This month, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) will launch, in partnership with USAID, a new International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) initiative, the Summit for Democracy (S4D) IVLP. This initiative will build on the December 2021 Summit for Democracy, a forum for government, civil society, and business leaders to set forth a bold agenda for responding to the challenges facing democracies today.
The Summit for Democracy IVLP initiative will bring mayors and municipal leaders from five continents together to address the three pillars of the Summit: strengthening democracy and defending against authoritarianism; fighting corruption; and promoting respect for human rights. Beginning in April, through both virtual and in-person programming, the mayors and municipal leaders will develop and execute Action Plans for democratic reform in their own governments over this Year of Action leading to the second Summit for Democracy.
The participants will travel to communities across the United States to develop professional relationships with local government officials, technical specialists, organizations, and programs in the U.S. to share ideas, tools, and practices to advance democracy and help them achieve their proposed reforms when they return home. They will also build closer ties with each other to strengthen efforts toward global democratic renewal.