In the lead-up to the Summit for Democracy, organized by the Biden administration on December 9-10, 2021, the Forum 2000 Foundation, together with 13 global pro-democracy organizations and institutions presents the ‘Five Messages for the Summit for Democracy’. We believe these issues are of crucial importance for advancing democracy worldwide.
The 2021 Summit for Democracy is a unique opportunity to remind us that democracy is “government of the people, by the people, for the people”.
The Five Messages are as follows:
- Show solidarity with the world’s democrats. Democracies must deploy resources more effectively to assist the citizens of autocracies and weak democracies.
- Renew international settings. Democracies must reform international institutions so that they reflect and promote democratic values.
- Scale-up support to independent, ethical media and the overall information ecosystem to ensure access to accurate information while addressing mis-/disinformation. Democracies must promote independent, verified, and fact-checked information.
- Strengthen and support existing structures and encourage the creation of new structures and systems to enable greater transparency, accountability, and co-ordination among governments, technology companies, and civil society. Democracies must address the business models of internet platforms and algorithms that actively push harmful, violent content.
- Put our own house in order. Democracies must restore their credibility.
To date, 14 transatlantic democracy organizations have signed up to support these Five Messages, including: European Endowment for Democracy; International IDEA; National Endowment for Democracy; National Democratic Institute; The Carter Center; International Republican Institute; Parliamentary Centre; International Foundation for Electoral Systems; The Oslo Center; European Partnership for Democracy; Westminster Foundation for Democracy; Demo Finland; Forum 2000; Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy.
