Tag: democracy
united-nations: Monday is International Day of Democracy! This year’s theme – Engaging Young People on Democracy – highlights the challenges and opportunities of young people engaging in democratic processes. For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/en/events/democracyday/ This year’s theme is yet again one I can wholeheartedly support. I’ve posted about democracy education two years ago here.
united-nations: How strong is your voice? On Sunday’s International Day of Democracy, strengthen your voice on democracy to make it work for all. Find out more here: http://j.mp/9IJA98 More resources from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) are here: ttp://j.mp/181WuYu According to IPU, the Parliament of India (pictured here) will mark #DemocracyDay by hosting a live televised debate on the “Challenges to Indian Democracy” with Members of Parliament, civil society groups, university students and journalists.
Today is International Day of Democracy! “On this International Day of Democracy, I call on leaders to hear, respect and respond appropriately to the voices of the people, whether expressed directly or through elected representatives.” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon This year’s theme is ’Strenghtening Voices for Democracy’. I have mentioned several times here how I am an advocate of the pursuit of making people realize how much they can actually do to form politics around themselves and this way form their own futures. After all, this is what democracy is all about.
The topic of yesterday’s broadcast of The Kofi Annan Dialogues was Democracy and Elections. While discussing these with special emphasis on young people’s participation, Mr. Annan also reflected on recent issues such as Egypt. The former UN Secretary General once again stressed the importance of citizens, especially young people who can be critics of their leaders, as he likes to put it, “where leaders fail to lead, the people can make them follow”. He said he considers young people’s participation so crucial that he wouldn’t oppose “situations where you have to vote on a compulsory basis”. I have to say…
Did Egypt Experience a Coup? The West May Not Be Sure, but Turkey Is In a speech on July 5, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused to split hairs, insisting that “no matter where or against whom, coups are damaging and inhuman, and directed against the people, the national will and democracy.” He also took Western countries to task for insisting that Egyptians’ disaffection with Morsi, as well as the sheer scale of the recent protests against him, justified, in some sense, his overthrow. “There is no such a thing as a democratic coup,” Erdogan quipped. “It is as…
BBC News: Hungary defies critics over change to constitution Hungary’s parliament has adopted a package of constitutional changes proposed by the ruling Fidesz party which critics say undermine democracy. The EU expressed concern about the bill, which defies some court rulings. “These amendments raise concerns with respect to the principle of the rule of law, EU law and Council of Europe standards,” a statement by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland said.
The UN dedicates this year’s observance of the International Day of Democracy to democracy education. As Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says, let’s “work to bring democracy education to all, and in particular, to those societies in transition that need it most.” I double that! Especially political education being sort of my obsession for quite a long time. I think young population of each nation (not just those in transition) needs proper political education from an early age, the kind of which old democracies like the US has a long time tradition. I live in a country where the most of young…
