First Assembly
Agenda

Sunday, February 14

The Movement for Democracy on the Eve of a New Millennium

Chairman of Inaugural Event: I.K. Gujral, former Prime Minister of India

Call to order - Gautam Adhikari, NED Conference Director and former editor of the Times of India

Welcome:

V.A. Pai Panandiker, (CPR)

John Brademas
Chairman NED and President Emeritus, New York University

Rajesh V. Shah
President, CII

Video Message from S.A.B. Vajpayee
Prime Minister of India

Greetings from Heads of State/Government

Presenter:

Carl Gershman
President, NED

Video Message from William Clinton
President, United States of America

Remarks by:

U.S. Congressman Gary Ackerman (D-NY)
Chairman of Congressional Caucus on India

I.K. Gujral
former Prime Minister of India

Dinner hosted by Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.

Distinguished guests:

Congressman Jim McDermott
Congressman Gary Ackerman
Congressman David Price
Congressman Lloyd Doggett

Monday, February 15

Keynote Address:

Amartya Sen
Master of Trinity College, Cambridge (UK)

Democracy as a Universal Value
Nobel laureate, Amartya Sen (Economics, 1998) delivered the conference keynote address, "Democracy as a Universal Value." Currently the Master of Trinity College at Cambridge in the United Kingdom, Sen is a former Lamont University Professor of Harvard University. He has received numerous awards including the Indira Gandhi Gold Medal Award of the Asiatic Society in 1994 and the Mahalanobis Prize in 1976.

Panel 1:

Democracy and Development: The Political Foundations of a Market Economy

Address:

Manmohan Singh
Member of Parliament and former Finance Minister (India)

Commentators:

Frank G. Wisner
Vice Chairman External Affairs, American International Group, and former Ambassador to India (USA)

Czeslaw Bielecki
Member of Parliament & Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee (Poland)

Ernesto Herrera
Congressman, General Secretary, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines

Chair/Moderator:

Jamshyd N. Godrej
Managing Director, Godrej & Boyce (India)

Lunch:

Remarks by Mary Robinson
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and former President of Ireland

Concurrent Workshops:

Strengthening Functional Networks and Relating Them to the Alliance

The time between lunch and dinner on both full days of the conference (Monday and Tuesday, February 15 and 16) was reserved for workshops. In addition to the functional workshops described below, the second time slot on each day (from 5:00-7:00 p.m.) was used for regional workshops, other meetings, or the continuation of the functional workshops. The anti-corruption workshop was scheduled for the second time slot on Tuesday to enable some participants to attend a third functional workshop.

While the workshops followed different formats, they all shared a twofold purpose: To develop strategies for strengthening and broadening existing networks; and to consider how these networks can relate to each other and the new world alliance. How the alliance will be able to assist the work of all participants, and the kinds of initiatives that will flow from the assembly, was determined by these discussions. The concluding morning (Wednesday, February 17) was devoted to workshop reports and a discussion of the shape and future of the alliance.

• Democracy and NGOs: Advocacy and Coalition Building - Civil-society NGOs discussed how they can more effectively achieve their purposes through better advocacy techniques and alliance building. The workshop was managed by the NED.
• Political Parties and Democracy: Reform and Renewal - Party representatives considered how to expand the network of existing or emerging party leaders committed to political party reform and renewal, and how to strengthen international party cooperation based on support for democrats in specific transition opportunities. The workshop was managed jointly by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and the International Republican Institute.
• Policy Research Institutes and Democracy - Leaders of democracy think tanks considered ways to strengthen collaboration among such research centers and how they can become more effective instruments of policy reform, intellectual exchange, and democratic consolidation. The workshop was managed jointly by NED's International Forum for Democratic Studies and the Delhi-based Center for the Study of Developing Societies.
• Trade Unions and Democracy in a Changing Global Economy - The workshop considered how unions can build their capacity to give workers a stronger voice in a rapidly changing global economy, and how they can benefit from closer links to other democratic elements around the world. The workshop was managed by the American Center for International Labor Solidarity.

Dinner:

Remarks by Richard Celeste
U.S. Ambassador to India and M.S. Gill, Chief Election Commissioner (India)

Tuesday, February 16

Panel 2:

Democracy and Diversity: Managing Pluralism

Sonja Biserko
Chair, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia

Ivan Krastev
Chairman, Center for Liberal Strategies (Bulgaria)

Olisa Agbakoba
Chairman, United Action for Democracy (Nigeria)

Ashis Nandy
Professor, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (India)

Emilio Lamo de Espinosa
Director, Instituto Universitario Ortega Y Gasset (Spain)

Chair/Moderator:

Iris Almeida
Director of Programs, International Centre for Human Rights & Democratic Development (Canada)

Panel 3:

Challenges of Democratic Governance: Accountability, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law

Sergio Aguayo
President, Alianza Civica (Mexico)

Annette Lu
Co-chair, Foreign Affairs Committee (Taiwan)

Margaret Dongo
MP, Foundation for Democracy (Zimbabwe)

Peter Eigen
Chairman, Transparency International

Asma Jehangir
Chairperson, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

Chair/Moderator:

Ayo Obe
President, Civil Liberties Organisation (Nigeria)

Concurrent Workshops:

Strengthening Functional Networks and Relating them to the Alliance

• Civic Education for Democracy - The workshop addressed how NGOs can promote democratic civic education both within the formal system of schooling and as the result of the learning that occurs when citizens act to solve the problems of society. The workshop was managed by CIVITAS, the International Civic Education Organization based in Strasbourg, France.
• New Communications Technologies as Tools for Democracy Building - The workshop addressed how the Internet and other revolutionary new means of communication can be more effectively used both to strengthen democratic groups (especially in environments of conflict and repression) and to link them to each other and to the emerging international movement for democracy. The workshop was be managed by the NED's program staff and the Democracy Resource Center.
• Democracy Assistance Foundations: Expanding the Network - Workshop participants considered how to broaden the network of democracy support foundations in the world's established and emerging democracies. In addition to hearing from existing foundations, the workshop focused on current efforts or prospects to create new institutions to foster democracy internationally. The workshop was jointly managed by the NED and the Taiwan-based Institute for National Policy Research.
• Democracy and Market Institutions - The workshop focused on the role that corporate governance plays in developing a global democratic movement: specifically on the need to establish standards of financial accountability and transparency within firms; the passage of laws and regulations guaranteeing shareholder rights; and the commitment to honest and fair dealing with all elements of the community (employees, suppliers, customers, and neighbors). The workshop was managed jointly by the Center for International Private Enterprise and the Confederation of Indian Industry.
• Transparency and Accountability: Fighting Corruption - Workshop participants considered strategies for fighting corruption and for strengthening the network of organizations around the world committed to fostering transparency and greater accountability by governments, financial institutions, and companies. The workshop was managed by the Berlin-based Transparency International.

Dinner:

Remarks by:

Dr. Zbigniew Romaszewski
Member of the Polish Senate

Genaro Arriagada
Chilean Ambassador to the United States

Raul S. Manglapus
former Secretary of Foreign Affairs (Philippines)

Wednesday, February 17

Building the Movement

• Reports from Workshops
• Consideration of a Conference Declaration
• Discussion of Next Steps

Lunch

Closing Remarks by Jaswant Singh
External Affairs Minister (India)