Abstract Information: Technology has the power to transform lives and connect us like never before, but when it undermines human rights or democratic values, technology becomes a form of repression. As part of President Biden’s Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal, announced during the Summit for Democracy (S4D), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) seeks to “assist partner countries in realizing the benefits of digital technologies that support democratic values and respect human rights, rather than undermining them. [By assisting governments to] enshrine democratic principles in their countries’ use, development, and governance of technology, while empowering civil society, technologists, and the private sector to encourage the same… [USAID seeks to advance] open, secure, and inclusive digital ecosystems” worldwide. To inform this effort, USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) in partnership with DevTech Systems, Inc. conducted a comprehensive research study of the digital democracy and digital repression (D3R) landscape spanning over 40 USAID’s partner countries. By conducting a through literature review, analyzing democratic values and human rights at the country-level, and exploring best practices, innovative ideas, and groundbreaking research by global thought leaders; the Analysis identified and analyzed emerging opportunities and issues at stake that will shape how citizens and countries are able to exercise democratic principles and human rights within this digital era. Ultimately, this research is contributing to the Agency’s programmatic design, is informing capacity strengthening activities at the Mission level, and is enhancing development diplomacy.
Relevance Statement: This poster will share the emerging opportunities and issues at stake that are emerging from the global D3R landscape and the strategic priorities of USAID as the Agency focuses on the relatively new area of programming.
