NHC, NIMD & The Hague Humanity Hub team up for successful #DemocracyDrinks, focusing on Whistleblower Rights
In celebration of the International Day of Democracy, the Netherlands Helsinki Committee, Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy & The Hague Humanity Hub teamed up to inspire and connect democracy defenders working across the Peace and Justice ecosystem through networking drinks on Thursday 15 September in The Hague.
#DemocracyDrinks were launched in 2018 by Defend Democracy Executive Director Alice Stollmeyer to bring together democracy advocates, thinkers and enthusiasts at informal networking events. Since then, #DemocracyDrinks have been organized around the world, and in this collaborative event we had the pleasure of bringing it to The Hague Humanity Hub.
The evening was attended by over 50 democracy defenders and enthusiasts from around the world, and included an engaging presentation and inspiring discussion, and the formation of new connections through networking.
Attendees had the opportunity to hear a contribution from Executive Director at the European Center for Whistleblower Rights & Whistleblowing International Mark Worth on the role of whistleblowing in democratic societies. This included telling the stories of whistleblowers who despite facing substantial personal costs for exposing corruption and wrongdoing “did it anyways” for the greater good. One of the whistleblowers discussed, Zvonko Kostovski, was also called in live from Macedonia to discuss his experiences as a whistleblower and why whistleblowing is crucial to the preservation of democratic societies. Overall, it was certainly an evening full of inspiring discussions and collaborations.
Next for the #DemocracyDrinks in The Hague is scheduled to be held on 13 October 2022 from 17.00 to 19.00 with the location and speaker to be announced shortly. It’s going to be a great experience, so stay tuned by checking the information provided by The Hague Humanity Hub, Netherlands Helsinki Committee & Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy.
