In recent years, the rise of technology has ushered in an era where information spreads rapidly and seamlessly across countries and borders worldwide. This trend has come with some democratic opportunities but also major risks to democracies, chief being the lack of information integrity. West Africa is no exception to this trend, with Russian disinformation campaigns targeting the region to exploit political instability and degrade trust in democracy.

Digital attacks are on the rise globally. These attacks threaten the continuity and effectiveness of democratic actors’ daily operations and, on a larger scale, threaten to undermine the public’s trust in the democratic systems in which these actors operate.

A healthy democracy requires that everyone - especially those who are traditionally marginalized or excluded from civic and political processes - be able to exercise their rights freely. In today’s world, the exercise of such rights and the efforts of civil society organizations to expand and defend them increasingly rely on digital technologies.

Who really controls the Internet? It's tempting to think of the internet as a global resource managed by some distant, far-off authority. But in reality, keeping it accessible, free, open and secure is everyone’s collective responsibility. Making the internet “work” for society requires the active engagement of an intentionally distributed system where no one government, organization or company controls it.

The online and social media space has transformed the information landscape over the last decade. Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have become a hub for citizen engagement, creating opportunities for active citizens to collaborate in pursuing change. Despite this, the online space is also being used to disrupt the integrity of information, and undertake cybersecurity attacks that add to existing tensions across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

NDI’S Kosovo podcast, which encompasses a range of topics including but not limited to digital democracy, the impact of misogyny and sexism as a weapon against women in politics, the prevalence of foreign influences, and the role of journalists in the information war, released its first season in June of 2022. NDI’s Kosovo team works to reinforce and safeguard democracy in the region by working against misleading information and examining how it impacts the international sphere.

Following the Year of Action after the first Summit for Democracy in 2021, NDI once again played a central role throughout the second Summit, held from March 28-30. This year’s Summit was a global event co-hosted with Costa Rica, The Netherlands, South Korea, Zambia, and the United States.