The Forum of Federations is an international organization based in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. It develops and shares comparative expertise on the practice of federal and decentralized governance through a global network. The Forum and its partners comprise a global network on

federalism Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments ( provincial, state, cantonal, territorial, or other sub-unit governments) in a single ...

. The Forum brings the world’s leading experts together with the “practitioners” of government: elected officials, civil servants, and political operatives from over 20 countries. The Forum's learning and technical assistance programs have covered the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Burma, Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Italy, Kenya, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, South Sudan, Switzerland, Tunisia and Yemen. The Forum’s direct relationship with governments on each continent makes it uniquely placed to promote intergovernmental learning by working in tandem with its partner governments.

Organization

The Forum of

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

s is an international network of federal

countries A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, so ...

, elected officials,

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

s and

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

s. The Forum was established by the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-i ...

in 1999 and currently has nine other partner governments:

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Forum's headquarters are in Ottawa, Canada, and it has field offices in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

, Nepal;

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

, Ethiopia;

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

, Philippines;

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, Germany and India. The Forum also has offices in the MENA region, including Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan. The Forum runs training and knowledge-sharing programs to address

governance Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, norms, power or language of an organized society over a social system ( family, tribe, formal or informal organization, a territory or across territories). It is done by the g ...

challenges in existing and emerging federations, as well as in devolved and decentralized countries. The Forum is concerned with the contribution that multi-level government can make to democracy building and democratic consolidation. • The Forum assists in democracy promotion in fragile states or regions in post-conflict situation. • It provides innovative solutions to challenges posed by multi-level governance in federal, devolved, and decentralized countries. • It focuses on the key issues of local empowerment and federal structures. • It provides expertise that bridges the worlds of academic research and real-world practice. The Forum runs learning events on federalism, gives technical advice on democratic governance and produces publications for academics and practitioners of federalism. Its activities involve working with government officials as well as academic experts, young professionals, journalists and other civil society organizations. The Forum works globally – in the Americas, in Europe, in Africa and in Asia-Pacific.

Activities

The Forum of Federations has a variety of Programs and activities, including, policy and development programs across the world, publishes books, reports and papers related to federalism and democracy, and hosts educational events and conference on federalism and governance issues.

Programs

The Forum has two branches of programs: Policy and Research and Development Assistance. * Policy Programs are uniquely able to combine theoretical knowledge of the practice of multilevel governance with practical experience. They also provide and develop invaluable comparative international experiences supporting both the development of solutions to multilevel governance challenges, and the overall body of knowledge in the field. Policy Program research acts as a hub for knowledge exchange between researches and governance practitioners globally. The Forum focuses on policies related to Governance and Service Delivery, Environment, Constitutional Issues and Diversity & Inclusion * Development Assistance Programs (DAP) encompass a wide range of activities related to strengthening inclusive societies, gender equality, peace, and responsive and effective governance through supporting federalization, decentralization, and devolution processes in transitioning states. The Forum's programs have taken place or are planned in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, South Sudan,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

and

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...

. These programs focus on building capacity in multilevel governance among stakeholders. **''MENA Program'
Empowering Women for Leadership Roles in the Middle East and North Africa Region
(Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia). The MENA program for women’s leadership, funded by Global Affairs Canada, was initiated in 2016 as a seven-year project. Its goal is to empower women and advance inclusiveness in governance in Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia. To achieve this, the project aims to increase women’s capacity to engage in leadership roles and governance processes as well as enhance women, men, and gender-equality allies’ ability to influence policies around inclusiveness.

Publications

Published series of books and reports on major themes of federalism: *Th
Forum of Federations Handbook of Federal Countries 2020

Public Security in Federal Polities

Gender Equality and Federalism

Sub-National Constitutions in Federal Systems

Federalism and Education:
Ongoing Challenges and Policy Strategies in Ten Countries
Intergovernmental Relations in Federal SystemsGlobal Dialogue on Federalism Series
*Diversity and Unity in Federal Countries, *Local Government and Metropolitan Regions in Federal Systems, *Foreign Relations in Federal Countries, *The Practice of Fiscal Federalism, *Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Governance in Federal Countries, *Distribution of Powers and Responsibilities in Federal Countries, *Constitutional Origins, Structure, and Change in Federal Countries, Audio-Visual and Multi-Media: The forum releases videos and educational content to increase awareness about Federalism and issues regarding federal & devolved governance. Most recently, the Forum has released an all new podcast that examine the principles and practice of federal and multilevel governance systems with a comparative international perspective. * What is Fiscal Federalism? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CH8qlDn0BY * Learning About Federalism Series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MbaKCXqytA
Forum Fedcast
* Forum of Federations 20th Anniversary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvUl_fiijI0

Educational events and Conferences

The Forum organizes approximately 40 events a year, workshops, roundtables, training sessions, where participants learn or refine their knowledge about the practices of federalism, and how to apply their learning in their countries. Events take place in over 20 countries. *Problem-solving: Current or recent projects, as of June 2013, on federalism include courts and judicial systems, water, internal markets, gender and leadership, health care and federalism, joint service delivery, revenue sharing and decentralization, oil and gas, local and metropolitan governance, public security, climate change and environmental governance, benchmarking, immigration, and integration of newcomers. *International Conferences: On average every three years, sponsored by

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

(1999),

(2002),

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

(2005),

(2007) and

(2010). Conferences are attended by heads of state and heads of government (e.g.

Johannes Rau Johannes Rau (; 16 January 193127 January 2006) was a German politician (SPD). He was the president of Germany from 1 July 1999 until 30 June 2004 and the minister president of North Rhine-Westphalia from 20 September 1978 to 9 June 1998. In th ...

, president of Germany, in 2002; Indian Prime Minister Dr.

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...

and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in 2007), as well as ministers, judges, senior officials, young professionals, academics and other specialists.

History

The Forum was established as an ongoing organization in 2000, following the September 1999 First International Conference on Federalism in

Mont-Tremblant Mont-Tremblant () is a city in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec, Canada, approximately northwest of Montreal and northeast of Ottawa, Ontario. The current municipality with city status was formed in 2000. Mont-Tremblant is most famous for i ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

. The event drew then world leaders such as U.S. President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

, Canadian Prime Minister

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan, Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law gradua ...

and Mexican President

Ernesto Zedillo Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León (; born 27 December 1951) is a Mexican economist and politician. He was 61st president of Mexico from 1 December 1994 to 30 November 2000, as the last of the uninterrupted 71-year line of Mexican presidents from t ...

. Four consecutive International Conferences were organized in Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Ethiopia. Following the 2005 Conference held in Brussels, a number of countries joined the Forum as funding partners, establishing it as a membership-based international organization. Over the years, the Forum has expanded the focus of its work to include not only established federal countries but also countries in post-conflict situations adopting federal forms of governance and those involved in processes of devolution and decentralization. As of 2017, ten governments had signed agreements as partners of the Forum and are represented on the Forum’s Strategic Council and Board of Directors, supporting the activities of the organization and providing expertise. Most recently, to commemorate th
20th anniversary
of the organization's founding, the Forum hosted an International Dialogue on the Future of Federalism - a series of webinars convening world-leading experts to examine these critical issues of federal and multilevel governance.

Officials

* Board members (2021): Georg Milbradt (Germany) chair; Salma Siddiqui (Canada) vice chair;

Hans Altherr Hans Altherr (born 29 April 1950, in St. Gallen, Switzerland) is a Swiss politician. He is a member of FDP.The Liberals and served as President of the Council of States in 2011 and 2012. Biography Altherr studied law at the Universities of Gen ...

(Switzerland); Christian Paradis (Canada); Birtukan Ayondadi (Ethiopia); Beatrice Keleher Raffoul (Canada);

Julius Ihonvbere Julius O. Ihonvbere (born 25 June 1956) is a Nigerian professor and Politician born in Oyo in the old Western Region. He attended CMS Primary School in Oyo, St. John's CAC School, Warri, and Edo Boys High School in Ugbowo, Benin City, where ...

(Nigeria); Miguel Griesbach de Pereira Franco (Brazil); Saleem Mandviwalla (Pakistan);

Roger Wilkins Roger Wood Wilkins (January 29, 1932 – March 26, 2017) was an American lawyer, civil rights leader, professor of history, and journalist who served as the 15th United States Assistant Attorney General under President Lyndon B. Johnson from ...

, Australia. * President and chief executive officer: Rupak Chattopadhyay * Fellows of the Forum: David Cameron (Canada), Vijay Kelkar (India);

Arnold Koller Arnold Koller (born 29 August 1933) is a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1986–1999). He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 10 December 1986 as a member of the Christian Democratic People's Party of S ...

(Switzerland); Thomas Pfisterer (Switzerland);

Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of th ...

(Canada); Mian Raza Rabbani (Pakistan); Ana Carolina Lorena (Brazil).

References

External links