Despite the challenges in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the National Endowment for Democracy’s (NED) awarded the highest number of grants in its history—1,995 projects in 100 countries, totaling 254 million dollars. These local partners adapted throughout the year and continued their efforts to advocate for democracy and freedom around the world.
Here are some of our most-read stories from our grantees in 2021, which represent the diversity of NED’s global grantmaking. (See more of our 2020 highlights.)
Highlighting the Pandemic’s Impact on Nairobi’s Most-Marginalized
Kenya-based grantee Kay Youth Media created an information campaign on the impact of the pandemic for those living in Nairobi’s so-called slums, some of the world’s largest settlements of the most economically marginalized. (Read about Kay Youth Media.)
Policy Progress for Uyghurs
Building on the efforts of NED grantees to document repression and attacks on the rights and culture of the Uyghur people, the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 was passed by the U.S. Congress—condemning the Chinese Communist Party for continued human rights violations against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in East Turkistan. (Read about NED’s grants to defend the rights of Uyghurs.)
Art for Peace in Afghanistan
ArtLords, an Afghanistan-based grantee, created murals that raise awareness about key issues confronting the country–such as human rights, corruption, drugs and warlords, public health, and more–while engaging fellow citizens to participate in the artistic process. (Read about ArtLords.)
Journalism Excellence in Europe
NED grantees The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Coda Story (Republic of Georgia) won European Press Prizes for their reporting in the Balkans and on the Uyghur Crisis, respectively. (Read about BIRN and Coda Story.)
Youth Engagement in Cote d’Ivoire
Observatoire Ivoirien des Droits de l’Homme (OIDH), a grantee based in Cote d’Ivoire, pushed to encourage youth participation and citizen understanding of the electoral process to support peaceful, transparent elections. (Read about OIDH.)
Combatting Disinformation in Brazil
Brazil-based grantee Instituto Technologia e Equidade trained regional electoral authorities and journalists to combat disinformation leading up to the Brazilian local elections in November 2020. (Read about Instituto Technologia e Equidade.)
Women’s Rights During Afghan Peace Process
Several women-led Afghanistan grantees, including the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies (DROPS), played a key role in defending women’s rights and democratic gains during peace negotiations. (Read about DROPS.)
(Read more highlights from NED’s work in 2020.)
