Who We Are
Our Guiding Principles
Principle 1: A Mindset for Growth, Courage, and Humility
1. Adopt and apply a growth mindset in all actions.
2. Be courageous in work, humbly recognizing fallibility and room for improvement.
Principle 2: Unity and Equity in Risks
1. Collaborate as a community that supports and lifts up one another, recognizing the unequal distribution of risks and consequences in the global democracy agenda.
2. Actively seek ways to support, share, and redistribute risks whenever possible.
Principle 3: Inclusive, Authentic, Transparent and Effective Collaboration
1. Have clear and transparent ways of working, making decisions, and sharing resources.
2. Establish robust feedback loops so that all partners contribute to maintaining accountability.
3. Provide authentic, safe, and inclusive spaces for learning, collaboration, and discussion; enable partners and stakeholders to identify, address, and resolve issues in ways that are grounded in reality and true to their contexts.
4. Build constructive relationships based on mutual trust through conscious practices.
Principle 4: Real-World Focused and Strategic Simplicity
1. Be grounded by a simple overall strategic framework that prioritizes flexibility and agility.
2. Understand that the success of the Coalition will rely on its ability to effectively convey its work, analysis, and collaborations to external stakeholders.
3. Be externally focused to optimize collective action and maximize impact.
Principle 5: Voluntary Participation
1. The GDC is not an imposing mechanism on partners; partners can opt-in and out of collaborations and opportunities.
2. Regularly offer opportunities to participate or withdraw from initiatives, areas of work, and/or statements and positions.
How We Work
The Global Democracy Coalition (GDC) collaborates to strengthen democratic governance across the globe through strategic partnerships, data-driven insights, and inclusive decision-making processes.
Coordinator Hosted by International IDEA
- Configuration: Flexible team structure with a permanent seat on the Steering Group.
- Responsibilities: Event planning, knowledge exchange, communications, partnership management, fundraising, and strategic support.
Co-Coordinator Led by Counterpart International
- Configuration: Flexible team structure with representation on the Steering Group.
- Responsibilities: Ensuring diverse representation, promoting shared decision-making, advocacy, communication, and partnership exploration.
Steering Group Comprising 7-9 Partner Organizations
- Current Members: Accountability Lab, Alliance for Vietnam’s Democracy, Alliance of Democracies, DT Institute, Humanity United, PartnersGlobal.
- Roles: Strategic oversight, resource mobilization, leading actions, initiating collaborations.
- Meetings: Monthly with comprehensive records accessible to the Wider Coalition.
Wider Coalition All GDC partners
- Configuration: The Wider Coalition includes all partner organizations of the Global Democracy Coalition, who are consistently invited to participate in Coalition activities, events, and working groups.
- Responsibilities & Advantages: Partners benefit from a platform to express their views, promote their work via GDC’s social media channels, participate in and propose events, access sub-grants for their initiatives, and collaborate in working groups.
Decision-Making Process
- Formal Votes: Require a quorum of 50%+1 and majority or 2/3 majority for significant decisions.
- Inclusivity: No single member holds veto power, ensuring collaborative and transparent decisions.
Join our coalition to support democratic governance! For more information, please email the GDC Coordinator Elisenda Balleste Buxo (e.ballestebuxo@idea.int).
What We Do
The Global Democracy Coalition serves as a platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, experience-sharing, and advocacy, focusing on the Summits for Democracy and broader global democracy issues. We collectively address strategic topics that are crucial to advancing the global democracy agenda.
We have organized the Global Democracy Coalition Forum in 2021, 2023, and 2024, aligning with the Summits for Democracy. Our activities include hosting a webinar series on democracy, sharing information on Summit-related activities, maintaining a website featuring Coalition and partner initiatives, and producing a regular newsletter. We also mark International Democracy Day with special events and convened Partners for Democracy Day in 2023 and 2024, offering a platform for civil society, international organizations, academic institutions, think tanks, philanthropic organizations, and the private sector to engage in the global democracy conversation, even if they are not part of the official Summit.
In May 2024, we launched the “Voice and Value of Democracy” advocacy campaign, promoted under the hashtag #ThankYouDemocracy. This campaign aims to create a positive narrative around democracy, showcasing its universal value, encouraging proactive engagement, and educating the public on democratic processes and responsibilities. It also seeks to counter the rising trends of political apathy, disengagement, and declining trust seen in many parts of the world. Our joint efforts include issuing statements, publishing reports, providing analysis, and monitoring commitments, all contributing to strengthening democratic engagement worldwide.
For more information on our current events, initiatives, resources, newsletters, and publications, please explore other sections of our website or follow us on LinkedIn or X (formerly Twitter).
