On July 19th, the National Endowment for Democracy held a fascinating discussion about the future of democracy on the internet at their Washington, DC headquarters. Moderated by the Digital Program Officer of British human rights organization ARTICLE 19, Mehwish Ansari, the panel discussion among experts is really something to see and includes remarks from Democratic Congressman David Cicilline from Rhode Island. The event invite featured this blurb:

How are various groups working to ensure that the internet remains an open platform for democratic engagement? What are the biggest challenges they face? What can be done to support their efforts? At present, global internet policy decisions are dominated by large tech firms and state actors. Missing from the equation are a number of important voices from the democracy community – particularly from the Global South – whose perspective is essential if we want the internet to fully live up to its democratic potential.

Please join us for a panel discussion that will feature the six Open Internet Leaders participating in the Open Internet for Democracy initiative, a project coordinated by the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). The six speakers, who represent a diverse group of global advocates from local civic, media, and private sector organizations, will highlight the threats of a closing internet space they have experience in their local, national, and regional context, as well as what must be done in the space in order to truly reclaim the internet for democracy.

Speakers at the event included:

• Iness Ben Guirat (Tunisia)
• Eduardo Carrillo (Paraguay)
• Juliet Nanfuka (Uganda)
• Kathleen Ndongmo (Cameroon)
• Mary Rose Ofianga Rontal (Philippines)
• Talal Raza (Pakistan)

The video is about 90 minutes long. Take a look: