25th Anniversary

Man speaking in front of cameras

By organizing a virtual global conference on the most salient democracy issues around the world, International IDEA inspires policy influencers, policymakers and civil society organizations to engage in global, regional and national debates on democracy and advocate for democratic reforms.

In 2020, International IDEA celebrated its 25th anniversary by highlighting, throughout the year, its regional and thematic areas of expertise, which were rapidly adapted to support our stakeholders during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The highlight of our celebration was a global virtual 25-hour conference consisting of 12 webinars organized by International IDEA’s regional and country offices. The webinars offered insights and fascinating discussions of the most salient democracy issues around the world such as climate change, populism, technology and inclusive representation. 

The conference featured a total of 63 prominent speakers, including heads of state, renowned democracy experts, policymakers as well as representatives from civil society and youth. 

Over 1,700 participants took part in the webinars, and nearly 6,000 people had watched the recordings on YouTube by the beginning of December 2020. International IDEA also reached more than 250,000 impressions on social media (the number of times International IDEA content was displayed in users’ social media feeds) during and after the conference. In addition to celebrating the Institute’s achievements during the last 25 years, the conference served as an opportunity to launch a conversation about the future of democracy and the role International IDEA and our partners can play in it.

Photo: Malin Huusmann.