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Vilnius, Lithuania is host to the Sixth Ministerial Meeting of the Community of Democracies on July 1. CCD, in its capacity as Secretariat for the International Steering Committee of the Community of Democracies, organized the Civil Society Forum of the Vilnius Ministerial on June 29. More than 120 democracy activists and civil society leaders from around the world participated in the Forum, discussing the most pressing needs for advancing democracy and how the Community of Democracies can address those needs.
Governmental and Civil Society Documents from the Vilnius Ministerial
Vilnius Declaration of the Community of Democracies
List of Governments Who Participated in the Vilnius Ministerial
Civil
Society Recommendations to the Vilnius Ministerial of the Community of Democracies
June 28: ISC Meeting on Civil Society's Role in the Reformed Community of Democracies and Joint Meeting of the ISC and the World Movement for Democracy Steering Committee
ISC members Sameer Jarrah (Jordan, left) and Zanaa Jurmed (Mongolia, right) discuss the role of civil society in the reformed Community of Democracies.
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ISC/CD Meeting on Civil Society's Role in the Reformed Community of Democracies
Led by Chair Paul Graham (South Africa), the ISC/CD convened to discuss civil society's role in the reformed CD. The meeting saw opening remarks from Graham and a discussion of the CD reform package by ISC/CD member Morton Halperin (USA). ISC/CD member and CCD President Robert LaGamma (USA) introduced a memorandum of understanding on the role of the ISC/CD in order to confirm the practices and principles by which the CD has encouraged the participation of civil society.
Click here to view this meeting's agenda.
Click here to read about the CD's reform.
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Chairs Kim Campbell (WMD, Canada) and Paul Graham (ISC/CD, South Africa) discuss the role of civil society in advancing key points of the Vilnius Declaration. |
Joint Meeting of the International Steering Committee of the Community of Democracies and the World Movement for Democracy Steering Committee
In this first joint meeting between the International Steering Committee of the CD (ISC/CD) and the World Movement for Democracy (WMD) Steering Committee, members of the committees discussed ways to advance several key points in the Vilnius Declaration with particular attention to the role of civil society around the world and with an eye to the new governing structure of the CD and its various working groups.
Click here to view this meeting's agenda.
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June 29: Civil Society Forum of the Vilnius Ministerial
Members of civil society listen to panels at the Vilnius Town Hall during the Civil Society Forum. |
Civil Society Forum
Organized by the ISC/CD, the Civil Society Forum was attended by more than 120 democracy activists and civil society leaders from around the world. The Forum's panels included discussions on the CD's recent developments, including the reform of the CD; new democracy movements and the case for a more assertive CD; and an open dialogue about developing new strategies for civil society engagement in response to prosposed reforms of the CD's structure and activities. The Forum concluded with a session focused on the forthcoming Mongolian Presidency of the CD.
Click here to read the press release on the Civil Society Forum. |
June 30
Participants listen to panels on the relationship between private business and democratic transition at the Central Office of the TEO LT. |
Corporate Democracy Forum
At the Krakow High Level Democracy Meeting July 2-4, 2010, the CD Working Group on Poverty, Development and Democracy, the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland, Center for International Private Enterprise, and several Polish and international companies, endorsed the creation of the Corporate Democracy Forum (CDF) to provide a channel for the democratic contributions of the private sector.
Click here to view this meeting's agenda.
Click here to view the report by the CD Working Group on Poverty, Development and Democracy. |
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Youth Forum
The Young Leaders Forum of the Community of Democracies was established in Vilnius in June 2010. This year the Young Leaders Forum, in partnership with the Institute of Democratic Politics, the Atlantic Council and the World Youth Movement for Democracy convened to discuss the theme of 'Young Leaders in Support for Democracy: Challenges and Possibilities.' The Forum was attended by leading youth activists, democracy practitioners and diplomats from around the world to discuss their experiences supporting democracy, share best practices and propose recommendations for how the CD can strengthen youth engagement in support of democracy.
Click here to view this meeting's agenda.
Click here to read Foreign Minister Ažubalis' remarks. |
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė at the Women Enhancing Democracy Forum. |
Women Enhancing Democracy Forum
Held at the Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania, the ‘Women Enhancing Democracy: Best Practices' Forum was attended by approximately 130 prominent women leaders from over 40 countries around the world. Presided over by Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė and Finnish President Tarja Halonen, the Forum focused on strategies and tools that can be used to increase women’s participation in consolidated democracies as well as in emerging democracies and transitional governments.
Click here to view this meeting's agenda.
Click here to read President Dalia Grybauskaitė's remarks.
Click here to read President Tarja Halonen's remarks. |
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Parliamentary Forum
June 30, 2011, marked the fifth meeting of the CD Parliamentary Forum. Held at the Seimas (Lithuanian Parliament), the Forum saw opening remarks fromEmanuelis Zingeris, President of the Parliamentary Forum; Irena Degutienė, Speaker of the Seimas; Audronius Ažubalis, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Rep. Dan Burton, Chairman of the US House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia, Committee on Foreign Affairs. The Forum marked the opening of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Forum for Democracy in Vilnius as a tool for implementing concrete steps to foster and protect democracy worldwide.
Click here to view this meeting's agenda.
Click here to read Lithuanian Foreign Minister Ažubalis' remarks.
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July 1: VI Vilnius Ministerial Meeting of the Community of Democracies
Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Azubalis giving opening remarks during the Ministerial at the LITEXPO Exhibition Centre.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Ministerial. |
Ministerial Meeting
The Sixth Ministerial Meeting of the Community of Democracies was attended by heads of state, foreign ministers, high-level diplomats and numerous civil society activists from around the world. The Ministerial saw the adoption of the Vilnius Declaration, which emphasizes the commitment to strengthen the Community of Democracies activities, and the endorsement of the Democracy Partnership Challenge, a new initiative to help other countries transition to democracy. The Ministerial saw opening remarks from Audronius Azubalis, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs; Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State; Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; Jorge Sampaio, UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations; and Mohsen Marzouk, the Secretary General of the Arab Democracy Foundation. The Ministerial also saw the presentation of three awards (the Geremek Award, the Palmer Prize and the Young Leaders's Prize) and saw panels on engaging civil society. The Ministerial concluded with the CD Presidency being passed to the country of Mongolia (CD Chair 2011-2013).
Click here to view this meeting's agenda.
Click here to read Foreign Minister Ažubalis' remarks.
Click here to read Secretary Clinton's remarks.
Click here to High Representative Ashton's remarks.
Click here to read about the 2011 Geremek Award recipient.
Click here to watch Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj discuss the country's upcoming CD Chairmanship at a NED sponsored event in Washington, DC on June 15, 2011.
ISC/CD member Mohsen Marzouk (Tunisia) and Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. |
2011 Palmer Prize recipients (clockwise): James McGee (USA), Ernesto Pinto-Bazurco Rittler (Peru), Caecilia Wijgers (The Netherlands), CCD President Robert LaGamma, Ben Rowswell (Canada) and Jaroslav Olsa, Jr. (Czech Republic). Not pictured: Mariusz Handzlik (Poland) and Zygimantas Pavilionis (Lithuania).
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The Mark Palmer Prize
The adherence of 106 democratic countries to the Warsaw Declaration created a new standard for diplomacy. The Mark Palmer Prize seeks to honor those diplomats who are actively engaged in the realization of those standards. The award is intended for diplomats who display valor under difficult circumstances and take risks or are especially inventive in their sustained efforts to assist civil society to advance democracy in their countries of assignment. Our models for the award are drawn from the experiences highlighted in A Diplomat’s Handbook for Democracy Development Support, a work inspired by Ambassador Mark Palmer and by his exceptional service to the cause of democracy as United States Ambassador to Hungary during that country’s transition to democracy.
Click here to read about the inaugural 2011 Palmer Prize recipients.
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