Embassy Events

Obama Campaign Manager Shares Grassroots Organization Techniques with Slovaks in "Webinar"

The Embassy along with the National Democratic Institute on June 16 hosted an interactive “webinar” at the Ambassador's Residence, with former Barack Obama campaign manager David Plouffe and former legal counsel for Obama for America, Bob Bauer. Embassy Political Officer Katharine Beamer introduced the webinar, “Building Effective Grassroots Organizations,” which included participants in more than 30 countries and discussed techniques employed by the successful Obama campaign to gather voters. The campaign effectively used technology to support scores of volunteers who called, wrote, and visited potential supporters, many of whom had never voted before. Following the seminar, Chargé d’Affaires Keith Eddins responded to questions and comments from the audience regarding the possibility of a similar grassroots campaign in Slovakia. The sponsor of the event, NDI, operates in 79 countries and works to promote openness in government, political and civic organization, and citizen participation in democracy.