On 19-20 September 2024, the tenth edition of International Democracy Day Brussels ‘A Year of Elections’ took place in the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels. During the two days of the conference, and international panel of activists, policy makers, politicians, and independent journalists reflected on this electoral, gave their assessments on the current state of democracy, and offered insights from global, European, and national perspectives.
IDD Brussels moderator, Shada Islam opened the event, with the first speaker of the day Patrick Molinoz (CIVEX commission, Committee of the Regions). The Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography, Dubravka Šuica gave the first keynote address of the conference. During her address, she stressed the importance of citizen participation, especially youth, and advocated for change to safeguard future generations and to ensure a more inclusive political process.
The first panel discussion focused on the 2024 elections and latest state of play. Kevin Casas Zamora (International IDEA), Laura Thornton (McCain Institute) and Pita Limjaroenrat (Move Forward Party, Thailand) discussed how electoral integrity is under threat worldwide, with disinformation campaigns playing a significant role in undermining trust in election results.
In his keynote speech, Professor Michael Bruter (London School of Economics), argued that democracy is in crisis due to a series of misdiagnoses. He argued that voters are most interested in the ways in which democracy intrudes in their daily lives rather than by who wins, but this is often neglected by scholars and institutions: “What matters for people is whether this democracy will make them happier.”
The second panel ‘Mobilising young people at the ballot box: good practices and challenges’ moderated by Ann N. Nderitu (Registrar of Political Parties, Kenya) brought together activists and politicians Antonina Majchrzak, Asanda Luwaca (Club de Madrid WYDE Network of Young Decision-makers), Luis Villaherrera (TRACODA), Pita Limjaroenrat (Move Forward Party, Thailand). They discussed the global trend of youth disengagement from politics, and emphasised the crucial role that young people play in shaping election outcomes and revitalising democracy.
Elsa Pilichowski (OECD) presented the results of the OECD’s survey on trust in public institutions. The findings reveal that trust in national governments is eroding, particularly among women and less-educated people. Key drivers of trust include the delivery of public services and transparency in decision-making. She stressed the need for a healthy information ecosystem and efforts to improve perceptions of integrity.
The first day of IDD Brussels ended with a panel discussion with Jerzy Pomianowski (European Endowment for Democracy), Patrick Simonnet (EEAS) and Elsa Pilichowski (OECD) reflecting on the past decade of democracy. The panel discussed the shrinking space for civil society and the rise of authoritarianism and the impact of the digital and climate transitions on democracy.
The second day of IDD started off with a keynote by Apostolos Tzitzikostas, First Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions followed by a video message from Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships.
In the first panel of the day, entitled ‘How to counter disinformation at a time of war?’, EED partners Riham Abu Aita (Kashif), Khalid Albaih and Iryna Fedoriv (Holka) discussed the challenges they experience as journalists and fact-checkers in their individual contexts of conflict. Iryna Fedoriv addressed the role of Telegram channels in hindering judicial reform in Ukraine and the need for legislation to regulate the platform without censorship. Khalid Albaih talked about the crisis in Sudan and his experience as a political cartoonist: "Humour is a weapon: if you make fun of dictators, that means you are not scared of them. This makes cartoonists a target." Riham Abu Aita discussed the difficulties of reporting and fact-checking on the war in Gaza, "Living in Palestine as a journalist has always been challenging, but in the current situation we are even more afraid to speak up because, as journalists, we are a target."
Nico Jaspers (Latana) presented the findings of the Democracy Policy Index study "Global faith in democracy remains high - in all countries we surveyed, those who had faith in democracy were a higher percentage than those who didn't." The data from the study also revealed patterns in electoral processes and opinions across various countries. Notably, Venezuela emerged as the country with the highest demand for democracy.
This intervention was followed by an inspiring keynote address by Venezuelan opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez on the recent Venezuelan elections and the global nature of the conflict between autocracy and democracy: “We crave democracy because we don’t have it. Venezuelans want democracy. We want to be the first country to transition from autocracy to democracy in the 21st century."
A panel entitled ‘Gender Equality and Authoritarianism’ moderated by Saskia Brechenmacher (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) brought together Salma Al-Nims (UNESCWA), Sonia Gassemi, Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu (International IDEA), Viviane Ogou and Japleen Pasricha (Feminism in India). Together, they discussed the increasingly restrictive political climates putting women's political participation under threat and the strategies they have had to develop as they have become targets of authoritarian governments and far-right movements.
The last panel of the day, moderated by Sam van der Staal (International IDEA), focused on the future of EU democracy support following the European Parliament elections. Christian Leffler (Former Deputy Secretary General of the EEAS), Chiara Adamo (DG INTPA, European Commission) and Leopoldo Lopez discussed the new leadership's emerging priorities and how the incoming European Commission and Parliament can implement concrete actions to strengthen global democracy over the next five years.
Gary Klaukka (ENoP) closed this tenth anniversary edition of the International Day of Democracy Brussels.
International Day of Democracy Brussels 2024 was held in the framework of the Women and Youth in Democracy Initiative (WYDE) of the European Union and received support from the Global Democracy Coalition.
