Logistics
Date & Time: Thursday April 16, 2026 | 2:00 PM CET / 4:00 PM EAT
Online Platform: Zoom (will be livestreamed on GDC YouTube channel)
Co-hosting Organizations: Alma Civica, Global Democracy Coalition
Livestream Details: Coming Soon!
Background
Democratic systems across the Americas are experiencing a period of sustained pressure. Polarization, disinformation, declining institutional trust, and contested legitimacy are reshaping how democracy is understood and experienced across the region. These dynamics are not confined within national borders but are increasingly interconnected across the hemisphere.
Within this context, the United States plays a significant role in shaping democratic narratives across the Americas. Its political processes, media ecosystems, and digital platforms influence how democracy is discussed, contested, and practiced throughout the region. Current dynamics in the U.S. (including deep polarization, debates around electoral integrity, and shifting democratic norms) are reverberating beyond its borders, affecting political discourse, public trust, and civic engagement across Latin America and the Caribbean.
This webinar approaches these dynamics through a regional lens. Rather than focusing on the U.S. in isolation, it examines how democratic narratives circulate across the Americas and how they shape participation, legitimacy, and democratic renewal in different contexts.
By grounding the discussion in regional experiences and cross-border dynamics, the webinar will generate insights that feed directly into the 2026 GDC Americas Regional Forum, particularly discussions on democratic legitimacy, participation, and narrative renewal.
Objectives
- Examine how polarization, disinformation, and legitimacy debates are shaping democratic narratives across the Americas.
- Analyze how U.S.-driven media and digital ecosystems influence political discourse, participation, and public trust in the region.
- Explore how transnational narratives affect citizens’ perceptions of democracy and their willingness to engage in democratic processes.
- Highlight emerging narratives and practices from across the Americas that contribute to rebuilding legitimacy, trust, and participation.
- Capture insights to inform discussions at the Americas Regional Forum on democratic renewal, civic participation, and inclusive narratives.
Speakers / Experts Profiles
Clara Bois
Partnerships Director at People Powered
Clara Bois is the Partnerships Director at People Powered, the global hub for participatory democracy, where she leads capacity-building support and partnerships to help governments and organizations design and implement equitable and inclusive participatory programs. She grew up in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, one of the first cities in the country to develop a comprehensive participatory system spanning budgeting, urban planning, and public policy. A former research associate at the Participatory Budgeting Project, she has also managed participatory processes for housing policy and urban planning in Brazil. She holds two master’s degrees, in architecture and urbanism from the Federal University of Minas Gerais and in urban and regional planning from UCLA, with research focused on how Brazilian housing movements have used participatory arenas to fight for policy change and housing justice.
Eric Friedenwald-Fishman
Creative Director, Founder, and CEO of Metropolitan Group
Eric Friedenwald-Fishman is the Creative Director, Founder, and CEO of Metropolitan Group, a full-service social change agency specializing in narrative change and public will building. He is the principal author of the Public Will Building Framework and has led a major global research initiative mapping pro-democracy and pro-authoritarian narratives across more than a dozen countries on five continents, including several in Latin America. He is a co-author of the Pro-Democracy Narrative Playbook and brings a strategic, practitioner-grounded perspective on how the democracy field can communicate more effectively in an era of rising authoritarianism.
Inés Reineke
Global Director of Innovation at the Red de Innovación Local (RIL)
Inés Reineke is the Global Director of Innovation at the Red de Innovación Local (RIL), an organization that works to strengthen the governance capacity of local governments across Latin America and the Global South. Her work focuses on identifying, sharing, and scaling innovative public policies that are transforming quality of life at the local level, with particular attention to civic participation, transparency, and inclusive governance. She brings a ground-level regional perspective on how democratic renewal is being built from the bottom up, often well outside the visibility of national and international democratic narratives.
Noam Lupu
Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Global Democracy and LAPOP Lab at Vanderbilt University
Noam Lupu is the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Global Democracy and LAPOP Lab at Vanderbilt University. He is the author of Keeping Workers Off the Ballot (with Nicholas Carnes, Princeton, 2026) and Party Brands in Crisis (Cambridge 2016) and editor of Unequal Democracies (with Jonas Pontusson, Cambridge 2024) and Campaigns and Voters in Developing Democracies (with Virginia Oliveros and Luis Schiumerini, Michigan 2019). Dr. Lupu has published dozens of academic articles in both English and Spanish related to political identity, democratic governance and representation, and political behavior in Latin America as well as other world regions. His research has been supported by Facebook, the Inter-American Development Bank, the National Science Foundation, USAID, and the World Bank, among other funders. Dr. Lupu has received numerous prestigious awards and fellowships and has been invited to speak at hundreds of venues across the globe. He has held distinguished visiting positions at the American Academy in Berlin, Harvard University, Tel-Aviv University, Torcuato Di Tella University in Argentina, and the University of Geneva.
MODERATOR: Phillip Lurie
Program Officer for Democracy around the Globe, Charles F. Kettering Foundation
Phillip Lurie brings more than 25 years of experience to his role as program officer for Democracy around the Globe at the Kettering Foundation. An integral member of this team, Lurie works to raise awareness about emerging threats to democracy and to champion initiatives that advance inclusive democratic values. His portfolio includes work on academic freedom, the development of inclusive democratic narratives, and transnational learning across communities and regions. He helps convene global partners, facilitate dialogue, and build platforms for collaboration and mutual support.
Earlier in his tenure at the foundation, Lurie led research on the democratic capacities of communities and the relationship between citizens and public institutions. He also directed a signature international initiative in Israel, supporting dialogue among Jewish and Arab citizens to address deep-rooted identity conflicts that threaten democratic life.
Throughout his career at Kettering, Lurie has chaired research workgroups and contributed both as a writer and editor to foundation publications. He also managed the foundation’s Washington, DC, office for over two decades.
He holds an EdD in educational administration and policy analysis, an MPP in education, and a BA in international affairs, all from George Washington University.