Since its designation by the United Nations in 2007, every September 15th has become to be known as International Day of Democracy.
The UN and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) annually hold events to raise awareness and observe the status of democracy.
We have compiled information on democracy day as well as upcoming events and activities not only by UN and IPU but also by countries in Asia.
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United Nations (UN)
This year, UN will highlight democracy day with theme of “Space for Civil Society.”
Organized by the UN Working Group on Democracy in cooperation with International IDEA (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance), the event will be held in the afternoon of the 15th September at UN headquarter in New York. The programme of the event includes video message by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, remarks by the Representatives of Bhutan, Chile, Poland, Sierra Leone and Sweden, and discussion session.
For more info on International Day of Democracy: http://www.un.org/
For more info on the event: http://www.un.org/en/
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
IPU will focus this year’s democracy day as “Public Participation for Democracy” to highlight the importance of public participation in advancing democracy. Please find more information on IPU theme: http://www.ipu.org/idd/
IPU is hosting an event, ‘Democracy and Youth Participation’ – involving young citizens and parliamentarians, at its headquarters in Geneva from 14:30-17:30 pm on 15 September. Event and activities organized by IPU and their members can be found here: http://www.ipu.org/idd/
In Asia
Mongolia
There will be a public launching event of the Institute for Deliberative Democracy, an initiative based on the partnership between the Transparency Ulaanbaatar Academy and the University of Stanford’s Center for Deliberative Democracy, as well as a release of the policy brief paper on the State of Democracy in Mongolia.
Republic of Korea
The Korea Democracy Foundation (KDF) will organize the event for the 2015 International Day of Democracy. The event will be held from 16:00 pm to 16:40 pm on the 15th September at auditorium of the National Assembly Library in Korea.
Pakistan
A seminar is to be organized by the International Foundation for Electoral System (IFES) in Islamabad, Pakistan.
What’s happening near you? Please share with us any democracy day events that may be happening in your neck of the woods.
Contact ADN Secretariat: adn2013seoul@gmail.com
Asia Democracy Network (ADN) is a civil society led multi-stakeholders’ platform among democracy advocates and human rights defenders dedicated to the strengthening of democracy and human rights. ADN is a collaborative effort among CSOs engaged in democracy, human rights and development at the different levels of global, regional, national and local to enhance the synergetic effects of the joint advocacy of CSOs in the Asia region. ADN was founded in Seoul, Korea in Oct. 2013.
