In the coming months the permanent secretariat with the support of the Governing Council members planned several activities.

• The Civil Society Pillar Members: Civicus and Human Rights House Foundation will be participating in the in-person meeting of the Democracy Platform of the Community of Democracies. This meeting will be hosted by the Permanent Mission of Romania to the UN in Geneva.  In this informal discussion civil society, General Council members states and UNHRC will coordinate initiatives and foster cooperation to strengthen democracy within the United Nations Human Rights Council. This meeting will be held on 8th February in Geneva.

• On 1st March, Canada, in its capacity as Chair of the Governing Council of the Community of Democracies with the support of the Permanent Secretariat of the Community of Democracies, will hold a roundtable on “Building the resilience of democratic institutions”. The challenges currently facing democracies are increasing, and for that reason, the promotion of resilient democracies is vital. A resilient democracy is one that can strengthen itself and overcome each of the threats that arise in the current context. This meeting aims to share experiences on how inclusive and accountable institutions and governance processes that protect and promote respect for human rights and freedoms have boosted the creation of resilience. 

• Between January to June 2023, the informal consultation process with Member States and Stakeholders on the Global Digital Compact will be carried out. It is worth highlighting that the Global Digital Compact seeks to outline shared principles for an open, free and secure digital future which will cover issues related to digital connectivity, avoiding internet fragmentation, application of human rights online and promoting a trustworthy Internet by introducing accountability criteria for discrimination and misleading content. The Global Digital Compact involves governments, the United Nation system, civil society, the private sector, grass-roots organizations, academia and individuals including youth. The information about this process and future activities can be consulted here. 

• Democracy and technology go hand in hand since the new technologies have a great potential to contribute to the protection and promotion of Human Rights. The Community of Democracies Working Group shared its approved plan for 2023-2024. This Working Group will provide meetings and a platform for multi-stakeholder collaboration in order to exchange good practices, lessons learned, as well as, develop common projects and ideas to advance and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, the Working Group will seek to mainstream the cross-cutting themes of gender equality, youth, and democracy and development across its activities. Specific Working Group Actions may include:

1. 1. Knowledge-sharing in the areas of implementation of solutions and using digital tools and platforms for democratic governance.
   2. Promoting initiatives aimed at safeguarding digital democracy and government transparency.
   3. Engaging with multilateral initiatives aimed at building digital systems that respect  human rights and democratic values as established in the Warsaw Declaration and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The complete work plan is available on request.