Hong Kong citizens have never had the opportunity to directly elect their city's chief executive.

While Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, calls for “universal suffrage” as its “ultimate aim,” the head of government and numerous legislators have not been directly elected by citizens for the last 16 years.

Five winners of NDI’s 2013 Democracy Award gathered at the Institute yesterday for a panel discussion about how technology can be used to improve the way governments and citizens interact.

Young people in Kosovo, Europe’s newest country, are impatient. They make up half of the population and are keen to see Kosovo integrated into Europe as a democracy, but they struggle to have a voice in the democratic process. Many youth activists are turning to social media to make their voices heard. NDI is helping them.

In celebration of its 30 years of strengthening democracy around the world, NDI honored a group of civic innovators at a Dec. 10 dinner and awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. The 21 government officials, political leaders, entrepreneurs and civic activists from 13 countries are at the forefront of efforts to use technology to expand opportunities for citizen participation and to make governments more transparent and accountable.