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Since 2021, the Summit for Democracy process has focused attention on how governments and non-governmental actors can work together to strengthening democratic institutions and processes, protect human rights, and advance the fight against corruption.

At the first Summit for Democracy in December 2021, representatives from governments around the world, civil society, and the private sector organized into 15 cooperative, multi-stakeholder Democracy Cohorts: platforms intended to undertake concerted action toward the implementation of Summit commitments in areas of common interest.

The 15 Democracy Cohorts focused on a range of topics, including technology, media freedom, youth engagement, financial transparency, rule of law, election integrity, and gender equality, among others. With 23 governments and 24 civil society and private sector actors co-leading these platforms, participants reflect democratic societys shared stake in advancing key facets of transparent and accountable governance.

In dialogue with civil society, the United States launched the Democracy Cohorts concept to support and monitor commitments made during the first Summit and provide additional opportunities for continued dialogue and collaboration among governments and authorities, civil society representatives, private sector leaders, philanthropic partners, and academics. While each Cohort included at least one government and one civil society co-lead, their focus, objectives, actions, and deliverables were their own to determine and execute through inclusive, multi-stakeholder collaboration with co-leads and participants. Several governments and many civic groups enthusiastically volunteered to lead and participate in the Cohorts, lending their experience and expertise to foster democratic learning.

Coming together for meaningful dialogue and collaboration, the Cohorts underscore the importance of strengthening democratic principles and participation, holding democratic governments accountable, and helping democracy deliver for its citizens. The Summit for Democracy organizers present the following summaries of each Cohorts work and outcomes for the consideration of Summit participants, who may choose to utilize identified best practices, adopt recommended commitments, collaborate with Cohorts to advance ongoing efforts, and sign on to Calls to Action or Declarations. Like other Summit participants, the U.S. government will give due consideration to Cohort recommendations and deliverables.

TheFinancial Transparency and Integritycohort,co-led by the Government of the United States, the Brookings Institution, and the Open Government Partnership, focused on concerted, collaborative actions to advance financial transparency, accountability, and integrity.

Key outcomes include:

TheInternational Cooperation for Anti-Corruptioncohort,co-led by the Government of Moldova, the Basel Institute on Governance, and Transparency International, concentrated on international cooperation in anti-corruption awareness and enforcement, with a focus on asset recovery.

Key outcomes include:

TheAnti-Corruption Policies as a Guarantee for National Security, Stability, and Sovereign Policycohort,co-led by the Government of Bulgaria, the Basel Institute on Governance, and the Center for the Study of Democracy, identified challenges and opportunities to promote anti-corruption policies and models for collective action.

Key outcomes include:

TheMedia Freedomcohort,co-led by the Government of Canada, the Government of the Netherlands, and Internews, reviewed progress and concrete action toward the first Summits commitments and encouraged new, innovative, and measurable commitments to advance media freedom around the world.

Key outcomes include:

TheInformation Integritycohort,co-led by the Government of Canada, the Government of Latvia, and the Alliance for Securing Democracy, highlighted and amplified best practices to strengthen a healthy information ecosystem.

Key outcomes include:

TheRule of Law and People-Centered Justicecohort,co-led by the Government of the Dominican Republic; the Government of Kosovo; the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative; Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just, and Inclusive Societies; Transparency International; and the World Justice Project, engaged interested stakeholders to participate in global rule of law and access to justice processes, such as facilitating cooperating with the Justice Action Coalition, as an opportunity to share achievements and challenges for rule of law and justice reforms.

Key outcomes include:

TheDeliberative Democracy and Citizens Assembliescohort,co-led by the Government of Ireland, the European Commission, and the newDemocracy Foundation, focused on providing citizens with a meaningful role in public decision-making through citizens assemblies by bringing together community representatives.

Key outcomes include:

TheElection Integritycohort,co-led by the Government of Greece, the Government of India, the Government of Mauritius, and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, concentrated on opportunities for training and capacity building programs and technical consultancies in support of election management bodies (EMBs) and electoral authorities (EAs) globally.

Key outcomes include:

TheLaborcohort,co-led by the United States and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), helped to inform the commitments and reforms that governments may choose to make, and fostered diplomatic engagement around labor priorities that emerge from theMultilateral Partnership for Organizing, Worker Empowerment, and Rights(M-POWER) initiative, which the U.S. government announced at the first Summit for Democracy to advance workplace democracy and support trade union rights in the global economy.

Key outcomes include:

TheCivic Spacecohort, co-led by the Government of the Czech Republic, the Government of Norway, and the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, focused on supporting and protecting civil society actors and promoting civic space to ensure open and inclusive democracy.

Key outcomes include:

TheResisting Authoritarian Pressurecohort,co-led by the Government of Lithuania, Freedom House, and the Alliance of Democracies, focused on raising awareness and generating action on the cost of political imprisonment, aiding pro-democracy and human rights defenders from non-democracies, and building resilience to authoritarian coercion.

Key outcomes include:

TheTechnology for Democracycohort,co-led by the Government of Estonia, the Government of the United Kingdom, and Access Now, promoted the development, use, and governance of digital technologies to strengthen democracies and enhance the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. It aimed to ensure that digital technologies are developed and deployed in a responsible, secure, and rights-respecting manner.

Key outcomes include:

The Gender Equality as a Prerequisite for Democracy cohort, co-led by the Government of Romania, the Government of Sweden, Georgetown Universitys Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, and International IDEA, emphasized the connection between gender equality and democracy and developed policy recommendations to bolster womens participation in and contributions to democracy. Key outcomes include:

TheInclusive Democracycohort,co-led by the Government of Spain, Comit Espaol de Representantes de Personas con Discapacidad, and Fundacin Tringulo, concentrated on creating more inclusive democracies through the full participation of the most vulnerable groups.

Key outcomes include:

The Youth Political and Civic Engagement cohort, co-led by the Government of Ghana, the Government of Nepal, the European Commission, AfricTivistes, the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD), and the European Youth Democracy Network (EDYN), explored ways to implement Summit commitments on youth political and civic engagement. Key outcomes include:

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Summit for Democracy: Democracy Cohort Outcomes - United ... - Department of State