By IANS,
New Delhi : A group of scholars, parliamentarians and authors from around the world will debate the challenges confronting democracy at a global level during a two-day brain-storming session here June 17-18.
The Democracy Roundtable 2008 themed ‘Democracy and Development’ will be held in conjunction with the two-day meeting of the 25 member-states of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) in India, a press communiqué issued said.
The seminar will be sponsored jointly by the International IDEA and the Centre for the Studies of Developing Societies with support from the Indian Council of World Affairs and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
The Democracy Roundtable will be addressed by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jairam Ramesh, secretary general of International IDEA Vidar Helgesen, professor Pranab Bardhan of University of California in Berkeley, Larry Diamond, and Magsaysay Award winner and social activist Aruna Roy among others.
The conference will take up three aspects of democracy in three separate panel discussions.
According to the International IDEA and Centre for the Studies of Developing Societies, there is an evolving understanding that the linkages between democracy and development are multiple. While the linkages are relevant for the national political actors on one hand, they also help build democracy and development support communities on the other.
The International IDEA with 25 member states from Africa, America, Europe and Asia is the only inter-governmental organisation mandated to support democracies worldwide.
It creates, compiles and shares knowledge of democracy building through training and publications, influences policy to improve democracy-building processes and supports democratic reforms.