The 7th Copenhagen Democracy Summit, held on the 14th and 15th of May, brought allies of democracy from 90 countries to unite in the defence against autocratic forces. The overarching ambition to foster collaboration was reflected by global leaders, activists, frontline democracy fighters, and tech entrepreneurs who took center stage. The impressive lineup of speakers shared their valuable insights, powerful stories, and tangible innovations, inspiring and paving the way for more aligned and resilient democracies.

A robust civil society is essential for sustaining democracy, fostering civic education, participatory approaches, and advocacy initiatives. Leveraging civil society’s role is crucial for creating resilient democracies, with its diverse perspectives shaping the global democracy agenda. The Global Democracy Coalition, a network of democracy organizations, has pledged to advance and safeguard democracy worldwide, ahead of the Summits for Democracy in 2023 and 2024. This pledge initiative demonstrates a commitment to democracy and engages various actors in global debates, highlighting the crucial role of civil society and other stakeholders. The report details the 2023 pledges’ metrics and their implementation, and provides an overview of the 2024 pledges and partner contributions.

A robust civil society, adept at holding governments accountable, is essential for sustaining democracy. Therefore, organizations within the Global Democracy Coalition, a multi-stakeholder network of democracy organizations, have pledged to advance, strengthen, and safeguard democracy in anticipation of the upcoming third Summit for Democracy. The pledge initiative bolsters GDC’s efforts to cultivate responsible, sustainable, and inclusive democracies, and demonstrates our steadfast commitment to fostering peer-to-peer learning, amplifying the voices of human rights defenders and peacebuilders, and empowering entities and frameworks that champion democracy, justice, equity, and peace.

This document presents the pledges made by Coalition partners in 2023 ahead of the second Summit for Democracy, presented according to the name of the organization.

In November 2022, the Coordinators of the Global Democracy Coalition facilitated a series of focus group discussions (FGDs) to gather Coalition members’ recommendations for the Second Summit for Democracy, scheduled for 29–30 March 2023. Twenty-six of the Coalition’s 90 members participated in the sessions, with discussion participants offering a variety of ideas for Summit planners to consider. The FGDs were held before the official announcement of the Summit and should be read with that caveat in mind. The FGDs focused on four primary lines of questions: (1) what does meaningful participation by civil society look like; (2) how can the Summit process be more transparent and accountable; (3) feedback on the commitment process; and (4) the value of cohorts. The recommendations outlined below, if taken up by Summit planners, could help the United States lead by example and set the tone for the importance of civil society in the Summit for Democracy process and discussions on democracy, good governance, human rights, corruption and countering growing authoritarianism.