The World Movement for Democracy’s biennial assembly is fast becoming the place to be for democracy and civil society activists, at least according to the prevailing sentiment of delegates as the 6^th assembly came to a close in Jakarta.

The assembly has a practical orientation and a political focus that other civil society gatherings lack, said a prominent not-for-profit activist and analyst. While events like the annual CIVICUS conference provide a useful discussion forum, their catch-all approach and absence of clear political objectives can be a turn-off for hard-pressed activists.

By contrast, the World Movement‘s assemblies have not only acquired maturity and continuity, delegates suggested, but also spawned networks that keep activists in touch and in action. The work and commitment of the youth and African networks in particular were evident throughout the Jakarta assembly.

The majority of delegates who stayed for the closing session witnessed a stirring example in Venezuelan student Roberto Patino. Receiving the Democracy Courage Tribute on behalf of his country’s student movement, he twice brought delegates to their feet – although, to be accurate, Iranian student leader Ali Afshari forcefully demanded the first ovation – with a passionate insistence on youth’s leading role in current democratic struggles.

Pointing out that he was only 11-years-old when Venezuela’s increasingly autocratic caudillo Hugo Chavez came to power in 1998, he noted that opinion polls confirmed that the student movement was now the most trusted political actor in the country. This is at least partly due to the movement’s avoidance of partisan posturing, and its cross-class character, bringing together students from elite private college and the mass public universities through a common insistence on democratic principles and integrity.

Dokka Itslaev, director of the Urus-Martan (Chechnya) branch of the Russian human rights group Memorial, also received a standing ovation as he received a Courage Tribute on behalf of the human rights activists in the North Caucasus. He paid tribute to those like Natalia Estemirova, his colleague at Memorial, who gave their lives for a cause they knew to be potentially lethal, but to which they made the ultimate commitment.

Syria’s beleaguered democrats are less well-known but equally deserving of the Tribute they also received. Many activists have been detained since December 2007 and January 2008, after organizing a meeting in support of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change.

Accepting the award on behalf of those incarcerated advocates like Riad Seif, exiled human rights activist Radwan Ziadeh lamented the fact that Syria’s potentially pivotal role in securing Middle East peace is prompting Western politicians to turn a blind eye to the oppressive nature of the regime.

The achievements of the Iranian women’s movement and its Million Signatures campaign have partly been obscured by the emergence of the Green opposition. But the campaign both facilitated the Green movement’s emergence and remains a vital building block as its extensive network of activists will be vital to consolidating a sustainable Green alternative to the Islamic Republic’s authoritarian regime.

Forced to leave the conference due to a family bereavement, Iranian democracy activist Mehnaz Afkami was unable to accept the award on behalf of the movement. But in a statement delivered on her behalf by a colleague from her Women’s Learning Partnership, she stressed the movement’s resilience, flexibility and stamina, due in part to its rejection of traditional formal hierarchies and the ability of women to vary their level of activism to suit their personal needs and commitments.

The assembly ended on a musical note, as the National Endowment for Democracy’s Carl Gershman gave a stirring rendition of the Civil Rights anthem ‘Oh Freedom’.

“And before I be your slave, I’ll be buried in my grave,” the lyrics insist, and this assembly’s Democracy Courage Tributes provided a poignant reminder that activists continue to pay the ultimate price for their commitment to democracy and human rights.