November 19

Secretary General’s meeting with President of the Venice Commission

As part of the Community of Democracies’ participation in the World Forum for Democracy, the Secretary General (SG) held bilateral meetings, beginning with the Venice Commission to discuss issues of interest on democratic trends and possible areas of collaboration.

President Gianni Buquicchio and Secretary Thomas Markaert received the Secretary General,who provided a brief summary of upcoming activities of the CoD in 2019, and discussed the 2018-2023 Strategic Plan of the Community of Democracies.

Participants: Thomas E. Garrett,Secretary General; Patricia Galdamez, Senior Advisor of the Community of Democracies; Gianni Buquicchio, President of the Venice Commission; Thomas Markaert, Secretary of the Venice Commission.

Community of Democracies Satellite Event, Building Sustainable Peace: The Importance of Women’s Inclusion, Palais de l’Europe, Strasbourg

The Community of Democracies hosted a panel discussion on the role of women in peacebuilding and peace processes.  The panel was a satellite event to the World Forum for Democracy’s annual gathering in Strasbourg.  Women experts in the field provided specific lessons learned and best practices from Syria, the Balkans, Central Africa and South America.

Participants: Thomas E. Garrett,Secretary General; Mona Lena Krook, Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University; Sawsan Zakzak, Coordination Committee Member of the Syrian Women’s League; Annika Schabbauer, Director of Operation 1325; Lana Ackar, Gender Officer for OSCE/ODIHR.

 November 20

Secretary General’s meeting with Director of Human Dignity, Equality and Governance Directorate

The Secretary General and Ms. Claudia Luciani, Director of the Human Dignity, Equality and Governance Directorate of the Council of Europe spoke on challenges to gender parity in politics and governance and on near-term collaboration by the Community of Democracies and the Directorate, specifically on issues of gender equality.

Participants: Thomas E. Garrett,Secretary General; Patricia Galdamez, Senior Advisor of the Community of Democracies; Claudia Luciani,  Director of the Human Dignity, Equality and Governance Directorate, Council of Europe.

November 21

Panel Event, Has Democracy Failed Women? Palais de l’Europe, Strasbourg

As an official event of the World Forum for Democracy, the Secretary General spoke on a panel examining gender parity and inclusion.  He noted the recent gains in women’s political participation in Governing Council Member State Mexico and spoke of both positive and negative uses of technology in the quest for equality.

Participants:Thomas E. Garrett, Secretary General; Anthony Zacharzewski, President of the Democratic Society; Petra de Sutter, Belgian MEP; Robert Bjarnason, Member of the Incubator for Participatory Democracy, Iceland; Vanessa Liston, Member of the Incubator for Participatory Democracy, Ireland. 

Secretary General’s meeting with Directorate General of Democracy, Council of Europe

The Secretary General met with Matjaz Gruden, Director of Democratic Participation at the Council of Europe, to discuss issues specifically related to civic/democracy education and the protection of journalists and free speech.

Participants: Thomas E. Garrett,Secretary General; Patricia Galdamez, Senior Advisor of the CoD; Matjaz Gruden, Director of Democratic Participation, Directorate General of Democracy.