The National Endowment for Democracy is a private, bipartisan foundation that works to strengthen democratic institutions worldwide. Since 1983, with support from the American people, NED has made thousands of grants to democratic nongovernmental groups in more than 100 countries, and has become a hub of activity, resources and intellectual exchange for activists, practitioners and scholars of democracy the world over.

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NED Mourns the loss of Congressman Tom Lantos
“The loss of Tom Lantos will be felt around the world, as those who fight for freedom and human dignity everywhere have lost a true friend and ally,” said NED Chairman Vin Weber in a statement issued by the Endowment. Congressman Lantos, pictured here, presented NED’s 2007 Democracy Award honoring the murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. [view video]

From Prison to Freedom: Difficulties and Hope
On January 15, Dr. Yang Jianli, Founder and President of the Foundation for China in the 21st Century, made his first public remarks at NED since his release from 5 years in a Chinese prison.  Dr. Yang described his experiences as a prisoner of conscience and offered his views on the role of the U.S. in promoting democratic values in China as well as reporting his own observations from several months of travel in China that followed his release. [read more / view this event]

New Report: Defending Civil Society
The World Movement for Democracy, in partnership with the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, has issued a ground-breaking new report detailing the many sophisticated legal barriers constructed by governments to block the work of NGOs engaged in democracy promotion and human rights work. In response to these obstacles, the report identifies strategies rooted in existing international principles and law, which NGOs can use to defend their work. This report is available online in English. [read the report]

NED Calls on Serbian Government to Protect Human Rights Defenders and Journalists
NED, the Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, and Impunity Watch have petitioned the government of Serbia to act to protect human rights defenders and journalists who have come under threat since the recent declaration of independence by Kosovo. NED is particularly concerned for the safety of grantee Natasa Kandic, director of the Humanitarian Law Center in Belgrade. [read the statement]

Vicente Fox speaks to the New York Democracy Forum
"Mexico’s Long Road to Democracy: The Challenges Ahead" was the topic of former Mexican president Vicente Fox’s remarks on February 6 when he addressed the New York Democracy Forum, a joint initiative of NED and the Foreign Policy Association. [read more / view this event]

Discourses on Democracy: New Books by Marc F. Plattner and Larry Diamond
On January 31, NED hosted a book launch event featuring two new books by the coeditors of NED’s Journal of Democracy. Democracy Without Borders? Global Challenges to Liberal Democracy by Marc F. Plattner and The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World were discussed by a panel that featured Tamara Cofman Wittes, William Galston, and Gideon Rose. [read more / view this event]

On January 21, NED President Carl Gershman addressed the Henry Jackson Society and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy at the House of Commons in London on "A Forward Strategy for Democracy Promotion in 2008 and Beyond: Regaining the Momentum." [read more]

Recent presentations by Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows:

• On February 7, 2008, Iraqi lawyer Mustafa Safwat Rashid Sidqi gave a presentation on Prospects for Iraqi National Reconciliation: Searching for a Plan.
  
  
• On February 1, 2008, Nepali journalist Prem Khanal gave a talk on Political Resistance to Economic Reform in Nepal: Conflict and Consequences for Democracy.
  
  
• On January 15, 2008, Chechen journalist and human rights defender Usam Baysaev gave a presentation on Putin’s Campaign Against Chechen Society. Mr. Baysaev’s remarks were featured in a February 6 article by Nora Boustany in the Washington Post, entitled Chechen Warns of Islamic Extremism.
  
  
• On November 14 and December 11, 2007, election-planning and management expert Tihana Bartulac-Blanc held two roundtable discussions on Croatia’s diaspora constituency, entitled New Borders and Anomalies in the Balkans: Croatia’s Diaspora Constituency. The two roundtables culminated in the online publication of a Special Report on the subject.
  

New reports from the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA):

• Community Radio: Its Impact and Challenges to Its Development
• The Role of Media-support Organizations and Public Literacy in Strengthening Independent Media Worldwide
  

CIMA events:

• Instability in Pakistan: Implications for the Future of Independent Media. On Wednesday, February 27, from 12 to 2 p.m. at NED, CIMA and NED’s Asia program will be hosting a luncheon event on the state of the media in Pakistan, featuring Steve Coll, president and CEO of the New America Foundation, Nicholas Schmidle, a freelance journalist, Sami Abraham of GEO-TV, and Manzur Ejaz of the Lahore Daily Times. Please contact cima@ned.org for further details or to RSVP.
  
  
• The Role of the Media in a Polarized Society: On January 17, Andrés Cañizález of the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello presented the results of a recent study on media coverage in Venezuela of December’s proposed constitutional reforms, and explored the lessons that were drawn from the experience. [read more / view this event]
  
  
• Global Investigative Journalism: Strategies for Support: On January 16, David E. Kaplan, the author of CIMA’s newly published report Global Investigative Journalism: Strategies for Support, addressed the growth of investigative journalism centers worldwide and highlighted opportunities for stakeholders to invest in more sustained professional programs for journalists. [view report / view this event]

• Open Radio for North Korea, Radio Free Chosun, and Free North Korea Radio were featured in a Washington Post article for their work in providing North Korean citizens with independent radio broadcasts as an alternative to government-sponsored programming. [read more]
  
  
• The Citizens’ Alliance for Human Rights in North Korea convened the 8th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees on January 22, 2008 at Chatham House in London.  The meeting examined three themes:  changing perceptions in North Korea, North Korea’s path to development, and a possible Helsinki process in Northeast Asia.  NED President Carl Gershman spoke at the conference about a “new convergence” of conditions that may lead to positive change related to North Korea. [read more / full agenda]

Hoang Minh Chinh, a democracy activist who was imprisoned for over 20 years for criticizing the Communist Party of Vietnam, passed away on February 7. Hoang Minh Chinh, along with Buddhist dissident Thich Quang Do, was awarded the Democracy Courage Tribute award at the World Movement for Democracy's Fourth Assembly in 2006. [read more]

Dr. Luis Aguilar León passed away on January 5. He was an early advisor for NED's Latin America program. Aguilar was born and raised in Oriente, Cuba. He was a professor of Cuban history and taught at Oriente University, Columbia, Cornell, and Georgetown Universities. [read more]

Ghia Nodia, a member of the Steering Committee of the World Movement for Democracy, was recently appointed as Georgia's Minister of Education and Science. [read more]