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Democracy
has reached a boiling point in the world, and Democracy International
has been there every step of the way to assist, raise awareness, and
demand change. As we have done since our founding, we vow to
continue to stand against attacks on citizen-led democracy, while
supporting activists, organizations and movements that strive for a
participatory society. Will you vow to join us in this
fight? Enemies of democracy will keep trying to destroy what we build.
But in order to persist and resist these aggressions, we’ll need all the
support we can get to start the new year on a strong note.
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If you’re in need of a New Years’ resolution, here are three reasons you should donate to Democracy International this holiday season and pledge your support to democracy worldwide.
- The stakes are high.
The aggression against democracy has picked up steam, making the work
that we do more important than ever. Citizens must be well-informed
before going into a vote, especially in referenda which has seen
manipulation by anti-immigrant, extreme-right groups. Democracy shouldn’t be undermined because of a few examples of what not to do.
Instead, we will continue to highlight stories in our new newsletter,
Global Democracy News, of initiatives that were free and fair, that
allowed people to be educated about their options and that encouraged a
healthy debate among citizens. People, politicians and organizations
need to be reminded that democracy success stories are out there and
more widespread than the few examples of failures.
- Democracy International is more active around the world. We
have experienced many exciting developments over the past year,
starting with expanding our team. “Stop Glyphosate” became the first
European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) to receive a legislative response by
the European Commission – one of our top demands in our recommendations
for an ECI revision. We successfully lobbied for the adoption of a
lobby transparency report in the European Parliament, a step toward a
lobby registry in Europe. We are operating more actively than ever and
expanding our work geographically!
- There is hope for the future of democracy.
Although it might seem there is only bad news surrounding democracy,
the future ahead is bright. After a year of political shocks around the
world and attacks on democracy in Europe and abroad, people are standing up to their leaders and demanding that they are being heard.
It was an active year for people in our own Democracy International
circle – like Dion McCurdy, who was inspired by the Global Forum on
Modern Direct Democracy and founded NewVote Australia to break down
barriers that block everyday people from engaging easily. Csaba Madarász
also strives to awaken Hungarians from
political powerless and worked with us to organize the “Democratic
Happening” conference in Budapest. Even cities are getting on board with
enhancing the state of democracy – from Falun, Sweden hosting the 2017
International Day of Democracy to Rome hosting the 2018 Global Forum!
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If you
support the resistance against democratic threats, we need your help. We
have the inspiration to continue, and we definitely have the work to
keep us active, but it takes resources to operate on the international
level. Together we can continue to support activists and
movements around the world to realize a more empowering democracy for
the people.
Season's Greetings and a Happy New Year,
Daniela Vancic
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