The Voices of Democracy

What does democracy mean to you? Extraordinary answers have arisen from the six young winners of the 2010 Democracy Video Challenge (DVC), a competition to celebrate the experience of democracy around the world. Yared Shumete from Ethiopia sees democracy as a game of fair play, where the rules are clear and everyone gets a turn. Iranian winner Farbosh Khoshtinat speaks powerfully about the true meaning of democracy — and chides those rulers who would twist and distort the democratic process in their favor. Colombian winner Juan Pablo Patiño Arévalo tells the moving story of a child’s life torn apart by war.  

The winners, who arrived in Washington DC on September 8, were selected from more than 1,600 video entries from 111 countries. Throughout their stay, winners will meet with partners and other  interested citizens in Washington, New York, and Los Angeles. DVC helps to foster discussion about democracy between these vital young voices and the essential stakeholders in film, education, youth empowerment, democracy promotion, and government.

These six individuals have already given their answer to the question. Now how would you complete the phrase “Democracy is. . .”?

Published Date: September 13, 2010