The fortitude, vibrancy, and diversity of global democratic activism were showcased on November 14, 2023, as the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) honored champions of freedom with a special 40th anniversary presentation of its annual awards.
Iran’s women-led protest movement, independent Afghan media, digital freedom innovators, and individuals imprisoned or killed for their work to support democracy were recognized with NED Democracy Awards. Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and Bishop Silvio José Báez Ortega of Nicaragua were also honored with NED’s Democracy Service Medal, while the event concluded with a special tribute to the people of Ukraine.
NED President and CEO Damon Wilson reflected on the organization’s history and the ongoing struggle for freedom. “Our 2023 honorees affirm the universal aspiration for democracy—even in the most challenging places, ordinary people are risking everything for human rights and freedom,” he observed.
Journalist Nazia Hashimyar accepted the award on behalf of Afghan independent media for their efforts to keep citizens informed despite Taliban repression. “This recognition holds a special significance for us. It is a powerful reminder to us journalists, that our voices are vital and that our contributions to society are invaluable,” said Hashimyar, herself forced into exile by the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.
A recent report from the Afghanistan Journalists Support Organization (AJSO), noted that four out of five women journalists had lost their jobs since the Taliban came to power. But Afghan journalists are focused on the future, she said, adding that the award “is not only for our past achievements but also a beacon of hope for a future where free speech remains an important part of a free Afghanistan.”
Trailblazers
The Democracy Award, a replica of the Goddess of Democracy erected during China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, is given annually by NED’s Board of Directors to recognize courageous and creative individuals and organizations advancing the cause of democracy.
“As technology advances, we have witnessed how it presents both opportunities & challenges for democracy activists,” said NetFreedom Pioneers (NFP) Evan Firoozi and Pepe Borrás. Acknowledged as trailblazers for leveraging technology to counter digital authoritarians, NFP convenes human rights activists, technology experts, and local activists to pioneer new methods to enhance access to independent information and circumvent censorship in the world’s most challenging environments.
Former political prisoners Venerable Golog Jigme and Nicholas Opiyo (right) accepted the award on behalf of imprisoned or killed for their activism. Tibetan activist Jigme was arrested by Chinese authorities in 2008 for his involvement in a film project documenting China’s occupation of Tibet, for sharing information about the 2008 Uprising and on charges of inciting self-immolation protests, Phayul reports. Opiyo, a leading human rights lawyer and founder of the legal rights group Chapter Four Uganda, has successfully argued several high-level constitutional challenges. His 2020, arrest and detention were widely condemned by the international community.
Mersedeh Shahinkar, an activist blinded during the Islamic Republic’s crackdown on last year’s protests that prompted gave birth to Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom movement., accepted an award on its behalf . “I lost my eye, but I never lost my freedom,” she told the NED event. “I am only one of the protestors who came to the streets to demand our rights,” said Mersedeh, one of the first women who, after sustaining an eye injury, published the truth and later organized other victims via social media, IranWire adds.
Like Ukraine, Taiwan sits at the crucible of the current conflict between democracy and autocracy.
Thanks to steadfast leadership and joint efforts between the public and private sectors, Taiwan’s democracy has emerged more resilient than ever, said Taiwan’s former Premier Su Tseng-chang, representing President Tsai Ing-wen. Taiwan will continue to work with like-minded partners, including NED, to ensure that democracy prevails, he added. President Tsai accepted the NED’s Democracy Service Medal from NED President and CEO Damon Wilson in Taiwan last July.
Bishop Silvio Baez and Representative Mario Diaz Balart.
Bishop Silvio José Báez Ortega, O.C.D. of Nicaragua, was honored for his work in defense of liberty and religious freedom, and on behalf of those persecuted by the Nicaraguan state, including Catholic priests. He used the occasion to reiterate his call for the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega to release the bishop of Matagalpa, Rolando Álvarez, unjustly imprisoned for being a “traitor to the homeland.”
“Bishop Silvio Báez, who bravely demanded freedom in Nicaragua and suffered severe consequences as a result,” said Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-26), Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. “Under the oppressive grip of the Ortega regime, even the small space available to clergy, religious schools, charitable organizations, and even the order that Mother Theresa founded, have been stripped of their legal status, while their leaders are imprisoned or forced into exile,” he said.
Strategic challenges
The occasion gave participants an opportunity to reflect on the strategic challenges and opportunities facing democracies and democracy advocates.
“We must once again ask ourselves; do we look the other way or look authoritarians squarely in the eye?” said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield.
“Do we retreat to our corners, or do we put aside political differences and work together to advance democratic values? Do we lose hope, or do we inspire it?” she asked.
Prime Minister Kallas of Estonia echoed the insistence on the need for fortitude. “The bottom line is that democracies and securing freedoms need constant care and defense,” she stressed. “If we wish to continue to live free, we must show a willingness to protect it.”
The NED commemoration ended with a special tribute to the country’s resilience Anna Bondarenko, head of the 2022 Democracy Award honoree Ukrainian Volunteer Service, and a performance by Ukrainian singer Jamala, winner of the Eurovision song contest and an advocate for Crimean Tartars.
