International Centre for Democratic Transition



The International Centre for Democratic Transition (ICDT) is a non-profit organization based in Budapest, Hungary which collects the experiences of past democratic transitions and shares them with those who are determined to follow that path. Instead of promoting democracy in general, the ICDT sets more concrete and pragmatic goals, concentrating on democratic transition as a process. The Centre strives to show how dozens of young democracies have made and are making the transition, so that those who set off on this difficult journey from dictatorship to democracy in the future may learn from the successes as well as the failures.

Mission Statement
Because the International Centre for Democratic Transition was founded in Central Europe, we are acutely aware of the complexity of democratic transition as a process. We ourselves have recently undergone this process and know full well the fragility of new democracies. We firmly believe that a transition can only be judged to be successful when the benefits of democracy are shared by the whole of society. The ICDT’s mission is to facilitate the smooth and peaceful process of democratic transition on the basis of participatory principles; the political, economic, legal, cultural, and civil societal aspects of transformation; and the socio-cultural context of regions and countries where the process takes place.

History
The idea to establish an institute to collect and share the experiences of past democratic transitions originated from former US Ambassador Mark Palmer, Vice President of the Council for a Community of Democracies (CCD). His proposal was followed by a meeting between the Hungarian Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs and the US Secretary of State in June 2004. At a conference in Budapest in March 2005 civil society and governmental leaders from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the USA, as well as representatives of a number of international organizations approved the concept paper on the new Centre. Subsequently, the idea was presented by the Hungarian Foreign Minister at the Third Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies in Santiago de Chile. Once again, the idea was well received and endorsed by the participating Foreign Ministers, representing more than 100 democratic governments of the world. Finally, in September 2005, the Hungarian president announced at the World Summit of the United Nations that “an International Centre for Democratic Transition (ICDT) has been set up in Budapest.”

Operational Method
The ICDT:
 * Facilitates the process of democratic transition by using the knowledge pool of transitional experiences and by sharing best practices
 * Convenes the most important indigenous stakeholders to play key roles in the transition process
 * Provides an adaptable toolbox and appropriate models for the creation and consolidation of democratic institutions,<br
 * between cultures and regions by generating dialogue.

Key Achievements

 * Worked on the implementation of 20 distinct projects;
 * Established a strong presence in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe;
 * Secured support from international organizations such as the UN Democracy Fund and the Council of Europe;
 * Intensified relations with existing donors and earned the trust of new donors including the International Visegrad Fund, the Helen Bader Foundation, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the Open Society Institute, NATO, the Council of Europe, the Central European Initiative, Hungarian Ministry of Culture, as well as the Governments of Austria, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden;
 * Built new partnerships with a range of international NGOs, including the Foundation for the Future, the Partnership Centre for Development and Democracy, the Eurasia Foundation, the Centre for Middle-Eastern Strategic Studies, the Kawakibi Democracy Transition Center, and the Foundation Institute for Eastern Studies;
 * Published the expert report and recommendations Minorities in Transition in South, Eastern, and Central Europe, the report of the Belarus Task Force A European Alternative for Belarus, as well as a book on Democratic Change and Gender prepared in the framework of ‘Strengthening the Capacity of Belarusian Women’s Movements and Organizations.’

Program Areas
Interregional Cooperation

Promoting interregional cooperation between governments and civil societies of neighboring countries to enable democratic transition and to ensure regional stability.

Toolbox for Democracy

Providing technical assistance and learning opportunities to new and fragile democracies, concentrating on particular and practical elements of democracy such as elections and freedom of speech.

Sustainable Democracy

Strengthening the involvement of marginalized groups such as minorities, women and other unprotected social groups in both the transition process and the functioning of democracy.

International Board
The International Board of Directors of the Centre consists of prominent personalities from the areas of international politics, economics, the arts and the sciences.

Chairperson
 * H.E. Janusz Onyszkiewicz, Vice-President of the European Parliament, former Minister of Defense, Poland

Members
 * H.E. Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State, Chair, The Albright Group, USA
 * Mr. Daniel Bader, Director, Helen Bader Foundation, USA
 * H.E. Donald Blinken, former Ambassador of the United States of America to Budapest, USA
 * The Right Hon. Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister, Canada
 * Mr. Gustavo A. Cisneros, Chairperson and CEO of the Cisneros Group of Companies, Venezuela
 * Prof. Emil Constantinescu, former President of Romania 1996-2000
 * Mr. Joel H. Cowan, President of Habersham & Cowan. Inc, USA
 * H.E. Jayantha Dhanapala, former Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, Honorary President of the International Peace Bureau, Sri Lanka
 * Ms. Paula J. Dobriansky, Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, USA
 * † H.E. Prof. Bronislaw Geremek, MEP, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Solidarity Member, Poland
 * Mr. MS Gill, former Chief of The Election Commission of India, Member, Rajya Sabha, India
 * H.E. György Habsburg, Ambassador, Hungary
 * Ms. Nabila Hamza; President of the Foundation for the Future, Jordan
 * Mr. Andrey Illarionov, former Economic Policy Advisor to the President of Russia, Director of the Institute of Economic Analysis in Moscow, Russia
 * H.E. President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Former President, Sri Lanka
 * H.E. President Ricardo Lagos, Former President of the Republic of Chile, Chile
 * Ms. Sonja Licht, President, Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, Serbia
 * H.E. János Martonyi, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hungary
 * Mr. Markus Meckel, last Minister of Foreign Affairs of the GDR, Deputy Foreign Policy Speaker of the SPD, Germany
 * Dr. Péter Medgyessy, Former Prime Minister, Hungary
 * Prof. Anatoli Mikhailov, President of EHU-International, Lithuania
 * H.E. Mark Palmer, former Ambassador of the United States of America to Hungary, USA
 * Governor George E. Pataki, Former Governor of New York; Co-Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations Independent Task Force on Climate Change Issues, USA
 * Mr. Thomas S. Rooney, Former CEO of Insituform Technologies, USA
 * Dr. Sima Samar, Chairperson, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, Afghanistan
 * H.E. Narcís Serra, former Vice-President of the Spanish Government, President of CIDOB Foundation, Spain
 * HRH Prince Hassan bin Al Talal, President, Club of Rome, Jordan
 * Mr. Borys Tarasyuk, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine
 * Mr. Maximilian Teleki, President, Hungarian-American Coalition, USA
 * Dr. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Former President, Latvia
 * H.E. George Herbert Walker, former Ambassador of the United States of America to Hungary, USA
 * Mr. Sundeep Waslekar, President, Strategic Foresight Group, India
 * H.E. John C. Whitehead, Former Deputy Secretary of State, USA

Honorary Members
 * H.E. Michel Barnier, Minister of Agriculture, President, Nouvelle République, France
 * The Hon. Judge Alexander Boraine, formerly Truth and Reconciliation Commission, South Africa
 * H.E. Nancy Brinker, White House Chief of Protocol, former Ambassador of the United States of America to Budapest, USA
 * H.E. Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President, Estonia
 * Mr. George Soros, Chairperson of Soros Fund Management, LLC and Founder of The Open Society Institute, USA

Executive Committee
The Executive Committee of the ICDT consists of five internationally recognized figures from the scientific and public arenas, elected for a term of three years by the International Board.

Chairperson
 * Mrs. Sonja Licht, President and Founder of the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence

Members
 * Mr. Iván Bába, former State Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Editor-at-Large, Budapest Analyses
 * Mr. Daniel Bader, Director, Helen Bader Foundation, USA
 * Mr. Richard C. Rowson, President, Council for a Community of Democracies
 * H.E. András Simonyi, former Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary to the United States of America

Governmental Advisory Board
The members of the GAB represent their governments. This body serves as an organized form of communication with the democratic governments of the world. So far over 40 democracies have delegated a representative to the ICDT’s Governmental Advisory Board, which advises and appraises the work of the Centre and makes proposals for specific projects.

Contact
International Center for Democratic Transition (ICDT) Árvácska u. 12. 1022 Budapest, Hungary Phone: +36 (1) 438-0820 Fax: +36 (1) 438-0821 E-mail: info AT icdt.hu Website: http://www.icdt.hu