Dr. Tomicah Tillemann, Senior Advisor to Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton for Civil Society and Emerging Democracies, will travel to Brussels, Belgium and Tunis, Tunisia from April 30 to May 4, 2012.

In Brussels, Senior Advisor Tillemann and Ambassador Merle Pajula, Director of Policy Analysis for Estonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will co-host the first Community of Democracies’ working group meeting for the LEND Network (Leaders Engaged in New Democracies), which is co-chaired by the United States and Estonia. In Tunis, Dr. Tillemann will represent the United States at a convening of the Community of Democracies’ Tunisia Task Force and meet with representatives from Tunisia’s government and civil society.

The LEND Network fills a crucial need, providing an on-line global forum for exchanging information and expertise on democratization from more than twenty countries and supporting leaders as they work to build strong, accountable institutions and strengthen the rule of law. For more information about the LEND Network, please visit:http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/03/186982.htm and http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/03/187004.htm.

In July 2011, Secretary Clinton and other leaders participating in the Vilnius Ministerial of the Community of Democracies announced the creation of the Democracy Partnership Challenge to support countries in the midst of promising democratic transitions. Tunisia and Moldova were selected as the first countries to participate in the initiative based on the strength of their applications, commitment to consolidating democratic gains, and potential for future progress. For more information about the Democracy Partnership Challenge and Task Forces for Moldova and Tunisia, please visit: http://www.state.gov/s/sacsed/communitydemocracies/c51358.htm.