Democracy Drinks Summit for Democracy Special features panel made up of US and Costa Rican Ambassadors to the Netherlands in conversation with NHC Director about defending democracy
On March 29, Democracy Drinks hosted a special edition in collaboration with US Embassy in the Netherlands and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This was in conjunction with the second Summit for Democracy, of which the Netherlands was the European host, and which took place on March 29 and 30. The Summit for Democracy was initiated by US President Joe Biden in response to the state of democracy worldwide. It provides heads of government with a digital platform to gather, promote and reinforce democratic values.
As a co-host of the Summit, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Rutte chaired a session themed ‘Democracy-Delivering Justice for All’. During this session, Rutte emphasized the importance of democratic society and freedom of the press, as well as safety for journalists.
Democracy Drinks was able to livestream the Summit for Democracy, which included speeches from U.S. President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the leaders of Slovakia and Malawi about the importance of maintaining democratic values.
The event also featured a high-level panel, hosted by Kirsten Meijer director of Netherlands Helsinki Committee, with guest speakers H.E. Razdan Duggal, the US Ambassador to the Netherlands, H.E. Arnoldo Berenes Castro the Ambassador of Costa Rica to the Netherlands, H.E. André Haspels, Dutch Ambassador the US, and Alice Stollmeyer, founder of Defend Democracy. The panel reflected on the discussions of the summit so far and underscored the significance of democratic values and freedoms. Audience members had the opportunity to ask the panelists questions, which covered various topics including how to make sure that the next generation of citizens maintains trust in democracy, and around the importance of transnational alliances and organisations in preserving unity of democratic countries.
The next edition of Democracy Drinks The Hague will take place in May. Stay tuned to the newsletter of The Hague Humanity Hub for more information! Democracy Drinks The Hague is a collaboration between The Hague Humanity Hub, The Netherlands Helsinki Committee, and The Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy.
