Structured by JICA; UNESCO, and the Information Commission, the event aimed to consolidate efforts for creating a conducive environment for free, fair, and democratic elections. Centered on enhancing the relationship between the National Elections Commission (NEC) and Journalists for a credible and timely flow of information, it also sought to reinforce the capacity of the NEC by drawing extensive experiences from the Institute of Japanese Elections System and Administration.

Under the themes: “Enhancing access to Information and Elections reporting” for the first and second days, the seminar expounded more broadly on the purpose; of clarifying the challenges that are hampering the access to essential information needed for a democratic state, to develop a common understanding concerning how to improve the situations and what to be done by each stakeholder, to share experiences of elections reporting and cooperation between NEC and Mass Media in Japan, and to identify, analyze and discuss challenges and possible solutions for the cooperation between NEC and Mass Media in South Sudan.