IFES IFES is an international nonprofit dedicated to building democratic societies. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., it has field offices in over 20 countries. IFES turned to New Media Communications after developing curricula to train officials in emerging democracies about best practices gathered from more mature democracies. Using Macromedia Flash technology, New Media built two interactive educational CDs for IFES. The first deals with training in detection and enforcement of campaign finance laws; the second covers electoral redistricting to ensure equal representation. Each CD contains training modules, class exercises, reference materials, case studies and a full course manual.

Foundation for Defense of Democracies The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD) is a nonpartisan policy institute dedicated exclusively to promoting pluralism, defending democratic values, and fighting the ideologies that drive terrorism. FDD was founded shortly after 9/11 by a group of visionary philanthropists and policymakers to engage in the worldwide war of ideas and to support the defense of democratic societies under assault by terrorism and Militant Islamism. FDD uniquely combines policy research, democracy and counterterrorism training, strategic communications, and investigative journalism. New Media Communications was tapped to work with FDD in supporting the efforts of bloggers in closed societies in the Middle East.

International Republican Institute The International Republican Institute (IRI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to advancing freedom and democracy worldwide by developing political parties, civic institutions, open elections, good governance and the rule of law. IRI has conducted programs in more than 100 countries and is currently active in 70 countries. New Media Communications played an instrumental role in a groundbreaking IRI youth Internet initiative developed in Slovenia in 2000, credited as the first campaign to implement SMS (short messaging service) text messaging technology into a voter mobilization effort. The site was recognized by the American Association of Political Consultants as the “Best Use of Technology” during the 2000 election season. Other IRI / New Media Communications initiatives include the creation and coordination of a virtual secretariat project to allow for the coordination of efforts among center-right parties of Central and Eastern Europe; youth Internet initiatives in Turkey and Bulgaria; and a USAID-funded online effort to promote the adoption of a peace plan in Macedonia.

Tech4Democracy Technology for Democracy (“Tech4”) is a non-profit, non-partisan initiative to put technology to work for pro-democracy activists in closed societies and emerging democracies around the world. Democracy in the Information Age is truly a global phenomenon, as advances in information technology erode the ability of any government to impose a monopoly of information over its citizens. But as technology empowers pro-democracy activists, so too does it empower those who would halt democracy’s spread. Through assessments, development and deployment of tools, training, and research and analysis, Tech4 empowers pro-democracy activists around the world with the tools they need to circumvent the forces who would silence them and ensure that their voice is heard.

Strategic World Impact Strategic World Impact (SWI) is a faith-based, international, humanitarian organization working exclusively for the benefit of the oppressed. SWI targets only the most unstable of environments, including war zones, international disaster areas, regions with ongoing religious persecution, and areas with human rights violations. SWI Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DART) can be found delivering much-needed humanitarian aid and spreading the Gospel in many of the world’s most war-torn areas including Afghanistan, Albania, Burma, Chechnya, Ethiopia, Iraq, Kosovo, Sudan, and Thailand. SWI turned to New Media to build a tool that allows them to organize, recruit, and train new volunteers in addition to spreading the word about their cause and keeping supporters informed.