10. Democracy and politics are in your hands too ??

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2024 is a big year for the world and for Portugal: we will see election results that could change the power dynamics in the EU, the US, Taiwan, India and the other countries in red:

So, whether we like it or not, this year our democracies will be put to the test and we will have to fight for rights and freedoms. This is the first rookie mistake of democracy advocates: we take democracy for granted and leave our everyday democracy fight for another day. One day, it may be too late.

In April, Portugal celebrates the 50th anniversary of its Carnation Revolution, which means that we've now lived 50 years in a democracy (yay!) after a harsh period of dictatorship. So this month I'm going to focus mainly on issues related to freedom, democracy and human rights and what that means for me in 2024. ??

?? Democracy is in your hands too

I've been reflecting on the role we play in democracy. How do we preserve it? How should we fight for it? I'm on a mission to emphasise that democracy depends on individuals as much as it depends on politicians, or perhaps even more. The role of civil society cannot be overestimated.

I firmly believe that everything we do is political, whether we like politics or not (I do). So if everything we do is political, that means we are active political agents in democracy, even if we don't realise it. I think we usually look at our politicians as a group that has sole responsibility for the status quo, but I couldn't disagree more. Ordinary citizens have just as much responsibility to bring about change in their communities, cities and countries.

If everything is politics, then we all play a fundamental role in maintaining our institutions and our way of life. What do we do instead? We complain and do nothing. Personally, I've always been against the idea of complaining and not offering solutions, or complaining and not being proactive in directing our complaints in an attempt to actually change things for the better and for the greater good.

Have you ever even bothered to…

• collaborate with local government or town hall representatives to propose and develop new initiatives?
• give positive or negative feedback on a product or service you've bought?
• helped or encouraged young people to take action?
• volunteered on exciting projects in your community?
• gathered a group of people to design a social impact project?
• written a letter to politicians to promote a change in policy?

I've used these examples because they're all things I've done myself and will continue to do. There's so much we can do on a daily basis to defend our democracies and be better citizens. This can include basic things like being and promoting an informed electorate (people often vote based on emotions rather than political proposals; hence the far-right populist circus) or defending democratic values in your daily interactions: tolerance, respect for the rule of law and compromise. When was the last time you proactively demonstrated these values?

Our actions strengthen the social fabric and encourage other people to do the same, therefore democracy has a very cool cascading effect. ?? Also, as someone who hates to complain and do nothing, here's an example of what my friends and I did recently in 3 steps:

1. We're tired of seeing politics reserved for elites who function as a separate bubble in society, so we brainstormed a shadow electoral programme for the next European elections.
2. We divided it into themes (foreign policy, economy, civic participation, environment, etc.) and invited young and grown up civil society leaders, former politicians, etc., to debate their policy recommendations for each chapter.
3. The outcome? We are creating a grassroots civil society movement (after all, it's not just politicians who have ideas and solutions to the big social issues!), and our aim is to educate, advocate and generate political change through intergenerational dialogue.

The project is called Lista Sombra (“Shadow List”) and can be replicated in your country if you want to talk politics, have fun and change the world in between. ??????????

Portuguese dictatorship fact of the week

Censorship was part of Portuguese national culture until the Revolution in 1974. During Portugal's dictatorship, the blue pencil was one of the most symbolic instruments of censorship and oppression. ??

There is currently a cool campaign called #N?oPodias (“You couldn’t”) that highlights what you were not allowed to do during the Portuguese dictatorship period (things like kissing, voting, gathering, travelling, expressing your opinion, etc.). The campaign comes with a cool tool where you can paint and leave celebratory messages using the infamous blue pencil, so here’s mine:

Good news corner

Here’s the first #TheGenderDiplomat spinoff of the year: In a bid to democratise knowledge and extend my own privilege to others, I'm finally launching a series of 60-minute online workshops with fantastic experts as special guests (yes, for free!) ????? To ensure we tend to the needs of our audience and to maintain high-quality sessions, online places are limited. Now, go follow The Gender Diplomat on Instagram and stay tuned for news in the coming days!

?? follow TGD on Instagram for a chance to win your free workshop!

? Growing in and out of your 9 to 5

JOBS

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• Senior data officer @ Young Women’s Trust
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GROWTH

• It’s time for women to run for office — TED
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EVENTS

• Regional Perspectives on the Recovery and Resilience Facility — CEMR
• Business & Human Rights Agenda: Next steps — EP S&D Group
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• Women on the move at the European Parliament — WEMov
• London Regional Meeting of the Summit of the Future — UNA UK

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