Asia Democracy Network Celebrates its 1st Year Anniversary!
October 22, 2014 – A year ago today, the Asia Democracy Network (ADN) was born as a platform to strengthen the voices for solidarity among peoples and civil society in Asia.
In Olympia Hall of the Parktel Hotel of Seoul, Korea civil society activists, human rights defenders, democracy advocates, and those in the government and private sectors gathered to launch the ADN. This historic launch was possible with the support of the World Movement for Democracy (WMD), Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD), National Endowment for Democracy (NED), Korea Democracy Foundation (KDF), The Asia Foundation (TAF), Community of Democracies (CD), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Korea. ADN has now become a key platform for civil society to advocate for democratic standards and values.
In the plight for democracy, ADN has made many strides within the past year. ADN first took its baby steps into creating a concrete network, with the support of the World Movement for Democracy and Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, ADN respectively held its 1st and 2nd Steering Committee meetings in Singapore and Taiwan. At the meetings ADN steering committee members developed the ADN governance mechanism, collaborating and sharing their experiences to develop an effective and sustainable civil society network.
In July, in response to the Thai coup d’état ADN co-hosted an International Solidarity Conference titled “Thailand: Human Rights and Democracy in Crisis” gathering activists in the region as well as Thai activists to discuss a plan of action and a ways forward.
In August, ADN supported along with FORUM-ASIA and the Asia Development Alliance the Glocal Advocacy Leadership Academy in Asia (GALAA), a capacity building program targeted at next generation leaders in the public sector.
In the start of fall in September, ADN co-hosted along with the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) a side event in congruence with the United Nations General Assembly on “Governance and Justice in the Post 2015 Development Agenda.”
October, ADN partially sponsored the “Transparent Ulaanbaatar Forum 2014” held by the Mayor of Ulaanbaatar to combat corruption. In the same month to address shrinking civil society space and lack of consultation process in the drafting of key legislations in Cambodia, ADN participated in a solidarity mission organized by the Cooperation Committee of Cambodia (CCC). ADN also participated in the first Bali Civil Society Forum prior to the 7th Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) which is the only inter-governmental body addressing the challenges of democracy in the region.
ADN activities are not only limited to programs and projects. ADN also actively releases statements responding timely to critical political developments, human rights violations and barriers in democracy furthering solidarity in Asia.
During the recent Bali Democracy Forum held from October 10-11, 2014, ADN immediately responded expressing concern for the banning of all rallies during the event. ADN stood by the Indonesian CSOs condemning the ban highlighting freedom of assembly and expression a vital pillar in democracy. Also, ADN in solidarity with civil society across Asia released a statement condemning the crackdown of the Hong Kong protests that began in September 2014. ADN will continue to stand with Hong Kong in preserving yet another vital pillar in democracy, free and fair elections.
For the coming months that is left of 2014 and beyond in 2015, ADN plans to continue its activities in promoting solidarity among civil society across Asia.
We hope that you will join us in defending and promoting democracy together in Asia and world-wide.
Sincerely,
Asia Democracy Network
Secretary General
Hyung-sik SHIN, Member / Korea Democracy Network (KDN)
ADN Co-Conveners:
Ms. Nimalka, FERNANDO, Board Member / People’s SAARC
Ms. Melinda DE JESUS, Board Member / Southeast Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA)
Mr. Anselmo LEE, Member / Korea Democracy Network (KDN)
Steering Committee Members:
Mr. Ichal SUPRIADI, Executive Director / Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL)
Mr. Rohana HETTIARACHCHIE, Executive Director / People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL)
Ms. Evelyn BELAIS-SERRANO, Executive Director / Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
Mr. John LIU, East Asia Programme Director / FORUM-ASIA
Mr. Soeung SAROEUN, Board Member / Transparency International (TI)-Asia
Ms. Ming-Huei CHENG, Vice Executive Director / TI-Taiwan
Ms. Nirmala SHARMA, Vice President / South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA)
Mr. Sugeng BAHAGIJO, Director/ International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) Member, Asia Development Alliance (ADA)
Mr. Harsh JAITLI, Chief Executive Officer / VANI / Member Asia Development Alliance (ADA)
Mr. Augusto MICLAT, Executive Director / IID / Member / Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC-SEA)
Mr. Tatsuya YOSHIOKA, Director / Peace Boat / Member of GPPAC-NEA
Ms. Sook Jong LEE, President / East Asia Institute (EAI) / Member Asia Democracy Research Network (ADRN)
Mr. Kaustuv BANDYOPADHYAY, Director / Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA)/ Member Asia Democracy Research Network (ADRN)
Mr. Netra TIMSINA, South Asia Regional Coordinator / People’s SAARC
Ms. Consuelo Katrina A. LOPA, Regional Coordinator / Southeast Asian Committee for Advocacy (SEACA)
Mr. William GOIS, Chair / SEACA
Mr. Cheng-Hao PAO, Member / East Asia Democracy Forum (EADF)
ADN 1 Year Anniversary (PDF)
