| 2004
Annual Report
In 2004, CCD finds itself in the midst of
a series of exciting transformations and new opportunities
that have forced us to adapt our programs and goals. With
this revolution also comes a broadening horizon for CCD in
our relationship with other organizations and institutions,
with special emphasis on the loose affiliation between CCD
and a number of colleges, universities, and other educational
institutions. As CCD looks forward to the decades to come,
we thank our founders for the vitality with which they imbued
our organization. The passions behind our cause will never
die, and drive CCD onward with a fervor seldom rivaled.
A New University Network
CCD is on the threshold of a long-discussed idea: a relationship
with a university network. Beginning with Bennington College,
the network is about to add American University, with the
hopes for similar collaboration with the Jackson School of
International Studies at the University of Washington, with
the Woodrow Wilson Institute at Princeton, and with the Hubert
H. Humphrey Institute.
Revised
& Expanded Program Objectives
CCD has three new, primary program objectives that found unified
Board support during an all-day “retreat” in May
of this year. We have honed our “vision” of how
to advance the Community of Democracies by focusing our efforts
on these new objectives:
(a) increasing the effectiveness of the UN by strengthening
democracy within it through establishment of a UN
Democracy Caucus;
(b) focusing the agenda of Santiago 2005
on an evaluation of performance on the Seoul Plan of Action
and on needed reforms of CD's governmental and civil society
arms, designed to provide CD with on-going operating capability;
(c) broadening Mark Palmer's concept by proposing a Democracy
Transition Center, which not only fosters democracy
in non-democratic countries, but also serves the needs of
already established but fragile democracies in danger of
"falling back" into their old ways. What we have
come up with is a proposal, which will draw upon the practical
experiences and know-how of societies, which have entered
the democracy transition process and will offer practical,
hands-on assistance and services. While the UN Caucus aggregates
the resources in support of democratic values within the
UN, the Transition Center adds to the strength of the Caucus
by bringing into its fold new democratic UN members.
In Support of These New Program Objectives
To support these three new program objectives, we are capitalizing
on the position CCD has established as the leading facilitator
of “global democracy education”
as the essential underpinning of any effective democracy.
Our advantage in that area is being linked by CCD to the creation
of a "European Network" designed
to associate donor nations in Europe and the Atlantic community
more with democracy transition efforts of the Community of
Democracies. Our aim is to generate political and financial
support from these donor countries for CD's on-going operating
capability, for the Democracy Transition Center and for the
UN Democracy Caucus. Further backing up our three primary
goals, is the internationalization of our Associates
program and enhancements introduced into our website,
as the central source of information on global democracy and
which, for example, is a tool for linking our Associates more
closely with CCD and with each other in support of our mission.
Lobbying
& Influencing Government
At the October 2003 meeting of the CCD Board, a challenge
was issued which has encouraged our organization to influence
major policy changes at the governmental level. These new
policies include:
(a) UN CAUCUS: By a sustained CCD campaign
over the past several years and most recently in collaboration
with our NGO colleagues organized as a "UN Democracy
Group," we have been instrumental in bringing about
the establishment of this Caucus by the Foreign Ministers
of the CD/Convening Group at last year's UNGA meeting. That
was followed by active participation of the Caucus in the
UN Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva last May. Then,
for the first time, this past month, a full CD Ministerial
meeting was held at this UNGA attended by 80 UN member nations
at which the Caucus was endorsed. A commitment was announced
by the Chilean government to convene monthly Caucus meetings,
to concert action on key issues during the current UNGA
session, to enlist diplomatic staff members to provide the
Caucus with a "secretariat" and generally to make
the Caucus an operating force for democracy within the UN.
(b)
THE DEMOCRACY TRANSITION CENTER: CCD Board
support of the Center enabled board member Mark Palmer to
use his great influence with the Hungarians to convince
them of the value of this idea and to capitalize on their
support to “leverage” U.S. support following
Hungary's initiative. Mark Palmer, John Ikenberry and Dick
Rowson were able to convince the German Marshall Fund to
approve a grant for a “strategy/planning round table,”
the findings from which will presented at the CD Ministerial
in Santiago, 2005.
(c)
THE EUROPEAN NETWORK and EUROPEAN-AMERICAN
DEMOCRACY EDUCATION CONFERENCE ON THE MIDDLE EAST AND MUSLIM
AFRICA, both of which are supported by special
funding from USAID received via the DRL Division of the
Department of State, are benefiting from this new focus
on our three primary programs and our Board member in charge
of the “Network” project, Charles Heck, will
be assisting in the organization of this conference and
the one on the Democracy Transition Center. These will lead
to governmental actions promoting democracy, assuming they
achieve their goals.
Conclusions
We have a long way to go to consummate these new directions
in CCD's program, but there is no doubting the value of the
Board's efforts over the past year, which have brought new
focus to our efforts.
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