The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), in collaboration with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI), invites you to watch “Visions for a Technology-Enabled Democratic Future.” This 2-hour virtual event showcases insights from the Future of Democracy Survey which captures a variety of perspectives from private sector, civil society, government, and other stakeholders on the values that should underpin a democratic future in the digital age. CIPE, NDI, and IRI will also launch the Anthology for a Future of Tech-Enabled Democracy, an online multimedia collection of thought pieces from inspiring thinkers that explore different topics related to an overarching theme: imagining a positive democratic future enabled by technology.
The event features:
- Introduction by Andrew Wilson, Executive Director, CIPE
- Opening Remarks from Damon Wilson, President and CEO, NED
- Presentation on the Future of Democracy Survey with Ritika Singh, Program Manager, CIPE
- Presentation of the Anthology for a Future of Tech-Enabled Democracy with Adam Sachs, Program Officer, CIPE; Madeleine Nicoloff, Program Associate, NDI; and Amanda Zink, Program Officer, IRI
- Panel Discussion with Anthology Contributors, moderated by Anthology Editor Brian Forest
About the Speakers
Damon Wilson
Damon Wilson is President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Endowment for Democracy. Prior to joining NED, Mr. Wilson served as Executive Vice President at the Atlantic Council, as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council (NSC), as Executive Secretary and Chief of Staff at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and as Deputy Director in the private office of the NATO Secretary General. Mr. Wilson began his career with Save the Children in Rwanda. He is a graduate of Duke University and Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs.
Andrew Wilson
Andrew Wilson is the Executive Director of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) in Washington, D.C. Wilson has extensive experience working with the private sector on development issues in conflict and post-conflict settings, crafting successful business strategies to reduce corruption, encouraging entrepreneurship development, strengthening business advocacy, improving corporate governance standards, and promoting economic reform. He is called on frequently to speak about the linkages between democracy and business, as well as the challenges to growth in emerging markets, including corruption and the threat of corrosive capital.
Wilson has worked at CIPE since 1996 in a variety of roles, including Deputy Director for Strategic Planning and Programs, and Regional Director for Europe, Eurasia, and South Asia. Prior to his time at CIPE, Wilson worked for several development NGOs focusing on economic reform, private sector growth, and public diplomacy.
Over the years, Wilson has served on numerous international working groups dedicated to political and economic development in transitional societies. He has also worked with non-profit boards to improve strategic planning and optimize organizational development. He served as a Trustee and Director of the Meadows Foundation in Dallas, Texas, and is currently a board member of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.
Wilson received his MA in East European Area Studies from the University of London (SSEES) and a BA in History from Lewis and Clark College.
Brian Forest (Moderator)
Brian Forest serves as Editor of the Anthology for a Future of Tech-Enabled Democracy. Forest is also the Founder of Arboreal Communications™, a new kind of communications shop specializing in messaging, writing, and strategy. He has provided strategic messaging support at the highest levels of business and government, including some of the world’s most recognizable companies and principals—from presidents and CEOs to social entrepreneurs and prime ministers. Forest, a longtime senior Senate leadership aide, has crafted messages and strategies that shaped national conversations and helped secure important bipartisan legislative achievements. He also led strategic messaging for a major Washington business trade group and has worked in a variety of roles spanning democracy promotion, international institutions, politics, journalism, academia, the White House, and PR agencies such as Edelman.
Delfina Irazusta (Panelist)
Delfina is Founder and Executive Director of RIL (Local Innovation Network) where she has been working for more than eight years with local leaders with the aim of improving their management skills and thus maximizing their power to transform their cities. She holds a degree in Political Science, postgraduate in Local Development, Master in City Management and previously worked as an adviser in the Buenos Aires city government. She is part of the global network of Ashoka entrepreneurs and the YGL Class 2020 group (World Economic Forum).
Dr. Walid Al-Saqaf (Panelist)
Walid Al-Saqaf is an Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in Journalism and Media Technology at Södertörn University in Stockholm. He is also an expert and trainer in fact-checking, data journalism, blockchain technology, social media analysis, and big data. Before moving to Sweden in 2006, he led the Yemen Times as Editor-in-Chief and Publisher from 1999-2005.
Ginny Badanes (Panelist)
Ginny Badanes leads Democracy Forward, an initiative within Microsoft’s Technology & Corporate Responsibility organization that is focused on addressing ongoing challenges to the stability of democracies globally. The program includes efforts to protect elections, political parties, campaigns, and NGOs from cyber-enabled threats. The Democracy Forward team also leads Microsoft’s work to improve the information ecosystem, which includes combating disinformation, expanding news distribution, increasing media literacy, and working with community-based programs and newsrooms to use technology to expand their reach.
Ginny has spent her career at the intersection of politics and technology. Before joining Microsoft in 2014, she was Vice President of Political Services at CMDI, where she advised presidential and senate campaigns on their efforts to leverage data and technology to improve their finance and treasury operations. Ginny was named to Washingtonian’s 2021 & 2022 “Most Influential People” list for national security and defense. She is a graduate of Duke University and currently lives in Arlington, VA with her husband, Dave, and their three boys.
Dr. Amy Johnson (Panelist)
Amy Johnson uses speculative methods to explore the societal impacts of technology and social change—and then imagine fresh possibilities. An author, anthologist, and scholar, her stories and poetry have appeared or are forthcoming in Diabolical Plots, Escape Pod, Fantasy Magazine, and Lightspeed, among others. She edited the Drones & Dreams anthology (Digital Asia Hub 2019) and regularly leads speculative workshops and projects. As a scholar, she studies unexpected uses of digital technologies, with focuses on government, freedom of expression, and play. She’s currently a fellow at MIT’s Language and Technology Lab and an affiliate and past fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. She holds a PhD from MIT. Find her at amyjohnson.com or on Twitter at @shrapnelofme, where she tweets about language, technology, and other fun things.