On November and December 2021 three EODS key experts joined for a short period around election day the EU Election Observation Missions deployed in Kosovo, Honduras and in The Gambia, as part of their responsibilities in developing election observation methodology. The purpose was to observe on the ground the implementation of new guidelines and methodologies and gather information on possible challenges faced by the analysts. In Honduras, the EODS Training Coordinator, Jordi Barrat, worked closely with the EU EOM Election Technologies Expert to analyse and collect information about the observation of the use of technologies on voting and transmission of results processes. During her stay in Kosovo, the EODS Social Media Coordinator, Francesca Boggeri, has used the opportunity to work closely with the mission's Social Media Analyst, Media Analyst and Data Analyst aiming at evaluating on the ground the recently developed EU EOM guidelines for observing online election-related content to assess the impact of social media on elections. The EODS Team Leader, Holly Ruthrauff, joined the EU EOM deployed to The Gambia, and during her field visit she reinforced the mission providing support on methodological aspects and collecting lessons learned for future missions. The third phase of the EODS (Election Observation and Democracy Support) project was launched in February 2021 and it has five main areas of support for three years, including two new components aimed at building the capacity of EU election missions to monitor and assess the impact of social media on elections and coordinating the communication strategy for EU election missions. Project components also include strengthening the overall EU election observation methodology, training election observation specialists and developing tools to support the operational aspects of EU election observation.
PHOTO CAPTION:
In the photos, EODS Team Leader, Holly Ruthrauff, and Social Media Coordinator, Francesca Boggeri, during meetings in The Gambia and Kosovo, respectively.
