SMC Inspirational Day offered constructive conversations with a focus on democracy

The digital event for SMC — Faith in development’s member organisations focused on how we together contribute to change and instill hope in a space where democracy is shrinking.

The first stage of SMC’s Member Days offered a digital inspiration day with over 150 participants from all over the world. In a time of unrest, with increased conflicts and diminished democratic forces, this day’s focus was to instill hope. The aim was to offer a learning and interactive day for all participants in SMC’s international network.

Do and talk democracy

In the morning session, the theme was “Global Overview — the State of Democracy and Civil Society Space” with Adina Trunk (International IDEA) and Dr. Kenneth Mtata (WCC). The message from the speakers was not particularly uplifting; democracy is declining for the sixth year in a row. What was surprising, however, was that participation in the democratic conversation was strong from unexpected places in the world.

Why faith matters

In the afternoon session, Fred Nyabera (Arigatou International) and Annika Anderson (WeEffect) were invited to speak about “Why faith matters”. They gave us two lectures on faith in practice and why this is important for civil society actors. The in-depth seminars let the participants exchange experiences from civil society and strategies for creating a democratic space.

— It was clear how important it is that we understand how people’s faith has the potential to create unity and strengthen resilience in times of limited democratic space. I felt that we were all inspired by meeting and exchanging experiences about the importance of faith for democratisation and human rights, says Victoria Pfeiffer, Desk Officer at SMC.