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In Defense of Democracy and Freedom – Zambia’s pre-S4D Citizens’ Summit

Written by Kibo Ngowi   The Citizens' Summit in Defense of Democracy and Freedom has officially begun! Civil society, international organizations, academic institutions, think tanks, philanthropic organizations, and the private sector converged in the Zambian capital of Lusaka to make their voices heard in the Summit discussions and in the global democracy debate.   “This initiative and engagements such as this one, which bring together various actors involved in a functioning democracy, are extremely important to upholding the democratic ideals that we all share and aspire to attain,” Zambia’s Minister of Justice, Mulambo Haimbe, said during his opening remarks. “We often [...]

2023-03-28T10:08:30+00:0027th March 2023|

Why frontier technologies will drive the fight against corruption

By Daniel Malan and Marlen Heide Frontier technologies promise to fundamentally change anti-corruption practices, making detection, prevention and risk management more efficient and effective. However, technological innovations also carry integrity risks and might be abused for fraudulent purposes. To truly reap the benefits of frontier technology for governance and anti-corruption, three fundamental tensions have to be addressed: privacy, freedom of speech and freedom of choice. Frontier technology is described by the OECD as having the potential to “reshape industry and communications and provide urgently needed solutions to global challenges … and have the potential to displace existing processes.” The disruptive potential of [...]

2023-03-13T09:05:54+00:0013th March 2023|

Changing norms and reaching the next generation of citizens

Written by Madeleine Goerg, AL Global Board Chairperson I first came across Accountability Lab in 2012, when I met founder Blair Glencorse at The German Marshall Fund’s Brussels Forum. I was part of the organizing team and was struck by the novel and bold approach which Blair outlined during one of our governance panels. Accountability Lab works to make governance work for people by bringing communities into conversations, celebrating exemplary leaders, and strengthening the accountability of institutions. AL takes a positive approach to an incredibly complex set of challenges and creates a community of practitioners to share and amplify their [...]

2023-03-02T13:24:59+00:002nd March 2023|

Lessons Learned During the S4D’s First Year of Action

By Kibo Ngowi Supporting accountable institutions in all the places we work across the globe is a central aspect of Accountability Lab’s mission. It’s work that has become more critical as democracy and human rights continue to come under threat in multiple regions. For a translocal network like the Lab, this is ultimately a question of sustainability, so we are doing all we can to understand how to proactively manage responses to these challenges. At the ecosystem level, this often means collectively organizing to shift political narratives, and increasing the space to push for more fair, equal and accountable societies. [...]

2023-02-17T08:19:52+00:0014th February 2023|

Accountability Lab Has a New Strategy! Here’s a Summary of Our Priorities for 2023-2026.

Written by Blair Glencorse   How Did We Develop The New Strategy? Accountability Lab began over a decade ago as an effort to support local change-makers within specific communities to develop creative ideas around governance issues. Our growth has been exciting- and we are now a global translocal network of Labs that is building an eco-system for accountability around the world. Despite all of the ups and downs of the past ten years, our vision remains the same as it has always been, because it is ever more important- a world in which resources are used wisely, decisions benefit everyone [...]

2023-01-18T06:53:13+00:0017th January 2023|

Super-Charging Accountability In Belize

Written by Blair Glencorse   If you are interested in governance in Belize, you’d be surprised at how difficult it is to find substantive information or networks. Most indices that measure these kinds of issues are not able to access sufficient data. There are several newspapers, but these are published weekly and the quality is variable. At the same time, while a civic infrastructure has developed around core priority sectors in the country- including the environment in particular- the community of organizations working on governance more directly is almost non-existent. This is problematic because it is clear- here, here and [...]

2022-12-15T09:37:24+00:0015th December 2022|

Deal with our ‘culture wars’ to combat democratic backsliding – President Obama

A lot of times those of us who are interested in democracy promotion have tried to wish away these so-called culture war questions. We like to focus on rules, law, policy and calculations” — President Barack Obama WASHINGTON D.C., DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA , UNITED STATES, November 18, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Keeping young people engaged in governance processes creatively to help prevent democratic backsliding was one of the key messages from Accountability Lab at the Democracy Forum in New York this week. Speaking on a panel with President Barack Obama, Country Director at Accountability Lab Mali Doussouba Konaté, said that democracy “on the streets” had [...]

2022-11-30T23:59:23+00:0018th November 2022|

How The US Can Support Democracy By Countering Disinformation In The Sahel

By Doussouba Konaté Instability in the Sahel is driven by disinformation. Alongside the growing militancy on the ground, there is a concurrent information war being fought to win the support of citizens. Jihadist groups spread anti-government and anti-foreign messages that find fertile ground in a region where governance has always been weak. Meanwhile, it is well known that state actors- primarily Russia- push disinformation in the region in order to undermine Western efforts to support democracy and good governance. This includes highly sophisticated efforts, derived from military psychological operations, to target and influence key sections of the population- and it [...]

2022-11-15T12:09:24+00:0015th November 2022|

President Biden is Hosting a Summit of African Leaders – Governance in the Sahel Must Be a Priority

By Doussouba Konaté BAMAKO, Nov 11 2022 (IPS) - The upcoming Africa Leaders’ Summit– slated to take place in Washington, DC in December- is well-timed. The Biden administration has made a welcome and significant push over the past two years to support democracy, anti-corruption and peace-building around the world- and in Africa in particular. From the Summit for Democracy to the new Sub-Saharan Africa and Countering Corruption strategies- policies and practices within the US government have shifted in ways that can support much needed reforms across the continent. It is in the Sahel where many of the biggest challenges remain- and these should be a priority during the [...]

2022-11-14T09:59:43+00:0013th November 2022|

Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms in Balochistan

In the words of Stephen Covey, “Accountability breeds response-ability.” This stands true at an individual as well as governmental level. When governments are accountable to their people,  they are more responsive to the needs of the people. When we talk of democracy, the government's financial accountability is undoubtedly a fundamental and distinctive aspect of parliamentary oversight. In the public's best interest, the government must disclose, defend, and justify its policies and actions before the legislature. This oversight needs to be complemented by state mechanisms to ensure accountability and responsiveness. It requires a framework through which government departments can be held [...]

2022-11-14T09:17:47+00:008th November 2022|
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