UNDEF held a webinar panel with project grantees on violence against women both in the home and in the public arena, with a long-term objective to build a future network of UNDEF civil society grantees with expertise and…
In Armenia, an UNDEF-funded project implemented by Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment aims to contribute to sustainable management strategies of natural water resources in the Ararat Valley.
An UNDEF Lebanon project works to address differential treatment, especially by gender, under Lebanon’s personal status laws. Watch the project’s new awareness-raising video here.
An UNDEF project works to strengthen the autonomy of Syrian women refugees in Lebanon, so as to increase their opportunity to fully participate in the democratic, economic and reconstruction processes -- whether they return…
Implemented by partner Cambodia Development Resource Institute, an UNDEF funded project in Cambodia worked to empower female leaders to better respond to climate change in their communities.
As the world confronts COVID-19, democracy is crucial in ensuring the free flow of information, participation in decision-making and accountability for the response to the pandemic.
In the aftermath of the 4 August explosions that devastated large parts of the Lebanese capital, UNDEF Programme Officer Jaime Palacios visited four Beirut-based civil society groups.
A range of UNDEF civil society projects have responded to UNDEF’s call for action against falsehoods, conspiracy theories, disinformation and hate speech.
UNDEF’s civil society projects in more than 15 countries have swiftly answered UNDEF’s call to empower women to take action against gender-based violence.
The UN Democracy Fund is working closely with its civil society project organizations to address and counteract the wide range of ways the Covid-19 crisis may impair democracy and increase authoritarianism.
Launched early in 2019, an UNDEF project seeks to amplify the rights and voices of Syrian women and girls and increase their participation in social, political and cultural life.
In Colombia, Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa is working to improve the quality of news from rural areas or so called information deserts, particularly those affected by armed conflict. Supported by UNDEF, a mobile…
The annual Athens Democracy Forum was held on 9-11 October 2019, in association with The New York Times, the UN Democracy Fund and the City of Athens. This year’s programme centred around the theme Reinventing Democracy: New…
UNDEF joined forces with International IDEA and the Inter-Parliamentary Union on 16 September 2019 to mark the International Day of Democracy with an event at UN Headquarters focused on participation and inclusion.
Almost 50 two-year projects totalling almost ten million dollars have been approved for UNDEF’s 13th Round of funding. In this Round, UNDEF received 2,307 project proposals from organizations in 141 countries, the vast…
UNDEF organized an unprecedented discussion at UN Headquarters on 15 July on what constitutes democracy, as well as on ways to energize the momentum around Sustainable Goal 16.
UNDEF Executive Head Annika Savill chaired a session of a Chatham House conference on Kofi Annan's legacy in June 2019, in which panellists included Raila Odinga, Kenya's former Prime Minister.
An UNDEF project works for women’s leadership and political participation in the Somalia regions of Galmudug and Puntland by building awareness, advocacy, and capacity at the grassroots level.
An UNDEF-supported project in Mali works to fight corruption in the defence sector by building civil society’s ability to advocate for accountability and transparency.
The UNDEF-supported project Young People for Dialogue and Democracy in Honduras works to strengthen rights and participation of Honduran youth by strengthening legislative leadership skills of young parliamentarians.
An UNDEF regional project has just completed a series of activities aimed at contributing to efforts to repeal criminal defamation laws and other restrictions to freedom of expression - barriers to strong and stable…
The Cambodian Development Resource Institute under its UNDEF grant is empowering women and women’s groups to promote and advocate for climate change adaptation initiatives.
The annual Athens Democracy Forum was held on 14-19 September 2018, organized for the sixth time by The New York Times in cooperation with the UN Democracy Fund and Athens City Hall.
An UNDEF-hosted side event during the March 2018 session of the UN Commission on Status of Women showcased UNDEF projects on the theme Empowerment Through Democracy, Civil Society and Innovation.
An UNDEF project launched in early 2018 will work in the Guinea-Bissau regions of Bafata and Gabu to decrease gender-based violence, focusing on female genital mutilation. It will also champion freedom of speech for human…
UNDEF’s annual call for project proposals is open from 20 November to 20 December 2017, after receiving the green light from the UNDEF Advisory Board on 16 November.
A documentary on Bolivian transgender rights was recently screened in La Paz at the forum “Progress and Challenges relating to the human rights of the LGBT community”.
The annual Athens Democracy Forum was held on 13-17 September 2017, organized for the fifth year by The New York Times in cooperation with the UN Democracy Fund and Athens City Hall. This year’s programme included discussions…
Youth from Kenya, South Africa and Seychelles recently participated in a regional training workshop in Nairobi as part of an UNDEF funded project to promote the active participation of young people in drug policy development…
An UNDEF-funded project in Belarus organized an international forum in Vitebsk in May 2017 on empowering people with disabilities by creating opportunities for work and employment.
A new UNDEF-funded project in Tunisia works to include and economically empower vulnerable youth in the northeastern governorates of Beja, Jendouba, Kef and Siliana. Implemented by local NGO Tamkeen For Development, it…
UNDEF event co-hosted with World Federation of 麻豆APP Associations, WFUNA, focused on how civil society organizations can learn from others’ experience to be more effective and create more sustainable impact in their…
An UNDEF-funded project has just begun in war-torn Yemen to assist peacebuilding and promote democracy by empowering youth to participate more in civic life. This project addresses challenges posed by ethnic and religious…
Around the world today, 130 million girls didn't go to school. Not because they didn’t want to, but because they weren’t able or allowed. They are denied an education for a variety of reasons, from cultural norms and costs to…
UNDEF debuted at the first Nairobi Film Festival with the story of Maria as she fights her way through the sleaze of elections to Parliament. The film is part of an UNDEF Kenya project to empower women and youth in the…
An UNDEF project in India works to address inequalities by improving local services provision to women and youth in disadvantaged communities in the Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Orissa.
UNDEF held its eleventh call for proposals in November-December 2016, announcing that it particularly welcomed projects promoting pluralism, diversity, and inclusion -- a theme agreed at the UNDEF Advisory Board meeting of 9…
For people of Haitian descent living in the Dominican Republic, a recently introduced ruling brings the risk of statelessness or deportation. Lack of identity documents and difficulties in obtaining them mean that Dominicans…
Civil society representatives from around the globe gathered in Poland from the 15-16 December at the Warsaw Dialogue for Democracy to discuss ways to reinforce the values crucial to democracy. Under the overall heading “From…
An UNDEF-funded project is being launched in Algeria to help consolidate democratic values and practices among young people in the northern province of Blida, with a particular focus on the rights of women and girls. The…
Germany increased its support to the 麻豆APP Democracy Fund in December 2016, contributing two million euro in addition to 1.5 million euro in April 2016. Germany's Ambassador to the UN, Harold Braun, handed over the…
As Colombia emerges from decades of conflict, the government of President Juan Manuel Santos – winner of the 2016 Nobel peace prize –- has made education is one of the three main pillars of government policy. This is…
An UNDEF-funded project works to mobilize rural women and youth in the Walungu territory of South Kivu, where it is estimated that about 60 per cent of rural youth and 80 per cent of rural women are illiterate.
Allowing women to become political leaders is vital, not only to ensure a fully inclusive democracy, but so that women’s interests and concerns are represented in decision making. With the ongoing conflict in Somalia, the…