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The UK ambition to defend and strengthen open societies and open economies around the world is a laudable policy objective that must be tethered to an operating model that creates the conditions for these societies and economies to emerge and thrive. This model should be built on the premise of doing development democratically.
A strong, healthy democracy needs constant care and attention, even in good times. During a crisis we need to be even more vigilant. The COVID-19 pandemic has hurt democracy, amid a long-term trend of democratic decline.
On September 4 2020, representatives of 13 political parties in Kyrgyzstan signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which was elaborated with the support of Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) in Kyrgyzstan.
In the short time since the Prime Minister announced the creation of a new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, my former colleagues in both the FCO and DFID have been working hard to prepare for its launch tomorrow. But determining the culture of FCDO will be a multi-year task – I was present when DFID was created and know how significant this change in identity could be.
Matthew Hedges, who was until recently Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Paraguay, will take the reigns as Westminster Foundation for Democracy’s Regional Director for Asia and the Americas in September 2020. He will be responsible for the strategy, programming and team management across both regions.
Celebrations for International Youth Day (IYD) 2020 on 12 August may have gone virtual, but young people are still the big stars. IYD 2020 comes in the shape of a virtual podcast discussion, delivered from youth to youth, alongside creative artists.
Corruption is detrimental to the successful functioning of democratic political systems, economic development, and the provision of public services in society. To overcome corruption, countries in transition increasingly count on the role of an Anti-Corruption Commission or Agency (ACA). In this blog, Franklin De Vrieze and Luka Glusac discuss the role of the parliament of Ukraine and the country’s ACA in combating high-profile corruption.
WFD, through its inclusive and accountable politics programme, is working towards greater access and inclusion of women and marginalized groups in formal and informal political participation.
As women’s equality activists, we are often questioned: Why is this important? What difference could it possibly make? Won’t women politicians make just as much of a mess of things as men?
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a wide range of responses from government institutions around the world, and parliaments are not an exception. This unprecedented crisis is causing public institutions to adapt their work in response to the new COVID-19 reality.
To mark the launch of WFD's new Environmental Democracy Initiative, a virtual parliamentary roundtable featuring legislators from the United Kingdom, Georgia, Ghana, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Sierra Leone was hosted in July 2020.
Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD)’s Inclusive and Accountable Politics programme achieved a major success this year, helping devise a strategic plan for the 15th National Assembly of Pakistan which sets out the ways in which Pakistan’s legislature will improve its effectiveness, building on the successes and learning from the shortcoming of previous attempts.
Our planet needs democracy. To be exact, it needs environmental democracy. That is why Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is launching a new environmental democracy initiative to support the mutually dependent goals of strong democracies and protecting our planet.
The recent announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson of plans to merge the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) into the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) will undoubtedly impact the UK’s approach to development assistance for many years to come.