Advancing Democracy Through Tech: Highlights from the Copenhagen Democracy Summit

This is part two of my 2023 Copenhagen Democracy Summit highlight series, with a focus on day two. If you missed my day one highlight, you can read here: Standing for Freedom through Music: Reflecting on Bobi Wine’s Message from Copenhagen Democracy Summit.

Last week, the Alliance of Democracies Foundation hosted the 6th annual Copenhagen Democracy Summit, bringing together a distinguished lineup of speakers including Czech President Petr Pavel , Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas , NATO SecGen Jens Stoltenberg , Ukraine's President Zelenskyy, Taiwan's President Ing-wen Tsai , Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss , and a multitude of inspiring democracy activists and freedom fighters. Day two took center stage, delving into the crucial nexus between technology, AI, and democracy. As the manager of the foundation's fellowship program, my personal highlight was the Democracy & Technology Entrepreneur Program, where I shoulder the responsibility for any potential shortcomings in the session's execution.

For the past three years, our Democracy Tech Entrepreneur Fellows have joined us at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit to present their solutions to democracies’ challenges to a panel of experts. These presentations conclude a six-month online program in which they gain the know-how to build and grow democracy-focused ventures. ?Our fellows are selected from Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova, all of which live in the looming shadow of Russia. This year we also extended to Armenia, represented by Nare Hakobyan from SocialLab with her project Data for Democracy for Amernia. While speaking about her experience at the Summit and in the program, she wrote, and I quote:?

At the event and throughout the Fellowship I was able to learn and meet an array of incredible people working to make meaningful changes to democracy across the world.

As we continually strive to foster innovation and empower our Democracy Tech Entrepreneur Fellows, we have recognized the need for constant program enhancements. Each year, we challenge ourselves to refine the selection process, inspire our fellows, and deepen our engagement with this expanding network of tech entrepreneurs devoted to democracy and freedom. An important addition to this year's program was the introduction of a competitive element and the addition of three prestigious awards: The Ukraine Award, the Copenhagen Democracy Tech Award and the People's Award.

The Ukraine Award served to honor fellows within the program who dedicated their efforts to developing democracy tech tools aimed at assisting Ukraine in its digital warfare and reconstruction efforts. This theme was introduced during the inception of our fellowship cycle back in October 2022, at a virtual event graced by Alex Bornyakov , Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, Ukraine.

Building on this momentum, we organized Democracy Tech Hackathons in Moldova and Georgia, aligning with the same theme. The winner of the Ukraine Award, Giorgi Kvinikadze , earned his fellowship spot after triumphing in the Democracy Tech Hackathon held at DataFest Tbilisi in Georgia with his tool, the War Fake News Detector. Throughout the fellowship, Giorgi worked diligently alongside his mentor, Daniel Dudas-Schwarz , to refine and enhance his AI product. We extend our heartfelt appreciation to Daniel for his unwavering support and guidance throughout this process.

At the summit, we had the opportunity to showcase our innovative startup that's building an AI-powered "War Fake News Detector" chatbot. This tool, deployed on Telegram, combats disinformation regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict. We're extremely honored to have been recognized with the Ukraine Award. – Giorgi Kvinikadze

The Copenhagen Democracy Tech Award recognized the most outstanding democracy tech solution in the cohort this year. This prize was awarded to Teona Tomashvili who joined the fellowship with her tool, askgov.ge. While speaking to mySociety last year, Teona stated, and I quote:?

Georgia had never been a fully democratic state. It’s only 30 years since we were part of the Soviet Union, and our democracy is still very fragile. There’s a new impetus towards teaching people that open government and open data are important, but citizens are not used to these things. They have never felt like that, ever!

Askgov plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between Georgian citizens and their government, providing better access to information and promoting transparency. Teona's unwavering commitment to the cause of democracy in Georgia is evident through her dedicated efforts, using technology and various other means at her disposal. In an article I dedicated to Georgian women on International Women's Day, I highlighted Teona's resilience and her significant contributions to the democratic movement in Georgia. I extend a special thanks to Ann-Christine Roope for her invaluable mentorship and guidance, which undoubtedly played a crucial role in Teona's journey throughout the fellowship.

The winners of both the Ukraine Award and the Copenhagen Democracy Tech Award were determined by our esteemed panel of expert judges, which included Helen Zhang , Director of the International Strategy Forum and Quad Fellowship at Schmidt Futures , J?rn Larsen , Founder and CEO of Trifork , and Stine M?lgaard S?rensen , Co-Founder and Board Member of Radiobotics , as well as an investor and author. Their extensive knowledge and expertise were essential in selecting the most deserving recipients. We also recognized the importance of including the voice of the people in the award ceremony. To ensure a democratic process, the final award, the People’s Award was decided by the audience in attendance, with the assistance of Assembly Voting and their advanced voting software, ensuring the integrity and transparency of the selection process.

People believe in our DREAM far beyond the borders of Ukraine. And that's really inspiring. - Viktor Nestulia?

Viktor Nestulia garnered the esteemed People's Award for his outstanding project, DREAM - Digital Restoration Ecosystem for Accountable Management. DREAM serves as a state-of-the-art digital ecosystem, offering a centralized platform for all reconstruction projects. Through this innovative system, communities have the opportunity to create and present their projects to international partners, attracting essential financial resources and effectively managing the construction process. Viktor emphasized that the system empowers each community to initiate their own reconstruction projects, which are consolidated within a comprehensive national project bank, set to be officially launched in London on June 21. I extend a special thanks to Viktor's mentor, Torsten Kolind , for providing invaluable support throughout the fellowship.

The Copenhagen Democracy Summit's recognition and celebration of exceptional democracy tech solutions through prestigious awards illustrate the Alliance of Democracies Foundation's unwavering dedication to promoting and advancing this field. These accolades demonstrate our commitment to recognizing the outstanding contributions of individuals such as Teona Tomashvili, Giorgi Kvinikadze, and Viktor Nestulia, whose projects, such as askgov.ge, the War Fake News Detector, and DREAM, respectively, have demonstrated the transformative power of technology in strengthening freedom and democracy.

We express our heartfelt gratitude to our esteemed partners, Schmidt Futures and Trifork , whose generous support made this year's Democracy Tech Entrepreneur Fellowship possible. Additionally, we extend our sincere appreciation to all the speakers, mentors and all those who contributed to the success of this year's cohort including Majken Overgaard , Joo Runge , Mathias Sundin , Christine Hebert , Leopoldo López Mendoza , Colombe Cahen-Salvador , Jacob Gyldenk?rne , Erdem Ovacik , Fadi Elsalameen , among others. And a special thanks to entire Alliance of Democracies team for their continuous support in making the fellowship program a success Jonas Parello-Plesner , Maria Fogh Duelund , Danielle Piatkiewicz , Olaf Boehnke , Katherina Nielsen , Alexandrina Varzari , Lucy Barkin , Hamasa Hamid , and Anja Jung Nielsen .

As our Founder and Chairman, Anders Fogh Rasmussen emphasized, while democracies may still hold the lead, we face significant challenges, making it imperative to triumph in the technological race. By encouraging and amplifying innovative democracy tech solutions, we aim to equip democracies with the tools to meet these challenges and forge a brighter future for all.