In a visit to Yemen, Leslie Campbell - Director of National Democratic Institute in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region since 1996 - met with Yemen Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Dr. Mohammed Assadi to discuss Yemen scheduled National Dialogue Conference and the country move toward democracy.As NDI's senior associate and regional director, Mr. Campbell has overseen a vast expansion of NDI's programs in the Middle East with the establishment of offices and programs that furnish assistance with political, civic and governance reform throughout the Arab world.Minister Assadi emphasized the transition government is eager to promote an atmosphere of trust between Yemen many political factions as to achieve, peace, stability and civic values.An important champion of democracy NDI has conducted for over a decade programs in Yemen aimed at providing members of parliament with core legislative skills, improving the representative nature of Yemen's political parties, increasing women's political participation, strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations and strengthening local councils. The Institute's current programs are geared towards strengthening the institution of Parliament with a focus on building the capacity of parliamentary committees to exercise their oversight authority by drafting, analyzing and effectively amending legislation and actively engaging civil society to support legislative goals. The Institute is working to build relationships between civil society and local governments by developing their ability to implement participatory budgeting and encouraging mutual engagement to prioritize community needs. NDI further supports civil society directly by strengthening their institutional processes and their ability to develop and implement advocacy and public awareness initiatives.Although the government has so far been adamant Yemen National Dialogue Conference will proceed as scheduled - March 18 2013 - no matter the hurdles or the calls for boycott, political activists fear the national will fail its purpose, bringing Yemen the political consensus needed to move past old feuds.