On October 24, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) will present its third annual Madeleine K. Albright Grant to the 50/50 Group of Sierra Leone. Founded in 2000 to promote greater participation of women in politics, the 50/50 Group has grown from a handful of women meeting in borrowed space in Freetown to a nationally recognized organization actively engaged in building a new post-war Sierra Leone in which women can share equally with men in the political decisions that affect their lives.

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) presentED the seventeenth W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award and the third Madeleine K. Albright Grant at the NDI Democracy Luncheon on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi — the highest-ranking woman in American government — delivered the keynote address and joined us in honoring the achievements of this year’s awardees.

The Madeleine K. Albright Grant focuses an important spotlight on organizations around the world that create greater roles for women in political and civic life.

The W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award is NDI's highest honor, presented annually to an individual or organization that has demonstrated a commitment to democracy and human rights. W. Averell Harriman was a politician who revered public life and respected the democratic arena of debate and competition. With this annual award, NDI pays tribute to Governor Harriman's legacy and his dedication to democracy and internationalism.

From April 16-19, 2007, more than 60 women from across the Middle East and North Africa will gather in Marrakech, Morocco, for the fifth Partners in Participation Women’s Regional Campaign Academy.

NDI will mark the completion of the third year of its Roma Political Participation Program by bringing together Roma activists from throughout Central and Eastern Europe at its Roma Political Leadership Academy.

A distinguished panel will discuss the DRC's accomplishments to date and its remaining challenges, prospects for democratic governance and issues of legislative oversight and decentralization.