In March, Redlad coordinated several actions to advance the participation of some Pillar’s members in events on the margins of the Summit for Democracy. In these events civil society had the opportunity to discuss and analyze the political situation, which will allow the expansion of the agendas and the possibilities of civil society organizations’ actions in order to guide advocacy actions. For instance: 

• On 29th March, Redlad and International IDEA led  the “Youth activism in civil society: strategies for counteracting restrictions to civic space in Latin America and the World” an in-person collective exchange exercise where young participants had the opportunity to share their experiences of working to promote human rights in LatinAmerican weakened civic spaces.  One of the findings of this dialogue is that authoritarian regimes, closed states and dictatorships, although they affect all citizens, have a particular effect on young people,  who have felt their dreams and goals put on hold by having to go into exile, and leave their studies and families because of persecution. To tackle this, youth leaders have raised their voices through the construction of networks that aim to prevent these restrictions on rights and freedoms and to guarantee better conditions for the future generations.

• On 30th March, Redlad as Chair and Secretariat of the Civil Society Pillar, in collaboration with DefendDefenders created the scenario “Democracy in Africa, Regional Trends and Impact on Women” this virtual event was the first of many conversations that will be held throughout the different regions in order to learn about and analyze the realities facing democracies and how these issues affect human rights.  In the case of the African region, issues such as lack of transparency, corruption, weakening democracies and how this has affected women rights were highlighted. There was also room to highlight that it is important to create joint actions that promote the importance of accountability  and  protect civic space in order to strengthen democracies.

• On 21st March, the Center for the Study of Democracy, the Ministry of Justice of Bulgaria, the Basel Institute on Governance and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation led the policy forum of Anti-Corruption and National Security in Sofia, Bulgaria, under the anti-corruption cohort of the Summit for Democracy. In this event, participants had the opportunity to create a dialogue around the Action Agenda, analyze the year of action achievements of the governments from the region and discuss the next steps in their anti-corruption efforts.