“Democracy is a journey, not a destination”

These were the words of Congresswoman Karen Bass of the United States in the opening session of the Ninth Global Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy held in Dakar, Senegal on 6-9 May 2018.  Bass, who also served as the first woman African American Speaker of the California Assembly, further said: “…repressive, authoritarian governments are learning from each other… so democracy activists should do the same.”

Learning from each other’s experiences was indeed one of the reasons for the choice of the Assembly’s theme this year, “Building Strategic Partnerships for Democratic Renewal”.  The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD), represented by its executive director, Celito Arlegue, came to this global gathering with the goal of fostering inter-regional, cross-sector partnerships that may help in addressing the surge of authoritarianism, illiberalism and populism in Asia and in other parts of the world.

The Assembly, attended by nearly 400 participants from around 100 countries, provided an important forum to assess current democratic challenges, craft responses, and build critically needed strategic partnerships.  The diversity of participants – civil society actors, parliamentarians, political party leaders, academics, policy analysts, media practitioners, musicians, among others – also meant that the discussions were comprehensive, informative, and practical, with great emphasis on innovative strategies and solutions.

CALD, which participated in the working group of parliamentarians and parliamentary and political networks organized by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), agreed on the need “to strengthen and improve collaboration and coordination among the world’s parliamentary associations and political party groupings to amplify the impact of these groups in advancing democracy and human rights.”  In this regard, follow-up activities, as well as mechanisms to facilitate communication and cooperation among these groups, were planned in the coming months to realize their democratic potential.

“Democracy is in crisis, but the silver lining in all of this is that democracy activists all over the world are coming together to push back against authoritarianism and defend democratic values, institutions and practices”, said Arlegue. “To be in the company of hundreds of passionate democracy advocates, even for just a few days, reaffirms our commitment to freedom, reinvigorates our democratic spirit and prepares us for the bigger battles ahead.”