** All times Eastern Standard Time (EST) **
November 16-17, 2021
Anticorruption Technology Roundtable
Harnessing the Power of Innovative Technology and New Models of Public-Private Collaboration. On November 16, 2021, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes (TFFC), partnered with AIR – Alliance for Innovative Regulation and Accountability Lab – to hold the Anticorruption Solutions Through Emerging Technologies (ASET) Roundtable. The roundtable was the first U.S.-hosted Summit for Democracy side event and brought together 250 leaders and experts across sectors to explore bold, yet practicable, ideas in the application of technology to combat corruption.
December 2, 2021
House Democracy Partnership: Inter-Parliamentary
December 2 at 8:00 am
Parliamentary Leadership Session: Addressing Global Threats to Democracy through Empowered and Effective Legislative Institutions. The House Democracy Partnership (HDP) will host the Legislative Track of the Summit, specifically designed for members of the legislature to provide an opportunity for reform-oriented peers to come together across cultures and countries to connect and learn more about their shared responsibilities and democratic practices. Lawmakers will engage on the Summit’s three commitments – Countering Corruption, Curbing Authoritarianism, and Safeguarding Human Rights – from their unique perspective as national representatives of the people.
House Democracy Partnership: Inter-Parliamentary
December 2 at 9:00 am
Session Discussion I: Curbing Authoritarianism through Strong Legislatures and the Defense of Democratic Institutions and Principles
Models for Increasing Data Access for Researchers, Co-hosted with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue
December 2 at 11:00 am
Closed Session. The ability of researchers and the broader public to understand the online information ecosystem, and how information moves within it, remains limited. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue will bring together experts on the issue of data provision from online platforms for research–including scholars and public and private sector experts from government, the tech industry, and civil society–to exchange best practices, discuss challenges from existing models for data access, and chart the path forward for new and emerging possibilities.
December 3, 2021
Build Back Better World Digital Connectivity Showcase
December 3 at 7:00 am
During this session, participants will hear the governments of Colombia and Ghana about the opportunities and challenges to closing the digital divide in developing countries. The United States, the European Commission and other countries will also showcase digital connectivity programming under the G7’s B3W program and related initiatives.
House Democracy Partnership: Inter-Parliamentary
December 3 at 8:00 am
Session Discussion II: Advancing Integrity through Parliaments – How Parliaments Can Lead the Fight Against Corruption and Kleptocracy
Disability-Inclusive Democracy in Action: Opportunities and Challenges, Co-hosted with Norway and the United Kingdom
December 3 at 9:00 am
Co-hosted by Norway, the United Kingdom, and U.S, this virtual event will bring together more than 100 leaders and experts across sectors to explore innovative approaches and common challenges to disability-inclusive democracy globally.
December 6, 2021
Mayors Delivering Democracy Daily, Co-hosted with Germany, the Netherlands, the German Marshall Fund, and the Global Parliament of Mayors
December 6 at 8:00 am
This session seeks to highlight the importance of cities and subnational governments for the renewal of democracy worldwide through a showcase for mayors’ democratic innovations, a mayors’ exchange program, and a democracy declaration. A diverse group of mayors will highlight their experiences in leading action for global policy development and change around the most pressing issues facing democracy today, including corruption, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, authoritarianism, and social inequity.
Defending Democracies against Disinformation, Co-hosted with the United Kingdom
December 6 at 8:00 am
Closed Session. This event, co-hosted with the United Kingdom, will focus on best practices for addressing disinformation and advancing an open and transparent information system. The event will feature panels focused on 1) media literacy 2) lessons learned from fighting the COVID infodemic and 3) the role of public-private partnerships in tackling disinformation.
Advocates for Democracy in Closed Spaces
December 6, 2021, 10 am
Civil society organizations and other democratic actors are on the front lines in the battle for democracy around the world. In countries either sliding back or moving toward authoritarianism, human rights defenders, entrepreneurs, journalists, legal advocates, and many other reform-minded activists organize, publicize, and push back against efforts to manipulate the judicial system, corrupt elections, and shut down dissent. Yet they also look to engage the government when windows of democratic opportunity appear to emerge. In authoritarian regimes, showing extraordinary courage, these reformers carefully and often under pressure–facing trial, prison, psychological pressure, and physical and digital attacks against them and their families–persist in promoting democratic change in their countries. Many, forced from their countries, continue their efforts in exile. CSOs also continue their work despite the growth of NGO laws and norms designed explicitly to make their democracy and development work difficult or illegal or force them to self-censor through labyrinthian, opaque requirements. They often have no choice but to rely heavily on international donor assistance, which can ultimately be used against them by repressive governments. The courage of these actors and the importance of their work demands worldwide attention.
Advancing Inclusion and Democracy: The Participation of LGBTQI+ Persons, Co-hosted with Cabo Verde and Sweden
December 6 at 1:00 pm
This event, co-hosted by Sweden and Cabo Verde, will launch an ambitious new mechanism: GLIDE (Global LGBTQI+ Inclusive Democratic and Empowerment Fund), as well as a number of other initiatives to build support for the inclusion of LGBTQI+ persons in democratic institutions and political processes.
December 7, 2021
Democracy Delivers Development
December 7 at 7:00 am
The focus of the session is democracies working in partnership to deliver development results. The session will showcase democracies where Millennium Challenge Corporation’s grant assistance and country’s own leadership and reform agenda has made a significant impact in reducing poverty through economic growth. The United States will join a panel of developing country leaders to highlight practical cases of how a commitment to accountable and democratic governance has contributed to delivering development results across countries, and how various countries partnered to strengthen (or leverage) their democratic institutions and reduce poverty through economic growth.
House Democracy Partnership: Inter-Parliamentary
December 7 at 8:00 am
Session Discussion III: Parliament’s Role to Defend & Safeguard Human Rights – Inclusive Lawmaking, Holding Bad Actors Accountable, Establishing and Protecting Mechanisms to Redress Grievances
Worker Organizations’ Vital Role in Democracy
December 7 at 8:00 am
This session, chaired by U.S. Secretary of Labor Martin J. Walsh and AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, together with representatives of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of State, the International Trade Union Confederation, and the Solidarity Center, will highlight the role of worker voice and worker rights as fundamental components of democracy; elevate the recommendations made during four listening sessions with labor unions from Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe; and spur global action in support of freedom of association and collective bargaining, including through the launch of the Multilateral Partnership for Organizing, Worker Empowerment, and Rights (M-POWER) Initiative.
All Hands on Deck: Innovating Together to Combat Transnational Corruption
December 7 at 10:00 am
Success in the fight against transnational corruption requires “all hands on deck.” Our response must be as clever, nimble, and globally networked as corruption itself. The Combating Transnational Corruption Grand Challenge will crowdsource, fund, and scale forward-thinking solutions from partners across the globe. This virtual event will introduce the Grand Challenge, highlight past successes, and showcase how innovation and collaboration can be harnessed to combat transnational corruption and organized crime.
Racial Justice and Equity through Sports Diplomacy
December 7 at 10:00 am
The session will feature four international athletes from four different sports speaking honestly on the realities of systemic racism in sports and our societies, the intersectional challenges faced by women, LGBTQI+ persons, and persons with disabilities, and the ways athletes use their platform to speak up on racial injustice.
Civil Society-Led Events
There are a wide range of events taking place around the Summit for Democracy that are not part of the official program. This unofficial Summit website was created by civil society for civil society interested in expanding on the topics of the Summit, and is neither an official webpage nor are its contents endorsed by the United States Government.