Parliaments play a critical role in ensuring laws comply with international, regional, and national standards and are responsive to the public interest. They can also raise public awareness on human rights concerns and elevate issues of importance to marginalized communities, including people with disabilities. Parliaments have the power and responsibility to make meaningful contributions toward improving accessibility at local, national, and international levels. 

On a dirt stage packed on all sides by a rapt audience, a young man with prematurely grayed hair howls in outrage at his radio. Acting the part of an inept village chief, he rails at the radio, his wife, and a passing neighbor about a local government decision that he sees as interference in his town’s land disputes.

With the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine coming soon, Ukrainian young people are being called upon and shaping the present and future of Ukraine. Some serve their country through their military service, while others, like Kateryna Hlushchenko, support Ukrainian civil society and are beginning to plan what the future of a free Ukraine would look like. Kateryna is a Board member of “Community of Active Youth”, a National Endowment for Democracy-funded civil society organization that promotes youth activism and supports youth amid war.

In the heart of Daoukro, a city with deep political and cultural significance in central Côte d'Ivoire, the past three years have witnessed a troubling descent into conflict and division. It began in 2019 when clashes erupted between youth from different ethnic groups (Malinké and Baoulé), triggered by a brutal killing that was allegedly perpetrated by members of one group against the other, which set off a chain of escalating tensions. Violence during the 2020 elections further exacerbated these divisions, resulting in violent confrontations and casualties.

In recognition of International Day of the Girl Child, NDI is celebrating the invaluable contributions of young women and girls globally who act as leaders and changemakers in their communities. Despite the persistent challenges preventing young women and girls from participating in civic and political life, NDI partner organizations are creating more gender-inclusive, democratic societies.

Strengthening the decision making of homeowners has been a vital step in the evolution and development of democratic norms. Improving the rights of homeowners not only strengthens their abilities to hold institutions and property managers accountable, but it has consistently helped to develop a culture of democratic oversight, and is a small step towards normalizing citizen control of policies that reflect their  needs.