Date: September 15, 2025
Time: 10:30 – 13:30 PKT
Location: Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
Host Organization: Accountability Lab Pakistan
Virtual Participation Link: https://business.facebook.com/events/1301801574952693/
South Asia’s democratic landscape in 2025 is shaped by digital frontiers: internet shutdowns (e.g., Pakistan, 2024), online hate during election cycles (Bangladesh), and emerging digital surveillance frameworks (Nepal). Simultaneously, youth-led civic innovations, interfaith solidarity, and grassroots resilience offer pathways for renewal. This hybrid event will surface region-specific challenges and innovations through participatory diagnostics; will ensure intergenerational and intersectional dialogue, elevating women, minority, and disability perspectives; will co-create a South Asia IDD Action Charter with concrete policy and programmatic commitments; and will lay groundwork for sustained impact via a Community of Practice and an Impact Dashboard.
Objectives:
a) Provide a platform for intergenerational, cross-sectoral dialogue on the state and future of democracy in South Asia.
b) Highlight and celebrate grassroots democratic innovations, especially those leveraging digital tools and platforms.
c) Facilitate the co-creation of regional strategies and collaborative actions to counter civic space shrinkage, digital authoritarianism, and misinformation.
d) Generate concrete policy and civic commitments from participants to sustain democratic renewal in the region.
e) Showcase the resilience and leadership of youth, women, and marginalized communities in defending democratic spaces.
Event Programme:
