First invoked by the South African disability rights movement in the 1990s, “Nothing About Us Without Us” became the clarion call of activists organizing to overcome systemic oppression and empower persons with disabilities to take control over decisions affecting their lives. Since then, the concept has anchored the work of the global disability rights movement and its demand for the full and equal inclusion of persons with disabilities.

On September 5, 2021, Lieutenant Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, head of the Guinean Special Forces unit, staged a coup d'etat and deposed President Alpha Condé. Condé had won a contentious third mandate in 2020 after pushing through a controversial constitution that undermined presidential term limits and plunged the country into political turmoil.

Kyrgyzstan held parliamentary elections in November 2021, following a year-long political transition. Preceding constitutional reforms handed greater powers back to the executive, while electoral reforms created a mixed electoral system. The new system combined electing some members by party list and others in single-mandate constituencies on a majority basis. The elections were important to rebuild citizens’ trust in democratic processes and engage voters in issue-based discussions.

The European Democracy Youth Network (EDYN) is a coalition of young political and civic leaders from Central and Eastern Europe with a shared commitment to democratic principles. Created in 2018 as a joint initiative of the U.S. Agency for International Development, National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute, EDYN has since grown to include more than 300 members in 23 countries.

The exclusion of young people from politics and decision-making based on age has resulted in a fractured relationship between political activists and politicians across generations. Age discrimination stigmatizes all young people, especially those of diverse identities and backgrounds, with negative stereotypes and facilitates their exclusion from both formal and informal political spaces. Additionally, decision-making power and leadership continue to be associated with older males.

Violence, real and threatened, is one of the most serious barriers to gender-inclusive democratic processes and institutions in southeastern Europe. NDI’s research shows that violence deters  women’s participation in politics and public life, including among young women and girls. Under the Political Party Integrity program, NDI is connecting political party members and politically active women and men across southeastern Europe to end violence against women in politics (VAW-P)