Studio of Democracy

22/04/2021

KNOWLEDGE MINUTE 🧑‍🏫

Who are the main actors in politics & policies? 🏛

If you want to analyze the national political environment of your or any country in the best way, you always have to pay attention to major actors who usually impact politics & policies.

These actors are all the same in every country. However, all of them have a different level of influence in the political system based on the factors of political culture, resource owning, and international environment. Knowledge of who they are would help you to draw a detailed map & its threads of national politics & policy-making.

21/04/2021

Quote of the Week 🗯

When the storm is gathering in Europe, we recall the speeches and their powerful messages from Pope John Paul II 🇵🇱🇻🇦

The ideals of peace & common mind should prevail ☮️

19/04/2021

CZECH REPUBLIC 🇨🇿 vs RUSSIA 🇷🇺 – IS STORM GATHERING?

The two countries have announced diplomats expelling, the official negotiation of purchasing of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine is canceled, and more political clashes are coming 🌫

The diplomatic crisis between the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation went on fire last week. The Czech authorities accused Russian intelligence of the involvement in the deadly warehouse blast in the southeastern town of Vrbětice in October 2014.

As a result, the Czech Republic is expelling 18 Russian diplomats which also are claimed to be agents of Russian intelligence, and Russia expels 20 Czech diplomats from its territory in return. Many Czech officials and public figures compare this event with the times of the Prague Spring and Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and call for minimum political and economical contacts between the countries after the investigation facts revealing.

“This was the largest attack on our territory since 1968,” said Ondřej Veselý, chairman of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee.

Furthermore, the protests in front of the Russian Embassy in Prague are getting more extensive. The protesters demand proper accountability measures for the Russian illegal and spy actions in the Czech Republic.

Now the crisis situation is going to be discussed in Brussels. The Czech ambassador to NATO said the Czech government will ask to consider Russia’s role in the Czech warehouse blast at the North Atlantic Council. Also, the Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš will bring all details of the incident to EU members during the next summit on the 8th of May 2021.

12/04/2021

Sustainability & Global Goals 🌎🌍🌏

The United Nations passed the resolution called the 2030 Agenda in 2015. It declared 17 interconnected development global goals with a prominent mission statement of "a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030" 🇺🇳

The 17 SDGs (sustainable development goals) are (1) No Poverty, (2) Zero Hunger, (3) Good Health and Well-being, (4) Quality Education, (5) Gender Equality, (6) Clean Water and Sanitation, (7) Affordable and Clean Energy, (8) Decent Work and Economic Growth, (9) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, (10) Reducing Inequality, (11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, (12) Responsible Consumption and Production, (13) Climate Action, (14) Life Below Water, (15) Life On Land, (16) Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, (17) Partnerships for the Goals.

Sustainability is the cornerstone concept of nowadays policy analysis. Knowing the primary meaning while operating with it would help us address the development issues better.

Studio of Democracy is a project which is strongly dedicated to the Goals of Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions & Partnerships for the Goals. We stand for the promotion of democracy and civil society activism to achieve stable social sustainability in Central and Eastern Europe. Citizen education is the solid tool for those goals.

If you want to know more about the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, follow the link below and join the movement of professionals, volunteers, and activists who stand for the sustainable tomorrow 🍃

Link: https://sdgs.un.org/

30/03/2021

How to recognize an authoritarian political regime on the map?

We analyzed the contemporary political concepts of authoritarianism and prepared a short description of the authoritarian political regime by its core characteristics 👩‍🏫

When we know what we deal with, we know how exactly to address issues and make changes 🗽

In Democracy We Trust ✌️

29/03/2021

Quote of the Week 🗯

The last words of Milada Horáková before she was executed by the communist totalitarian regime in Czechoslovakia in 1950.

She was a prominent democracy and women's rights activist and nationwide politician. Dedicated to the truth and endless fight for justice in Czechoslovakia, she paid the highest price – her life.

Her life and engagement in public service inspire us to tell about her last thoughts and motivate us to fight hard ourselves.

We remember 🙏

23/03/2021

Studio of Democracy RECOMMENDS 📣

The live discussion on the channel Frontline PBS ‘‘Truth Matters: The State of Democracy and Press Freedom’’ 🏦

The discussion goes through themes of political disinformation, spreading distrust in democracy, corruption and suppression, social media regulations, and various social aspects of anti-democratic propaganda. The case is mostly based on the Philipinnes and its political environment. However, the discussion among the experts goes beyond that and provides insights that are common for the modern crisis state of democracy as an institution.

Here is the link to the conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcBfBoOeYWg

Enjoy the true discussion on the real political and social matters & don't forget to share your opinion with us 🙌

Join the PBS series FRONTLINE on March 13 for the premiere streaming of the acclaimed documentary, "A Thousand Cuts" in the Philippines. FRONTLINE will host ...

18/03/2021

Nowadays political violence is something unfortunate but extensively present in the reality of Eastern Europe 😞

Our task is to recognize it in time & address the issue 📲

11/03/2021

Quote of the Week 🗯

Don't forget that Your MOTIVATION Matters 🙌

09/03/2021

Studio of Democracy celebrated International Women's Day 🌹

Every year on the 8th of March, the world honors women and their demand for equal access to human rights, opportunities, and development. In every country it has its own specific.

Usually during this day all over the globe activists and active citizens lodge protests, performances, and solidarity marches. But the pandemic of COVID-19 and followed lockdown restrictions made it impossible in many countries this time.

Nevertheless, Ukraine softened the lockdown restrictions in some regions which gave an opportunity to stick to the traditions of International Women’s Day protests and marches.

One of the biggest and brightest protest marches took place in Kharkiv (Марш Жіночої Солідарності 2021). Activists walked on the main street of the city with plenty of political slogans and art performances. The occasion gathered more than 1500 people. The protesters had slogans such as ‘‘Freedom, Equality, Sisterhood!’’, ‘‘A Free Woman is A Free Country’’, ‘‘Women’s Rights are Human Rights’’, ‘‘Equal Labour is Equal Payment’’, ‘‘Sisters and Brothers are Equal in Their Fight’’, ‘‘My Body is My Business’’, ‘‘Yes to S*x! No to S*xism!’’, ‘‘The Place of Woman is Everywhere’’, etc.

According to the United Nation (Gender Equality by 2030 Goal), ‘‘International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage, determination by ordinary women, who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.’’

Studio of Democracy joins the movement and stands for values of equality in all its kinds. We hope the tradition of International Women’s Day will thrive even more in the future 🌈

05/03/2021

📛 HUMAN RIGHTS FOR TODAY 📛

Studio of Democracy is going for human rights inspection 🕵

For the Interview in Blitz, we had a short but valuable talk with Elena Lytvyn. She is a Ph.D. student at Кафедра політології ХНУ Каразіна - Political Science / Karazin University. Her primary specialization is research on civil society, peace-building, and development of political and civil institutions in Ukraine. Additionally, Elena had been a human rights intern at UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (Kharkiv Office).

The expertise of Elena gives us an opportunity to look broader on what is human rights in the modern world, how it develops in Ukraine, and what role we all can play in human rights concept advocation. Don’t forget if you have any questions regarding the topic or the interview, leave them in the comments below.

Q.: What is basically human rights? What do experts include in this term?

Essentially human rights are rights that we have because we are humans. They are independent of ethnicity, nationality, color of skin, religion, or gender identity. They are inalienable and therefore cannot be taken away for any reason. Human rights are based on the values of dignity, freedom, and equality. They are universal for all states and are complementary in their kind. Also, human rights are complex which means one cannot be used without implementing others.

Q.: Which public institutions are primarily responsible for human rights policy framing and human rights protection?

From the point of view of the protection of human rights, these are mainly the judicial system, human rights organizations, and the Ombudsman apparatus. In Ukraine, they operate based on international instruments, the common law, and the Constitution of Ukraine. The responsibility for the implementation of human rights and policy-making rests, in my opinion, with all of us. How many people are involved will determine how quickly we achieve absolute and perfect respect for human rights. Everyone has to make an input.

Q.: How would you evaluate the current state of human rights in Ukraine? Can we say that Ukraine is a regional or world leader in human rights policy accomplishing?

Nowadays, we can hardly speak of Ukraine’s global or regional leadership role in human rights policies. First, our country has not ratified the Istanbul Convention yet. Second, the COVID-19 pandemic identified all the weaknesses of the system: homelessness, lack of school preparation and educational progress, architectural and information inaccessibility for people with disabilities, etc. For me, the greatest achievement is that the government and civic actors talk about human rights louder and louder (but it is still not enough).

Q.: What are necessary social and political conditions for developing a proper attitude toward problem spots in human rights policy in Central and Eastern Europe?

Ideal conditions in any sense are utopian. They cannot be achieved, but there is always the possibility for future progress. The values of zero discrimination and equality as well as respect for human dignity must be at the heart of any policy. Institutional and governmental transparency, freedom of expression, and economic stability are the most favorable conditions for the support of human rights. In addition, democracy is always good, even if it is not perfect. We have to remember that it is not enough to take one action. Instead, it has to have daily small work on the legislative, social, and information levels. It is hard but incredibly important.