RMN Foundation

#ThankYouDemocracy – World Leaders Launch Democracy Campaign

To promote this initiative, videos have been launched on social media of important figures in the defence of democracy explaining why it is necessary to defend it.

The Global Democracy Coalition (GDC) launched ‘The Voice and Value of Democracy’ campaign at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit (May 14-15, 2024) with the aim of transforming the prevailing narrative and countering recent negative perceptions of democracy.

Convened by International IDEA with civil society partners, the Global Democracy Coalition is a multi-stakeholder alliance of more than 120 democracy organizations from around the world committed to advance and protect democracy worldwide.

The launch of the campaign, led by GDC partner Club de Madrid, featured a video that outlined the campaign and listed reasons why we should say ‘Thank You Democracy’, the campaign’s slogan.

The launch was presented by Belarusian opposition activist Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who expressed her solidarity with the campaign as someone who ‘has witnessed first-hand the power of grassroots movements and the resilience of democracy’.

At the end of the launch, all members of the Global Democracy Coalition in the room stood up as a sign of support for the campaign, and have been supporting the initiative throughout the Summit, wearing #ThankYouDemocracy t-shirts, participating in social media videos and other activities. 

During the event, important figures such as the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Venezuelan opposition figures Leopoldo López and Lilan Tintori also supported the campaign. 

To promote this initiative, videos have been launched on social media of important figures in the defence of democracy explaining why it is necessary to defend it. The participation includes several Members of Club de Madrid, the largest forum of democratically elected Former Presidents and Prime Ministers. 

“In democracy, civil rights of people and the freedoms are respected,” said former President of Costa Rica and Club de Madrid Member Carlos Alvarado. 

Former Prime Minister of Mali and Club de Madrid Member Moussa Mara said ‘democracy means freedom to speak and to choose’ and remarked that ‘it is the only system which allows human beings to be free’. 

To get involved in this campaign you can use #ThankYouDemocracy on your social media channels and share the reasons why you are thankful and stand up for democracy. 

Courtesy: Club de Madrid