Over half the world is now online. In this increasingly digital age, connected citizens expect to be able to engage with their democratic leaders the same way they talk to each other, do their shopping, and gather information: on the internet. However, critical political and civic institutions are often far behind the curve. Governments and civil society organizations have been slow to adopt digital tools to gather and analyze data, track information about their supporters, or contact citizens on their ever-present phones.

Supported by NDI and more than a dozen other international partners, the Design 4 Democracy Coalition held its first Advisory Board meeting on October 25th, in conjunction with MisinfoCon London and Mozilla Fest (MozFest).

NDI continues to expand its efforts at the intersection of tech and democracy in response to the growing, global challenges of disinformation and cyberattacks against political parties and democracy organizations. Over the coming months, NDI will be rolling out a number of new initiatives to promote the integrity of information in politics and to support the civic tech community.

Political parties play an essential role in a democracy, for which they must exercise good leadership, conduct regular outreach to their constituents, and demonstrate that government is delivering on citizen concerns. When parties cannot fulfill this role, democracy suffers.

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.