Fifth Assembly
Message

A highly diverse group of activists, practitioners, scholars, donors, and others engaged in democracy promotion from more than 100 countries in all global regions met at the Fifth Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 6-9 April, 2008. Despite their different backgrounds and cultures, they came together with shared democratic values to build relationships of mutual support for strengthening democratic movements, defending democracy and human rights activists, and consolidating democratic institutions.

The Steering Committee was very pleased to hold the Fifth Assembly in Ukraine, which has made important strides in building democracy for its citizens, but still faces many serious problems. We wish to express our deep appreciation to our local partner organization in Kyiv - the Europe XXI Foundation - as well as to the many institutions listed at the end of this report that provided generous funding to make this Assembly possible. We also offer a special word of thanks to our Steering Committee colleague from Ukraine, Inna Pidluska, who offered profound leadership and guidance in the organization of the Fifth Assembly.

We greatly appreciate the insightful addresses by Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko and First Lady Kateryna Yushchenko, welcoming the Assembly participants and helping us to understand Ukraine’s progress in building democracy and the challenges it still confronts. We are also grateful for three inspiring keynote addresses delivered by the Honorable Alejandro Toledo, former President of Peru; Maina Kiai, former chairperson of Kenya’s National Commission on Human Rights; and Myroslava Gongadze, founder of the Gongadze Foundation in Ukraine.

At each assembly, we recognize the exceptional courage of democracy and human rights groups and movements. We would like to take this opportunity to salute, once again, this Assembly’s Courage Tributes recipients: the Legal Community of Pakistan, the Independent Journalists of Somalia, and the Monks of Burma.

Under the theme of “Making Democracy Work: From Principles to Performance,” the Assembly sought to capture many issues arising from the need to deliver on the promises of democratic transitions. Whether it is the need to strengthen institutions, fight corruption, or reduce poverty and social inequality, democracy must be made sustainable through performance. In plenary sessions, panel discussions, and over 40 roundtable workshops, the Assembly participants discussed how to build on the progress that has been made to bring about lasting democratic change. By introducing the World Movement’s recently published Defending Civil Society report and featuring panel discussions and workshops to discuss it in depth, the Assembly also focused on developing effective responses to the increasingly restrictive environments in which democracy and human rights organizations carry out their work.

In addition, the Fifth Assembly helped solidify the achievements that the World Movement has made since its Inaugural Assembly in New Delhi, India, in 1999. As a result of the previous assemblies, World Movement participants have established various networks to increase exchanges of information and experience in specific regions or particular areas of democracy work. These networks include the African Democracy Forum, the Latin America and Caribbean Network for Democracy, the World Forum for Democratization in Asia, the International Women’s Democracy Network, the Global Network on Local Governance, the Network of Democracy Research Institutes, and the World Youth Movement for Democracy. At the Fifth Assembly, these networks discussed their progress, developed ideas for future activities, and welcomed new members.

Finally, as a result of recommendations provided at this Assembly, the World Movement is launching a “State of Democracy Assistance” project to assess what has been accomplished in the field of democracy assistance over the past two decades and how that work can be made more effective.

We believe that this Assembly Report, consisting of reports from all the plenary sessions, panel discussions, and workshops, reflects the dynamic nature of the discussions that took place. We strongly encourage you to review the report, and we hope you will find the recommendations it contains useful for your work.

As the Tenth Anniversary of the World Movement nears, we celebrate the contributions the World Movement has made and re-affirm our commitment to advance democratic values and to address both old and new challenges to democracy promotion in every corner of the world.

Steering Committee
World Movement for Democracy

NOTE: With the Fifth Assembly, Ayo Obe fulfilled her term as a member (Nigeria) and chair of the Steering Committee. The World Movement takes this opportunity to express its deep appreciation for her service and that of the other members whose terms also expired with this Assembly (see Steering Committee list inside front cover).

Steering Committee Members

Mariclaire Acosta - Mexico

Mahnaz Afkhami - Iran

Genaro Arriagada - Chile*

Igor Blaževic - Bosnia

Francesca Bomboko - Democratic Republic of Congo

Kim Campbell - Canada (Chair)

Kavi Chongkittavorn- Thailand

Alicja Derkowska - Poland

Ivan Doherty - Ireland

Han Dongfang - China (Vice Chair)

Yuri Dzhibladze- Russia

João Carlos Espada - Portugal*

Abdou Filaly-Ansari - Morocco*

Hannah Forster - Gambia

David French - United Kingdom

Carl Gershman - United States (ex-officio)

Paul Graham- South Africa

Jana Hybásková - Czech Republic

Melinda Quintos de Jesus - Philippines

Asma Khader - Jordan

Maina Kiai - Kenya

Ivan Krastev - Bulgaria*

Reginald Matchabe-Hove - Zimbabwe

George Mathew - India

Roel von Meijenfeldt - Netherlands

Ayo Obe - Nigeria*

Can Paker - Turkey (Treasurer)

Inna Pidluska - Ukraine

Jacqueline Pitanguy - Brazil

Carlos Ponce - Venezuela

Elisabeth Ungar - Colombia (Secretary)

Yevgeniy Zhovtis- Kazakhstan

* Term expired with the Fifth Assembly.

Secretariat: National Endowment for Democracy

Art Kaufman Director