Summit for Democracy 2023 and Regional Programmes Announced

News

From 28 to 30 March 2023, the Second Summit for Democracy will be held. The full agenda can be found here.

On 28 March, the U.S. Government will host a variety of Cabinet- and Sub-Cabinet- level thematic events to spotlight key Summit themes. Please refer to the Regional Programmes listed below.

On 29 March, the Summit for Democracy’s five co-hosts — the United States, Costa Rica, Netherlands, Republic of Korea, and Zambia — will officially kick off the Summit, with each co-host leader hosting a live, fully virtual, thematic, Leader-level plenary session. Plenaries will be interspersed with “spotlight interventions” by leading activists and civil society figures.

On 30 March, each of the Summit for Democracy’s five co-host countries will lead an in-person or hybrid minister-level regional gathering on a core Summit theme with representatives from government, civil society, and the private sector. On 28 March, the U.S. Government will host a variety of Cabinet- and Sub-Cabinet- level thematic events to spotlight key Summit themes. Please refer to the Regional Programmes listed below.

29 March 2023: Plenary Day

Disclaimer: The agenda of the Plenary Day may be subject to change. All times are listed in Central European Time (CET). Please refer to the Summit for Democracy 2023 webpage of the U.S. Department of State for more information. You can rewatch the events on YouTube.

12:00 CET – Joint Opening Remarks

President Joseph R. Biden of the United States, President Rodrigo Chaves Robles of Costa Rica, President Hakainde Hichilema of the Republic of Zambia, Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands, and President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea
Remarks by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres

12:10 CET – Leader-level Plenary on Democracy Delivering Economic Growth and Shared Prosperity

Hosted by President Yoon, Republic of Korea

Speakers:

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India
President José Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste
Prime Minister Georgia Meloni of Italy
President William Ruto of Kenya
President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković of Croatia

13:30 CET – Spotlight Interventions by civil society groups and figures

Global Democracy Coalition – Voices of Democracy
Jewher Ilham, Worker Rights Consortium, Uyghur rights advocate

13:40 CET – Leader-level Plenary on Democracy Delivering Justice for All

Hosted by Prime Minister Rutte, Netherlands

Speakers:

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan
Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani of Iraq
Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva of Cabo Verde
President Egils Levits of Latvia
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley of Barbados
President Adama Barrow of The Gambia
President Luis Lacalle Pou of Uruguay
Prime Minister James Marape of Papua New Guinea

15:00 CET – Spotlight Interventions by civil society groups and figures

Democracy Cohorts: Civil Society Declaration of Principles
Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director, Equal Justice Initiative

15:10 CET – Leader-level Plenary on Democracy Delivering Strong Institutions

Hosted by President Hichilema, Zambia

Speakers:

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister Philip Davis of The Bahamas
Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany
President Vjosa Osmani of Kosovo
President Gustavo Petro of Colombia
President Emmanuel Macron of France
Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir of Iceland

17:15 CET – Spotlight Interventions by leading civil society groups and figures

Global Democracy Coalition – Driving Democracy Forward
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the democratic opposition, and Natalia Pinchuk, wife of imprisoned Nobel Laureate Ales Bialiatski, Belarus.

17:30 CET – Leader-level Plenary on Democracy Delivering on Global Challenges

Hosted by President Biden, United States

Speakers:

President Zuzana Čaputová of Slovakia
President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera of Malawi
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine
President Guillermo Lasso Mendoza of Ecuador
President Maia Sandu of Moldova
President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark
President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen of Panama

18:50 CET – Spotlight Interventions by leading civil society figures

Feliciano Reyna, Executive President, Acción Solidaria, Venezuela
Lesther Aleman, youth leader and former political prisoner, Nicaragua

19:00 CET – Leader-level Plenary on Democracy Delivering Inclusion and Equality

Hosted by President Chaves, Costa Rica

Speakers:

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of Maldives
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal of Nepal
President Sauli Niinistö of Finland
President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission
President Hage G. Geingob of Namibia
President Gitanas Nausėda of Lithuania
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada
President Macky Sall of Senegal
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas of Estonia
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico

Regional Programmes

More information on and agendas for the regional gatherings are available below:

Costa Rica: Promoting the Role of Youth in Political and Democratic Spaces
The Netherlands: Media Freedom as a Cornerstone of Democracy (in Dutch)
The Republic of Korea: Challenges and Progress in Addressing Corruption
The Republic of Zambia: Free, Fair, and Transparent Elections as the Foundation of Democratic Governance
United States: Advancing Technology for Democracy

Cooperation