During the second Summit for Democracy, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is unveiling new efforts to advance democracy abroad under the Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal (PIDR), as well as sharing updates on progress made over the past year on initiatives announced at the first Summit.
USAID is contributing eight new initiatives - many of which are focused on policy reforms - to the PIDR for the second Summit. The PIDR comprises five lines of effort in response to significant challenges to democracy in the 21st Century. This includes the Partnerships for Democratic Development (PDD), which provides multi-year support to countries that demonstrate sustained democratic progress. Today, at the 2023 Summit for Democracy, USAID is announcing the first wave of nine PDD partner countries: Armenia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Malawi, Nepal, North Macedonia, Paraguay, Timor-Leste, and Zambia.
Supporting Free and Independent Media
- The Media Viability Accelerator collaborates with Internews and six partner organizations, including the private sector, to preserve fact-based news and information media while ensuring that media outlets can survive, thrive, adapt, and grow as businesses. Recognizing the power of the private sector, USAID this week announced a new partnership with Internews and Microsoft, leveraging its technology to support fact-based, independent media.
- Reporters Shield helps to protect investigative journalists from defamation lawsuits by providing insurance liability coverage to cover the cost of defending journalists, civil society activists, and their organizations from defamation, libel, and other lawsuits meant to silence their reporting. It will begin accepting members in May 2023.
