The United Nations has designated September 15 as “International Day of Democracy.” Its stated purpose is to enable the global community to “review the state of democracy in the world” and advance the goal of ensuring democracy may be “made into a reality to be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere.”

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, countless individuals and organizations across Ukraine have risen to the challenge of supporting their communities and addressing challenges that have emerged as a result of the war. The Rizni.Rivni project, launched in collaboration between the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and a group of Ukrainian LGBTQI+ equality organizations in 2020, has played a key role in that effort.

For the past three years, Women’s Advisory Boards (WABs) in Iraq have engaged with local officials to advance projects and policies that respond to the needs of their communities through a gendered lens in order to improve the lives of some of society’s most vulnerable members. This summer, more than 100 WAB members and guests came together for a conference in Erbil to celebrate their progress and to share ideas to further elevate women’s influence in policy-making.

In August 2022, the National Democratic Institute’s research team in Ukraine designed and deployed a national telephone survey to gauge the impact of the full-scale war on the lives of everyday Ukrainians and identify opportunities and challenges on the road to Ukraine’s democratic transition.

Youth engagement is becoming increasingly important in Tanzania, a country with one of the fastest growing youth populations in the world. Currently, an estimated 61 percent of the population is under the age of 35, making up a clear majority. Despite this, a recent study by the Tanzania Centre for Democracy (TCD) found that only 23 percent of council positions at the local level were contested by young people in the 2020 general elections.