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Building the World Movement for DemocracyInaugural World AssemblyFebruary 14-17, 1999 New Delhi, India Democracy Assistance Foundations: Expanding the Network Workshop Leaders: Carl Gershman, Yun-Han Chu, David Lowe Condensed from report by David Lowe Carl Gershman noted that the end of the Cold War and the spread of democracy to many new countries offer more opportunities for the establishment of democracy foundations. These foundations are one of the principal ways in which both established and new democracies can become part of the world democratic movement. There are numerous models of what a democracy foundation can look like, e.g. having a global or regional focus, a grant-making or operational orientation, or a primarily public or private funding source. Cooperation among these foundations is achieved through the current biennial meetings of their representatives and at the working level through the sharing of information on an ongoing basis by program officers. Yun-Han Chu of the Institute for National Policy Research in Taiwan (INPR) remarked that the Taiwanese government has already set in motion a process to create a democracy foundation. It would be important for other young democracies to become engaged in this work as well and to share their experiences with countries in transition to democracy. Michael Pinto-Duchinsky noted how vital it was for the Westminster Foundation to have the experience of others in the field prior to its establishment, so that it could have an agenda right from the start and so it could avoid early mistakes. NED helped provide much of this "mentoring" role. Madeleine Sjostedt of the Swedish International Liberal Centre noted the importance of linkages with counterpart foundations, particularly in terms of exchanging ideas. There is the need for donors to get together to avoid duplication in their support of grantees. Roland Rich of Australia's Center for Democratic Institutions, in business for less than one year, discussed how the center was established to fill some of the gaps in the country's aid program by concentrating on the institutional foundations that can make that aid effective. The Center, although funded by the government, is quasi-independent. Sergio Aguayo of Mexico observed that Latin America lacks a tradition of providing support for political purposes (as opposed to charitable giving). He described the work of two Mexican foundations, one established to provide small grants in rural areas, the other to provide training courses for leaders in conflict situations. Dr. Gert Kueck of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's New Delhi office offered background on the German Stiftungen, who were the pioneers in the field of democracy assistance. Although they are close to the parties, they are fully independent of them and have no right to act on their behalf. Axel Queval of Foundation Jean Jaures of France reported that the French government is funding those political foundations currently in existence but noted that the Gaullist Party has not yet established such a foundation. The foundation's primary work is in the area of assisting political parties with a particular emphasis on Africa. Abby Rosemont, representing Great Britain's Conservative Party, pointed out that half of the budget of the Westminster Foundation is channeled through parties to work with their counterparts. The meeting of democracy foundations in Montreal last May helped stimulate a joint program in Sri Lanka conducted by her party and a counterpart in Sweden. Ivan Doherty of the National Democratic Institute reported on an initiative currently underway in Ireland, where a working group of all major political entities has been established with the goal of creating a foundation, perhaps on the Westminster model. Iris Almeida of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development of Canada talked about the selectivity of the foundation in terms of choosing those countries in which to work. There was a strong consensus on the importance of transparency in the operations of democracy foundations. The World Movement can help facilitate information sharing about projects. 
Proposed initiatives
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