Supporting the Summits for Democracy 2021-2023

The war in Ukraine underscores, even more, the need for democracies to stand united in the face of authoritarian threats. International IDEA has therefore developed a strategic engagement programme (2021-2023) around the Summits for Democracy process.

In December 2021, the U.S. Government hosted the first of two Summits for Democracy. In the face of challenges to democracy globally, they aim to bring together government, civil society and private sector leaders to form a global agenda for democratic renewal.  A second Summit will be held on 29 and 30 March 2023, co-hosted by the governments of the United States, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, and Zambia. The Summit events will showcase progress made by governments on their commitments during the ‘Year of Action’ and the work of the 16 multistakeholder ‘Democracy Cohorts’. International IDEA is involved in the Summit events taking place in Costa Rica, Zambia, and the Netherlands. 

International IDEA contributes to the Summit for Democracy Process through knowledge production, data and analysis, dialogues and partnership building. In its work, International IDEA aims to foster and facilitate civil society and multi-stakeholder engagement in the Summit for Democracy with democracy organizations from across the world. As co-coordinator of the Global Democracy Coalition, International IDEA is organising the Partners for Democracy Day on 27 March 2023 with more than 60 events around the world to place issues on the agenda of the Summit.  

International IDEA maintains the Summit for Democracy News and Resources Portal, funded by the European Union. The Portal includes a dashboard of the verbal and written commitments and the implementation progress made by the 98 countries. Just recently added, it now also provides an easy overview of all the 16 democracy cohorts and their work. International IDEA is also the co-lead of two of the Democracy Cohorts – the Cohort on Youth Political and Civic Engagement and the Cohort on Gender Equality as a Pre-Requisite for Democracy.