International Democracy Week 2020 events focus on innovative solutions

Democracy Day in the Time of the Pandemic: A Sustainable Response to the Global Crisis based on Multilateralism and the Rule of Law

Wednesday, 16 September 2020

The international community is observing the International Day of Democracy at a time when the magnitude, implications and gravity of the global crisis brought about by the pandemic are becoming increasingly patent.  But so are also the lessons we are learning from current experience that can guide the recovery and serve, in the words of the UN Secretary General, to “build back better”.  A central element of these lessons is that the quality and sustainability of the recovery will depend to a very large extent on governance capacity at all levels—local, national and international; on the transparency and accountability of public institutions; and on strengthening people’s trust in the state.

Read more and register to receive the WebEx link to access the event.

Parliaments’ responses to the pandemic: are virtual parliaments here to stay?

Thursday, 17 September 2020

14:30 – 16:00 (CET)

The coronavirus pandemic continues to have a profound impact on both governance priorities and democratic processes. Parliaments around the world are looking at if and how innovations they have adopted to continue functioning during the pandemic will be integrated into the ‘new normal’ of parliamentary work. Can innovations such as virtual parliaments strengthen engagement with citizens? Can governments be effectively held to account through online questioning? Are current technologies adequate and secure? What are the overall impacts of COVID-19 on democratic governance, and how can parliaments address emerging threats?

In answering some of these critical questions, the workshop will:  examine the future of virtual parliaments--challenges and opportunities; explore parliaments’ responses to the pandemic highlighted in the INTER PARES Primer “Parliaments and crisis: Challenges and Innovations” and “Parliamentary responses during the COVID-19 Pandemic – Data Tracker”; address the overall impact of the pandemic on democratic governance and share current findings of the Global Monitor of COVID-19´s Impact on Democracy and Human Rights, implemented by International IDEA.

Learn more about this workshop and register to join.

Speakers:

Chiara Adamo, Head of Unit - Gender Equality, Human Rights and Democratic Governance, DG DEVCO, European Commission (TBC)

Jonathan Murphy, Head of Programme, INTER PARES | Parliaments in Partnership, International IDEA

Dr Olivier Rozenberg, Associate Professor, Sciences Po Pari

Hassan Ziyau, Director of Communications People’s Majlis, The Republic of The Maldives 

Laura Mancilla, Lead researcher “Parliamentary responses during the COVID-19 Pandemic – Data Tracker”

Moderator: Marilyn Neven, Programme Manager, International IDEA

Fifth Annual Melbourne Forum on Constitution-building in Asia and the Pacific

Thursday, 17 September 2020

14:00-16:00 AEST

The topic and format of the 2020 Melbourne Forum were adapted in response to the historic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Forum topic is "Representation in Democracies During Emergencies" and the format will be a series of four online webinars over the course of September 2020.

Melbourne Forum 2020 recognizes that representation is critical, both in constitution-building processes and in the institutions for democratic government that constitutions put in place. In both theory and practice, representation raises a host of questions for constitutional arrangements, however, and these questions only become more pressing during emergencies.

The Forum was divided into four webinars, join us for this week's Multi-level government and COVID-19.

Defending Democracy in A Global Pandemic: Options for Canadian Foreign and Development Policy Makers

Thursday, 17 September 2020

16:00-17:30 CEST

The Parliamentary Centre, in collaboration with International IDEA, is organizing a conversation useful for Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and Canadian foreign and development policy thinkers to ensure support for women's political voice, inclusive democratic institutions and human rights remain at the heart of Canada’s COVID-19 response.

The discussion will explore the importance of ensuring continued democracy support in light of the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19. Among other issues, the discussion will offer perspectives on these pressing questions:

• What are the main areas of democratic governance affected by the COVID 19 crisis?
• What are the most agile strategies to safeguard against democratic erosion during a crisis and in crisis recovery?
• What have been the unique impacts of this crisis on women and what role do they play in the strategies identified to mitigate against democratic backsliding? Are there innovative ways to engage women and strengthen their leadership to build resilience and foster more effective development?
• How can Canada add more value in supporting and defending democracy worldwide?
• Should democracy support agencies and international partners develop more coordination to respond to emergencies? How?

Panelists:

1. Colin Robertson, Senior Fellow Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI)
2. Dr. Kevin Casas-Zamora, Secretary-General, International IDEA
3. Elene Panchulidze (Georgian Institute of Politics and co-author of Global Democracy and COVID-19: Upgrading International Support)
4. Anita Vandenbeld, MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Defence, Member of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development 

5. Kevin Deveaux, former MLA (Nova Scotia), International Parliamentary Development expert

Moderator:

• Tom Cormier, CEO, Parliamentary Centre

Learn more  or  register directly now. 

Reinventing the role of international and regional organizations in promoting peaceful, just and inclusive Institutions in times of crisis: What was done and what Is next?

Friday, 18 September 2020

10:30 EST (USA)

International IDEA will facilitate a conversation with on the key challenges and opportunities that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented at the regional level, and take stock of what was done until now; learn from those experiences, and try to make an estimation of what is next to ensure democratic sustainability and development from an inter-regional perspective.  

Panelists include the Community of Democracies, Organization of American States, African Union Commission, Association of South East Asian Nations, Council of Europe and the UN.

We are looking at developing policy recommendations on the way forward, based on institutional experiences, aimed at enhancing inter-regional collaboration and exchanges of best practices, as well as to harness ideas on how to better align global and regional efforts to support key actions towards the achievement of  the SDGs, despite the current global health crisis.

See the full event details and RSVP today.