These training sessions and lectures attract crowds! The huge success of the Academy of Democracy can be seen with the unaided eye because the attendance figures are unbelievable! Simple language, an innovative formula, and electoral law taught in an accessible and comprehensible manner mean that there are more and more applicants. During today’s training in Wrocław, 300 people turned up instead of the planned 50! 300! This is the case in every city, which is why, as the members of the Academy assure us, there will be much more training sessions. It is already clear that not 2,500 but 6,000 volunteers have registered to be well-prepared for the upcoming parliamentary elections.
The Academy of Democracy is a new project of the Independent Media Foundation, whose primary task is to raise civic awareness and strengthen democratic standards in Poland.
The training sessions organised by the Academy are being attended by larger and larger crowds! Each meeting is accompanied by enormous interest. This is due to both the subject matter and the experienced lecturers. This is because a team of lawyers specialising in electoral law, highly regarded lecturers and civic activists, members of election commissions, and delegates conduct classes on electoral law and practical training involving solving specific problems which the participants may encounter on election day.
“So far, during training organised in offices, we have been dealing with technicalities. They explained to us how the whole process looks like from the paperwork side, but basically we didn’t take away anything more than this knowledge. Here, at the Academy, it is different. Accessible language, an attractive formula and, most importantly for me personally, well lectured electoral law.”,
says Ms Iwona from Wrocław, where the training was held this Saturday.
“The legal content is discussed in a simple and accessible way, in understandable language, which does not create any additional difficulties. My friends and I are very satisfied with this formula. It is helpful and leaves us with a wealth of knowledge, so necessary today.”,
Mr Janusz adds.
During the lectures and training sessions, which take place in a total of several dozen cities in various regions of Poland, you can also learn about media relations and communicating with the public. The classes are conducted by experienced and nationally known journalists! Thanks to this approach, participants learn about their rights and learn how to combat the dangers of attempts to hamper the integrity of the electoral process.
After the course, each participant receives materials with practical tips on how to keep watch over the electoral process, how to respond to disruptions to the process, and on the law governing data protection (that’s 30,000 bulletins!).
Initially, 50 courses were planned, but due to the ever-growing, huge interest, it is already clear that there WILL BE MORE training sessions. Demand is increasing and real crowds are coming to the lectures.
Here are the figures:
To date, 33 training courses have been held and 2,718 people have already attended!
This is significantly more than initially anticipated. According to the organisers’ plans, the Academy was intended to train around 50 people at a time, but the number of people attending is significantly higher. A simple calculation, therefore, shows that the difference is… approximately 900 people!
In Wrocław alone, where the training took place this Saturday, not 50, but 300 people came to the lectures! In total, instead of the planned 2,500 – 2,600 people, there are already 6,000 registered for training!
On Sunday, training sessions will be held in other cities, so these figures will change every day!