by Sophia Fernandes, WFD's Inclusion Adviser and Interim Regional Director for Asia As we move from counting ‘weeks’ to ‘months’ of physical distancing measures in the UK and start to see other countries emerge from counter-COVID-19 restrictions, the blurry picture of the long-term consequences of emergency measures and the pandemic at large is starting to [...]
Civil society organisations (CSOs) are a channel through which citizens can engage constructively with government to make sure that adequate services are provided, helping to build more inclusive and accountable democracies. Their role is especially important during the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as people’s freedoms are curtailed and usual channels of engagement with government are [...]
The COVID-19 pandemic is profoundly affecting work and businesses across the world, notwithstanding its health effects. Planned activities are delayed or cancelled, and meetings are complicated, whilst digital technology is now facilitating communication between co-workers and helping institutions to reach out to their audiences. Parliaments are among the institutions that cannot postpone their work and commitments. They play a crucial role [...]
What do we mean by open democracy and a transparent and reliable government in times of crisis and how can we make it a reality? Participatory democracy and civic tech could be part of the answer.
Commonwealth organisations are hosting a three-day conference in London which begins today (4 March) which aims to put inclusion and accountability high on the agenda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Rwanda in June 2020. Over the last two years the UK Government has helped advance inclusion and accountability across the Commonwealth [...]
WFD and Sierra Leone's University of Makeni organised a panel discussion for citizens to engage with politicians, attended by more than 600 people.
Democracy goes beyond the ballot box. For democracy to flourish, elected representatives need to be able to find out and understand the needs of the people they represent. Ways for people to find out what is going on in parliament and respond to it are just as important. In Sierra Leone, WFD has been working [...]
Six investigative stories analysing the spending of public funds in North Macedonia have been published to allow citizens to access information on how money is distributed by institutions, highlighting the importance of transparent and accountable spending. The stories were prepared by eight journalists, with the support of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), and [...]
This week, Georgian civil society organisations (CSOs) have been sharing with the Parliament’s Human Rights Committee the harrowing stories they’ve encountered through their work. MPs will take these grim examples to the Government in Tbilisi – with the help of Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) and the UK embassy in Georgia. “Currently no-one cares for [...]
