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~ Fifth Assembly ~

Kyiv, Ukraine
April 6-9, 2008

Making Democracy Work: From Principles to Performance

Latest Updates:

• Opening Address by Kateryna Yushchenko, First Lady of Ukraine.
  
  
• Keynote Address by Ms. Myroslava Gongadze
  
  
• Keynote Address by Maina Kiai
  
  
• Democracy Digest reports daily from Kyiv. Read more....

Venue: Ukrainian House, Kyiv, Ukraine

Objective: As a result of its previous global assemblies—in New Delhi, India, in 1999; São Paulo, Brazil in 2000; Durban, South Africa, in 2004; and Istanbul, Turkey, in 2006—the World Movement now encompasses a variety of regional and functional networks, such as the African Democracy Forum, the World Forum for Democratization in Asia, the Network of Democracy Research Institutes, the Global Network on Local Governance, the International Women’s Democracy Network, and the World Youth Movement for Democracy, among others.  With each assembly, these networks are expanded and strengthened, and the potential for creating new networks in which participants demonstrate interest is explored.

In addition to generating and strengthening regional and functional networks, the general objectives of the Assembly include: 

• providing participants with a forum to exchange practical, hands-on knowledge that they can use in the countries and regions in which they work;
• ensuring that the extent of repression exercised by regimes in closed societies will not pass unnoticed in the international community, and to devise new ways to enhance assistance to those inside those countries;
• directing attention to the needs of democrats in transitional and authoritarian countries;
• encouraging other established democracies, both old and new, to support democracy-promotion efforts; and
• exploring ways in which participants can use new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their work.

Given these objectives, each assembly has the effect of expanding and strengthening the World Movement for Democracy itself as an effective global network.

The Fifth Assembly promises to have a profound impact on moving the World Movement forward.   First, the Assembly provided an opportunity for participants to assess both the work they have done since the previous assembly and the new challenges they must confront.  Many of the participants saw the results of the Fourth Assembly in terms of their own recommendations and were thus eager to re-connect in person with many of their associates to plan for the future.

Second, the formula utilized in previous assemblies–mainly featuring small, roundtable discussion workshops with simultaneous interpretation–was highly productive of recommended strategies and best practices that participants took with them back to their regions and countries.

Third, while the Assembly brought together some of the same participants in previous assemblies, in order to retain the character of a global movement, it also enabled new democracy activists, practitioners, and scholars to become engaged in the World Movement’s work.  In this way, the Fifth Assembly contributed to enlarging the global network.

Participants: The Fifth Assembly brought together nearly 500 participants of various backgrounds and professions, including:

• NGO leaders working to strengthen human rights, government accountability, the rule of law, the status of women, and minority  inclusion;
• business leaders committed to economic reform and transparent corporate governance;
• political party representatives seeking to make parties effective vehicles for linking citizens with democratic decision makers;
• trade unionists committed to giving workers a democratic voice in the global economy;
• leaders of research institutes and scholars advancing ideas and concrete initiatives for democratic reforms;
• civic educators promoting the values, skills, and knowledge that form the basis for a free and participatory society;
  
• independent journalists, broadcasters and other communications specialists educating democracy activists on the role of independent media in democratic systems;
• representatives of democracy assistance foundations and government development agencies; and
• knowledgeable individuals who can share practical experiences on how to utilize new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in democracy-promotion work.

Agenda: To help ensure that it will be as focused as possible on the practical ways that democrats can advance their work and mutually support each other, the Fifth Assembly was mainly composed of discussion workshops to maximize opportunities for participation and exchange. There were no declarations or policy resolutions issued by the Assembly. A “Democracy Fair” featured an exhibition area, a technology training center, a video screening room, and a space in which participants could educate each other about their respective causes and generate support for them.

Local Partner Organization: Europe XXI Foundation

More Information:
World Movement for Democracy
world@ned.org