More than 1 billion people – approximately 15 percent of the world’s population – experience some form of disability. They are the world’s largest marginalized group, and face significant accessibility and representation challenges that limit or restrict their equal participation in nearly all aspects of society. At the first Global Disability Summit – held last week in London – self-advocates, governments, international institutions and business leaders from around the world convened to raise attention about the scale of disability exclusion and secure new commitments for change.

It’s 8:30 AM and Fatiha* is walking into the Moroccan Parliament. In a few minutes, she’s scheduled to sit down with her member of parliament (MP) for their weekly one-on-one meeting. Fatiha plans to propose a new strategy to increase the MP’s social media visibility. By 9 AM, Fatiha is at her desk putting the final touches on a Facebook update to publicize the MP’s visit to a local market, which falls in line with her proposed new social media strategy. “I have enormously appreciated the exchanges with [my MP].

The Open Internet for Democracy Initiative (OIDI) announced the selection of the first cohort of open internet advocates for the Open Internet for Democracy Leaders Program. The six outstanding leaders (see their profiles below) were chosen from nearly two hundred applicants, and represent a diverse group of global advocates from local civic, media, and private sector organizations that are passionate about protecting and promoting an open internet.

As part of the National Democratic Institute’s ongoing mission to work for democracy and make democracy work around the world, we are updating some of our policies in order to ensure the privacy of those who interact with the Institute. Effective May 25th, 2018, NDI is updating it privacy policy, online platforms and organizational procedures to bring them into alignment with General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).