Atlantic Council

On July 2-4, at the High-Level Democracy Meeting (HLDM) celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Community of Democracies (CoD) in Krakow, the Atlantic Council brought together 80 emerging young diplomats and activists from around the world for the Young Diplomats for Democracy (YDD) symposium. The success of the Krakow Symposium led to a follow-up event in Washington, DC in September, which featured speeches by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senator John McCain, President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek, Representative Howard L. Berman, Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament Irena Degutiene, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament David Bakradze, and other high-level parliamentarians and diplomats.

At the gathering, YDD delegates urged the CoD and its member states to engage youth in their efforts to support democracy around the world. Specifically, the Young Diplomats for Democracy called for the establishment of a youth pillar within the CoD, and for greater consultation with youth in all CoD initiatives.

YDD delegates, representing over 40 countries in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa, presented the following recommendations to the Community of Democracies:

• To establish a youth pillar within the CoD and ensure youth representation at every level, including ministerial and working group meetings of the CoD;
• To ensure that CoD initiatives are implemented in partnership with youth NGOs  and diplomats from the YDD network in targeted countries;
• To promote transparency, information exchange, and awareness of all CoD governmental and parliamentary initiatives among youth representatives of the CoD through web networking and communications.

The recommendations, also presented at the Democracy Days meeting in Vilnius hosted by the Lithuanian presidency of the CoD, were endorsed by YDD diplomats and activists in Krakow.

Organized by the Atlantic Council of the United States (ACUS), in partnership with the CoD Permanent Secretariat and the European Institute for Democracy (EID), YDD brought together delegates for discussions on democracy tactics used by new generation activists, including the role of new media and new tactics to promote human rights, transparency, and free and fair elections.  In addition to special panel discussions, delegates attended the high-level sessions of the anniversary gathering and networked with senior government and NGO representatives gathered in Krakow. They also heard from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State and founder of the Community of Democracies Madeleine Albright, and Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski.

After Krakow, YDD delegates will use social networking tools, including a YDD Facebook page, to share tools and best practices and establish a global network of young democratic leaders in partnership with the Community of Democracies. The Krakow event is also featured on the Young Atlanticist website.

Event Agenda

Speaker Bios

Related Young Diplomats for Democracy Links:

• NED Supports Participation of Young Activists and Diplomats in the Community of Democracies (National Endowment for Democracy)
• Young Diplomats for Democracy (Community of Democracies)
• A Community of Democracies Network (European Institute for Democracy)

2010 Democracy Video Challenge:

• 2010 Democracy Video Challenge Award Presentation - State Department
• 2010 Winners Page

Related Press Coverage:

• Democracy in Trouble - Washington Post
• Is the "D" Word Back in Style? - Brookings

This event was generously supported by:
 
Robert Abernathy
 
Henry Catto and the Catto Charitable Foundation
 
The National Endowment for Democracy
 
Permanent Secretariat of the Community of Democracies