Chief Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar along with Election Commissioners Shri Anup Chandra Pandey and Shri Arun Goel inaugurated the hostel block at India International Institute of Democracy & Election Management (IIIDEM), Dwarka today. IIIDEM is the training and capacity building arm of the Election Commission of India established in 2011 to train, prepare and equip election officials and other stakeholders for delivery of free, fair, credible and error-free elections. The inauguration event was attended by senior officials from ECI and IIIDEM.
Speaking on the occasion, CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar asked IIIDEM to design training content and training methods for the election officials using the latest AI tools to make it engaging and in the self-learning mode. “The Election processes are so robust that all guidelines, information, and forms have been codified and standardized. They need to be integrated in a way through AI tools for easy reference, search and interactive training”, CEC said. Shri Rajiv Kumar further said that as the world’s largest democracy, IIIDEM needs to expand collaboration for training election officials in other democracies as well.
EC Shri Anup Chandra Pandey emphasized that conducting elections in India with clock-work precision in over 10 lakh polling stations with 1 crore election officials is possible if officials are trained properly. He added that an apex electoral management institute of IIIDEM stature serves the critical need for ensuring free and fair elections. He said that IIIDEM provides a platform for exchange of ideas and experiences and adoption of best practices in the field of election management from other EMBs.
EC Shri Arun Goel while congratulating the IIIDEM officials, said that IIIDEM must become a fulcrum of thought process, debates and discussions around democracy. While acknowledging that the election staff was the best trained staff in the government, Shri Goel emphasized that IIIDEM has to now be in tune with the latest trends to train the staff for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The New Hostel Building
The hostel building inaugurated today has 84 rooms and 9 suites. The building is designed and constructed with eco-friendly features like use of Fly-ash bricks, low VoC paints, dry stone cladding with cavity space for heat insulation, double Glazed Unit glass of low heat transmission with solar reflecting properties, Solar Water Heating, Energy saving electrical and light fittings and Occupancy sensor based lighting in corridors. The hostel block also has a recreation room and gymnasium for the participants.
On the occasion, the Commission also inaugurated a thematic photo exhibition showcasing the recent initiatives and reforms, glimpses of last six state assembly elections, training and capacity development programmes for elections officials and other EMB officials organised by the Commission.
About IIIDEM
Besides training election officials in India, IIIDEM also organizes training programs for Election Management Bodies (EMBs) world over. Till date 2,478 International participants from 117 countries have benefitted through 122 programs conducted by IIIDEM and has thus created a vast global community for exchange of ideas and knowledge. India as the lead for Cohort on Election Integrity, IIIDEM in association with ITEC Division, MEA has conducted four thematic training programs for officials from EMBs worldwide.
IIIDEM in association with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has also commenced the first batch of Master’s Program in ‘International Electoral Management and Practices’ (MIEMP), in online mode. It is a two-year blended Master’s Program, involving Classroom Teaching and Integrated Learning from Field Practices at TISS and IIIDEM. The program aims to enhance the capacity of election officials currently engaged in the organization and management of elections in various parts of the globe in various countries, and to raise the professional standards of election management bodies. The inaugural batch consists of 25 working professionals nominated and sponsored by the Election commission of India including 5 International participants from the Election Management Bodies (EMBs) of Maldives, Bangladesh, Philippines and Bhutan.
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AM/RP