The 15th of September is designated as the International Day of Democracy each year. It’s an opportunity to assess the condition of democracy globally, support democratic movements, and advance liberty, peace, and human rights.
The United Nations created it for the first time in 2007, and every year a new theme is the focus of the celebration. The event’s 2019 motto was “Participation,” and it resulted in a number of innovations, including an app that allowed Sierra Leoneans to engage in politics and processes for helping persons with impairments in Macedonia.
What is Democracy?
Democracy is a form of governance in which citizens, or the people of a nation, elect representatives to public office. Citizens have the ability to actively participate in their governments and hold them accountable by voting them out in strong democracies.
Human rights are fundamental to democracy, which attempts to provide everyone in a society a voice. Democracy should ensure that governments safeguard its citizens, regardless of their skin tone, sex, sexual orientation, religion, ability, or a wide range of other characteristics.
Why International Day of Democracy is Important?
Examining global concerns like human rights, equality, and conflict resolution is accessible on International Day of Democracy. It provides us with an opportunity to consider our own liberties and consider others who are less fortunate than we are. It also emphasizes the importance of all citizens participating in democracy, inspires action, and drives people to work together for a more equitable and representative political system.
International Day of Democracy Facts
(a) The first democracy is thought to have been in Greece in 508 BC.
(b) Democracy comes from two Greek words; ‘demos’ meaning ‘people’ and ‘Kratos’ meaning ‘rule’.
(c) Direct democracies allow every person to vote on important issues, whereas representative democracies are made up of elected representatives who vote. The UK is a representative democracy.
History of International Day of Democracy
The International Day of Democracy will be marked annually on September 15 according to a resolution passed by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 2007. The purpose of this day is to commemorate the principles that democracy upholds and to advocate for the role that government plays in preserving open democracy among all UN Charter signatory states. Democracy empowers individuals to make decisions that affect every area of their life.
The UN fulfills a number of functions as part of its advocacy for democratic societies across the world, including election monitoring, strengthening democratic institutions and accountability, and helping countries that have recently experienced conflict to write their own constitutions.
The ability of its citizens to take part in national decision-making has been the cornerstone of a democratic society since democracy’s inception in ancient Greece thousands of years ago. Inclusion and equality are crucial to the development of a democratic society since this can only occur when everyone is permitted to vote, regardless of color, gender, or other considerations. In America, we have a representative democracy, which means that we choose representatives who will speak on our behalf while voting.
Take stock of the various ways you contribute to our nation’s decision-making processes and support the principles of democracy as you assess your personal freedoms and the country’s present democratic situation.
International Day of Democracy activities to do in class:
(a) Create a portrayal of democracy that highlights its fundamental principles.
(b) Encourage kids to write a letter to their local MP about a change they would like to see.
(c) a role-playing game where kids play voters or politicians.
(d) Learn about human rights and the significance of each.
(e) Children are asked to write about their ideal democracy and what it would look like.