International Democracy Day & Better World Info Database

During an election year, especially here in the US with the last decade being a politically polar mindset, "Democracy" (with the capital D) has been in the news a lot! No doubt, as the next few months go on, the political noise will only continue to rise during this very unique election year.

Might be a good time to celebrate September 15th International Day of Democracy. The idea started in 1997 with its conception as the Inter-Parliamentary Union adopting a Universal Declaration on Democracy. Six international conferences on new and restored democracies were held from 1998 to 2006, with the first being in the Philippines and the 6th in Qatar. From there, in 2007 the United Nations General Assembly resolved what we now honor on September 15th: the International Day of Democracy. The purpose is to honor, uphold, and promote democracy while also raising awareness that democracy can come in many forms, but it is based on the values universal to all: free-expression of people's ideas and all aspects of life. Democracy happens at the voting box and is the basis of peace, humanity, equality, and a country's constitution of protective rights. Additionally, it involves civility--and hopefully open dialogue.

You can learn more at the UN's page on International Democracy Day.

You also can land on 3 dozen links about International Democracy Day on Better World Info's Database. Additionally, their Democracy page has a wealth of information and resources (over 1700) for teachers, students, & citizens alike on a variety of topics. These include social justice, fundamental human rights, & sustainability in global relations, peace, the economy, & more. Likewise, it includes some of the many challenges to democracy--including political apathy and fake news. There are also excellent resources on civic education & information about checking your bias when it comes to your political leaning, & how to approach that in a more neutral way.

Being new to Better World Info's Database, I did some digging around to learn more about this website. The Better World Info FAQ page had a lot of information! With their tagline of "A unique resource & powerful tool for people who want to make this world a better place," their mission is to provide neutral, unbiased, quality & carefully-curated links while not being paid by contributors. This keeps the links non-partial, non-partisan, not prejudicial, and not religiously affiliated. Along those lines, they are purposely free from advertisers and data mining. They want to be sources to be fact based, providing a "one-stop-shop" experience. Created by a German physician with a multitude of international volunteers and teammates, the authors have listed the most important and current lists top of the list per subject. Their mission is to help people think critically by way of providing fact-based, reliable information. All of this is not always a Google search, a social medial post, or a Wikipedia page away. The website is named to center around their vision of a "better world!" Their plan is to unite through information, not polarize into a filtered silo based on algorithms. 

Additionally, I like this quote in their final FAQ:

"By supporting Better World Info you are supporting truth, honesty, freedom, liberty, kindness, compassion, tolerance, and positivity."

image of Day of Democracy from https://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/why-is-september-15-observed-as-international-day-of-democracy-history-and-significance-5952997.html, Rigoberta Menchu Tum from https://www.facebook.com/venicepeaceproject/posts/pfbid036KNveq2JY7FjzPZbshA33iY5HyjJPShM6DXfTpGu9yYHEz5qDkZn4EhzdZeXLs6dl, George Washington quote from https://steemit.com/quote/@kephawalks/quote-of-the-day-president-george-washington-if-freedom-of-speech, Better World Info screenshot from https://www.betterworld.info/