Democracy and Poverty in Focus
at International IDEA’s Democracy Forum 8-9 June

Press Release:

Democracy and Poverty in Focus at International IDEA’s Democracy Forum 8-9 June

Today around 1.5 billion people live on less than US$ 1 per day, nearly a billion people are illiterate, and almost a third of the population of the least democratic countries is not expected to survive to the age of 40. Why has there been limited progress in making a real dent in world-wide poverty? Is democracy the missing link in the fight against poverty?

Some 100 politicians, policy-makers, donors, academics, NGO representatives, and UN officials from around the world will gather 8-9 June in Stockholm to attend International IDEA’s (the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance) fifth Democracy Forum - "Democracy and Poverty: A Missing Link?"- organized in collaboration with the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Keynote speakers include:

• Prof Muhammad Yunus, Managing Director of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. Yunus is the founder of a microcredit scheme which has helped the poorest of the poor, especially women, escape from poverty through the provision of small loans without collateral;

• H.E. Mr Cassam Uteem, President of the Republic of Mauritius;

• Dr Deepa Narayan, Team Leader at the World Bank for the book Voices of the Poor: Can Anyone Hear Us, which presents detailed personal accounts from over 60,000 men and women in 60 countries about the realities of living with poverty; and

• Hon Ms Otilia Lux de Coti, Minister of Culture, Guatemala.

Although almost all governments, international organizations, institutions and NGOs increasingly see democracy support and poverty reduction as two key development priorities of the 21^st century, very little is done to link the two issues on the ground.

This year’s Democracy Forum aims to identify ways in which democracy assistance and poverty alleviation projects can be better linked in order to promote democracy and human development. To address the links between democracy and poverty alleviation the Forum will focus on three interconnected themes:

• accountable governance;

• participation; and

• citizenship and rights

"Promoting democracy is a strategy for poverty alleviation because it enhances the rights and participation of all citizens", says Patrick Molutsi, Senior Executive at International IDEA. "We are not saying that democracy is a panacea for all ills of poverty", adds Bengt Säve-Söderbergh, International IDEA’s Secretary-General. "But democratic values and institutions help draw public attention to pressing needs of the poor. This involves going beyond building and reforming democratic institutions."

As Dr Deepa Narayan, Team Leader for Voices of the Poor at the World Bank emphasizes: "In the last decade, the number of democratically-elected governments increased dramatically. This is an important start, but it is not enough. We need to focus on making democracy work for all and particularly for poor women and men. This means translating democratic principles into making grassroots democracy a reality at the local level."

To broaden the scope of the Democracy Forum, four regional preparatory workshops were held earlier this Spring in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, the former Soviet Union and Latin America. The results of these workshops will be presented at the Stockholm Democracy Forum.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Date: the Forum starts 8 June at 09.00 and ends 9 June at 16.00. 
A press briefing will be held 10.30 - 11.00 on 8 June in the conference hall with some of the Forum speakers. 
Place: Rosenbad - entrance Drottninggatan 1

Press Accreditation will be through International IDEA’s press secretariat at Rosenbad, which will be open from 08.30 on 8 June. Please let us know in advance if you are interested in attending the Forum.

For further information contact: Monika Ericson, tel: 08-698 3744, e-mail: m.ericson@idea.int or Jimm Lerch, tel: 08-698 3741, e-mail: j.lerch@idea.int

Introduction
Agenda
Press Guide

For more information about International IDEA, contact:
Mark Salter, Senior Information Officer
International IDEA, Strömsborg, 103 34 Stockholm, Sweden
Phone +46-8-698 37 00, Fax: +46-8-20 24 22
e-mail: info@idea.int

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) was founded in February 1995. The Institute’s overall objective is to promote and advance sustainable democracy world-wide and to improve and consolidate electoral processes. There are currently 19 member-states: Australia, Barbados, Belgium, Botswana, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, India, Mauritius, Namibia, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and Uruguay. There are also five associate members: International Federation of Journalists, International Press Institute, Parliamentarians for Global Action, the Inter-American Institute for Human Rights and Transparency International. International IDEA has formal agreements with the International Commission of Jurists, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the United Nations Development Programme, the Inter-American Development Bank, and co-operates closely with Switzerland.