Safeguarding public debate, its quality and possibility

Pub­lic debate is essen­tial to a healthy and vibrant democ­ra­cy. By enabling cit­i­zens and soci­ety as whole to come togeth­er, share ideas and engage in dia­logue to col­lec­tive­ly define the com­mon good, it fos­ters the exchange of diverse per­spec­tives, the for­ma­tion of informed opin­ions and strength­ens the abil­i­ty of cit­i­zens to hold their lead­ers account­able.

Also facil­i­tat­ed by dig­i­tal tech­nolo­gies, grow­ing restric­tions on civ­il soci­ety space and tight­en­ing media laws are observed in many back­slid­ing democ­ra­cies and author­i­tar­i­an regimes, which are expe­ri­enc­ing an upsurge in pro­pa­gan­da, sur­veil­lance, and cen­sor­ship.

Com­bined, these inten­si­fy­ing trends not only threat­en the qual­i­ty of pub­lic debate, but its very pos­si­bil­i­ty. Thus, to encour­age open and con­struc­tive pub­lic debate that pro­motes under­stand­ing and dia­logue rather than divi­sion and con­flict, the Foun­da­tion is com­mit­ted to:
 

• Sup­port the vital role of pub­lic inter­est jour­nal­ism in stim­u­lat­ing and inform­ing pub­lic debate;
• Strength­en civ­il soci­ety orga­ni­za­tions in their efforts to cre­ate a healthy dig­i­tal pub­lic space that allows for safe, fair, and inclu­sive pub­lic debate in the dig­i­tal realm.