Recommendations for the second Summit

In November 2022, the Coordinators of the Global Democracy Coalition facilitated a series of focus group discussions (FGDs) to gather Coalition members’ recommendations for the Second Summit for Democracy, scheduled for 29–30 March 2023. Twenty-six of the Coalition’s 90 members participated in the sessions, with discussion participants offering a variety of ideas for Summit planners to consider. The FGDs were held before the official announcement of the Summit and should be read with that caveat in mind. The FGDs focused on four primary lines of questions: (1) what does meaningful participation by civil society look like; (2) how can the Summit process be more transparent and accountable; (3) feedback on the commitment process; and (4) the value of cohorts. The recommendations outlined below, if taken up by Summit planners, could help the United States lead by example and set the tone for the importance of civil society in the Summit for Democracy process and discussions on democracy, good governance, human rights, corruption and countering growing authoritarianism.

A recurrent theme from the discussions was the need for greater transparency and inclusion in the Summit planning to enable civil society and other stakeholders —such as multilateral organizations, local and regional governments, and independent public institutions (e.g. human rights commissions, anti-corruption bodies, election management bodies) —which often serve as a bridge between government and civil society, to make meaningful contributions.

Clarifying the expected role and contributions of civil society and other stakeholders in the official Summit programme would also facilitate more concrete suggestions for their participation. Additional recommendations focused on including civil society reporting as part of the official record; developing an official mechanism for commitment monitoring; including cohorts in the official Summit programme; and ensuring that the Summit for Democracy does not duplicate similar processes in other forums and mechanisms.

With the next Summit taking place in late March 2023, the Coalition hopes the recommendations outlined below will provide Summit planners with a menu of actionable ideas and suggestions that encourage and generate more meaningful participation by civil society, local and regional governments, multilateral organizations, the private sector and the philanthropic community. The specific recommendations outlined below are suggested examples highlighted by one or several organizations in the FGDs. They may not all represent the views of all partner organizations in the Global Democracy Coalition and should therefore be read as a menu of proposed suggestions, rather than a strict checklist.

*This report was written by Kourtney Pompi, based on inputs from partners in the Global Democracy Coalition. The report was edited by Annika Silva-Leander and Elisenda Ballesté Buxé. The design and layout was done by Amanda Sourek.