Democracy Bus Campaign Inaugurated

Honorable Deputy Speaker of Interim Legislative Parliament of Nepal Ms. Chitralikha Yadav inaugurated Democracy Bus Campaign on Sunday, May 25th in a special ceremony at Ratna Park, the heart of the capital city Kathmandu. MS Nepal's partner 'Alliance for Peace (AFP),' a local NGO organized the programme.

The Democracy Bus

By Toya Gautam – Information officer MS Nepal

27. May 2008

Speaking at the programme, Hon. Yadav appreciated this campaign and expressed her views that 'it is an important and timely activity to strengthen and promote democracy in Nepal.' Hon. Yadav also highlighted the fact that youth needed to take responsibility to form 'new Nepal' and to institutionalize democracy. She expressed her views in the programme 'democracy is the way of going ahead without any body left.'

During the programme, Country Director of MS Nepal, Sten Andreasen welcomed all in the programme and highlighted the MS Nepal's theme for the campaign that 'just to get the opportunity to participate in periodic election is not the democracy but it should be the way of life'. Mr. Andreasen wishes the success of all aspects and activities of the campaign.

Mr. Prakash Bhattarai, Civic Education and Local Democracy Project Coordinator of MS Nepal explained the important elements of the project.

The programme was chaired by Dipendra Tamang, Director of AFP.

The audience was well entertained by the play

In the programme Chief Guest Hon. Yadav inaugurated the democracy bus by cutting the red ribbon and traveling few seconds in the decorated bus. After the inauguration another partner of MS Nepal Arohan Group performed Forum theater on the theme 'the education rights of child working in the house hold'. At the end of the theater audience also participated on it and provided their suggestions to the Hon. Yadav to make appropriate laws to implement the education rights of the house hold child labour.

This is the first phase of the programme and in this phase the bus will travel to Palpa and Banke districts and then it will goes to Kapilvastu and Doti districts. The democracy bus campaign will be carried out for 30 days in the first phase. In each of the districts the campaign will organize dialogue with local participants and stakeholders, performed forum theater, art, musical programme and an interactive learning game, organize informal civic educational classes and documentary shows, distribute IEC materials and document the campaign activities and suggestions of local people to strengthen democracy in the country.