SWI has been involved in:

Encounters on Development

One Health Research

Public Opinion and Market Research

Political databases:
  • Database Elections 1949-1977
  • Database Elections 1987 -2015
  • Election dashboard of Suriname 2020 (in collaboration with Consulytic)

SWI INTRODUCES EXIT POLL AT ELECTIONS IN SURINAME

SWI held the first exit poll in Suriname on May 25, 2005, in the Paramaribo constituency. 2062 voters were polled on their voting behavior immediately after casting their ballots. The Exit Poll gave a fairly accurate prediction of the election results in Paramaribo. The table below shows the distribution of votes among the ten political organizations that participated in the elections.

Publishing

SWI produced over 60 publications: monographs, brochures, research reports and editions of the journal SWI Forum.
The cumulative index SWI Forum contains an overview of all articles published from 1984-2000 

Awareness building

As a non-profit foundation SWI supports development and awareness building of social movements in Suriname and the South American region by making development-oriented information accessible through publications and other means. Since its inception in 1977, various actions have been taken and publications were produced for the recognition of collective rights of Indigenous and Tribal people.

Multimedia and Databases

Multimedia

SWI designed multimedia products such as: Memorials of Suriname;  Memorials Calender; Memorials Quiz. At the 2003 Carifesta held  in Suriname SWI produced and presented the  multimedia production Suriname a Diversity within the Caribbean Diversity.

Social Science Research Training

SWI produces development-oriented knowledge and makes it accessible to policy and society through training, public events and publications. The main themes are: History; Culture; Memorials; State and nation; survey research; opinion polls, exit polls and electoral databases; and political economy. A number of special regional research projects have been completed. Illustrative is ‘History, Ideologies & Nation building in Suriname and Guyana’ , a comparative study of Nation building and nation creation in these two societies from the 20th century onward.  In collaboration with VanderBilt University in the USA a study  on democracy in Suriname was executed as part of ‘Latin American Public Opinion Project’ (Lapop), a  regional political survey of countries in the Americas.

Amazon Forest Encounter

The Amazone Forest Encounter  was held annually (2004-2015) on the Nature Reserve Brownsberg in Suriname. The event with  participation of more than 160 people from 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean has been  transformed into a  comprehensive movement with innovative ideas on the region’s  development potential. The  Amazone Forest Encounters  also contributed to the birth of the publication Quest to Rescue Our Future  (2016) by Glenn Sankatsing that  feeds the discussion for a 21st path of sustainable humanity, and the founding of  the Rescue our Future Foundation.

One Health Research

The Foundation for Research and Development has been involved in One Health leprosy research, and supports the environmental advocacy work. In this regard it is also  organizing expeditions to leprosy colonies to study the relationship between people, animals and the ecology from a One Health perspective.

Photos: Expedition Leprosy Colony Groot Chatillon district Para, Suriname.

Opinion and Exit Polls

SWI introduced political opinion polls in 1991 and exit polls in 2005 in Suriname. The databases of previously held elections in Suriname were used for the Election Dashboard 2020 (Verkiezingen Dashboard 2020) that was developed in partnership with Consulytic.

Photo: Exit POLL Paramaribo 2005 | Vincent Kenswil, Jack Menke, Jasper Kunst en Wonnie Boedhoe tijdens overleg SWI Exit Poll, Prins Hendrikstraat 38 Paramaribo, Suriname (mei 2005)

Photo: Exit POLL Paramaribo 2005 | Jack Menke tijdens presentatie/ instructie SWI Exit Poll in Ons Erf, Paramaribo, Suriname (mei 2005)

Photo: Exit POLL Paramaribo 2005 | Jasper Kunst, Vincent Kenswil en Monique Pool tijdens presentatie/ instructie SWI Exit Poll in Ons Erf, Paramaribo, Suriname (mei 2005)

Photo: Exit POLL Paramaribo 2005 | Lilian Boedhoe aan de telefoon tijdens het werven van medewerkers SWI Exit Poll, Prins Hendrikstraat 38, Suriname (mei 2005)

Photo: Exit POLL Paramaribo 2005 | Wonnie Boedhoe en medewerkers tijdens het doornemen van enqueteformulieren SWI Exit Poll, Prins Hendrikstraat 38, Suriname (25 mei 2005)

Photo: Exit POLL Paramaribo 2005 | Eartha Groenfelt tijdens dataverwerking SWI Exit Poll, Prins Hendrikstraat 38, Suriname (25 mei 2005)

Photo: Exit POLL Paramaribo 2005 | SWI Exit Poll 2005 medewerkers bij een stembureau, Paramaribo, Suriname (25 mei 2005)

Photo: Exit POLL Paramaribo 2005 | SWI Exit Poll 2005 medewerker legt uit aan kiezer, Paramaribo, Suriname (25 mei 2005)

Photo: Exit POLL Paramaribo 2005 | Vlaggen politieke partijen bij een schutting, Paramaribo, Suriname (25 mei 2005)