The Practice of Fiscal Federalism: Comparative Perspectives

• Foreign Relations in Federal Countries

• Local Governments and Metropolitan Regions in Federal Countries

• Diversity in Federal Systems

Nepal SectionHistory of Forum Involvement

• Nepali journalists seek answers in an introductory session on federalism

• Nepali journalists and professors get glimpse of constitutions in other federal systems

• The Forum has developed a three-year program to assist in Nepal’s democratic transition towards a federal form of Government

• Introductory courses on federalism, a multilingual glossary of federalism terms and a Nepali version of the Forum’s DVD “The Challenge of Diversity: The Federal Experience.”

Sri Lanka: History of Forum’s Activities (2003-2007)

• Track 1 (advising the peace process): Provided recommendations on the negotiation process, interim self-governing

arrangements and federalism for both parties Interest in models of decentralization Support to civil society (Centre for Policy Alternatives) Involved in discussions on federalism with community leaders and civil society

groups across the Island via public education seminars Internships

• Track 2 activities “Power-sharing Options for Sri Lanka and the Federal Idea” project Keep the dialogue on federalism alive Create an informed public debate on options for conflict resolution in Sri Lanka Did workshops on power sharing options and 1 workshop on developing a

Lexicon of value-neutral federalism terms in Sinhala and Tamil languages

Iraqi academic training project

• CIDA-funded 2-year project (2006-08)*

• Training of parliamentarians, media

• Training of 72 academics in law and political science departments

from all public universities

• Dissemination of Arabic and Kurdish materials

• Develop Iraq association of federal studies,

• Launch website for networking, materials

• Support to Constitutional Review Committee and UNAMI conferences

• NDI partnership (2004-06)* Extension expected

Sudan Program

• Program areas: (2006-08) Government: various ministries Civil society

• Overall approach: Institution building between

4 levels of government Develop strong constituency for promoting

and developing federalism in Sudan, academics. Formed partnerships at National and sub-national level. Range of activities : research, public education, training,

media, etc.

What We DoYoung Professionals

GOAL: Aims at expanding the Forum’s network and engaging a younger generation of experts interested in the practice of federalism.• Reorientation away from youth as the target demographic.

• Focus on young career practitioners and academics

New Projects in Hand:

• Swiss government supported program to launch an internship program in partnership with the Conference of Cantonal Governments in 2009.

• Launch an online journal “FEDERAL GOVERNANCE” aimed at publishing original and review articles written by young academics and practitioners.

• Aim to involve Young Professionals in all our programming.

International Board of Directors

• Prof. Dr. Arnold Koller (Chairman) Switzerland

• H.E. Ambassador Dr. Samuel AssefaAmbassador of Ethiopia to the United States of America, Washington, D.C. USA

• Prof. David Cameron, Canada

• The Right Honourable A. Kim Campbell, Canada

• General John de Chastelain, Canada

• Mr. Walter Fust, Switzerland

• Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, Nigeria

• Prof. Dr. Wolf Linder, Switzerland

• Mr. Peter Müller, Germany

• Prof. Dr. Wolf Okresek, Austria

• Mr. Amitabha Pande, India

• Prof. Johanne Poirier, Canada

• Ms. Violeta Ruiz Almendral, Spain

• Mr. Roger Wilkins, Australia

Partner Institutions

• Comparative Federalism and Federation Research Committee of the International Political Science Association (IPSA)

• International Association of Centers for Federal Studies

• World Bank Institute

• Centro de Implementación de Políticas Públicas para la Equidad y el Crecimiento (CIPPEC)

• Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies (Melbourne)

• Institut für Föderalismus (Austria)

• The Institute for Constitutional Law (Belgium)

• Fundaçao do Desenvolvimiento Administrativo (Brazil)

• Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (Brazil)

• Institute of Intergovernmental Relations (Canada)

• Institute of Social Sciences (India)

Partner Institutions

• Instituto Nacional para el Federalismo y el Desarrollo Municipal (Mexico)

• Institute for Governance and Social Research (Nigeria)

• Foundation for the Development of Parliamentarism in Russia

• Community Law Centre (South Africa)

• Institut d’Estudis Autonòmics (Spain)

• Instituto de Derecho Público Comparado (Spain)

• Fundacíon Giménez Abad de Estudios Parlamentarios y del Estado Autónomico (Spain)

• Centre for Policy Alternatives (Sri Lanka)

• Institut du fédéralisme (Switzerland)

• Centre for Federal Studies (UK)

• The Council of State Governments (US)

• The Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government (US)

Project Partners

● Provincial and State governments ● United Nations Development Program (UNDP)● National Democratic Institute (NDI)● United States Agency for International Aid (USAID)● National Endowment for Democracy (NED)● Bertelsmann Foundation● North American Forum on Integration (NAFI)● Konrad Adenauer Foundation● Friedrich Naumann Foundation● The World Bank Institute● The Organization for Economic Development and Co-operation ● Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ)● Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES)● Getulio Vargas Foundation (Brazil)● Caixa Economica (Brazil)● Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

Thank you!

Please contact us at: [email protected]

Or visit us online at: www.forumfed.org