In this time of democratic erosion, it is critical to share what democracy scholars, practitioners, and activists are learning—both here in the United States and around the world. On July 21, the Charles F. Kettering Foundation held a Kettering Global Conversation on Democracy: Solidarity across Borders in Washington, DC. The event provided a dynamic forum to explore democratic challenges facing countries around the world and to learn from different global contexts and experiences. This is the first in a series of five pieces about the event. The following is a transcript of remarks by Paloma Dallas, senior program officer for Democracy around the Globe.

It is incredibly heartening to gather in a space full of colleagues and collaborators who care as deeply as we do about the future of democracy.

We’ve titled today’s gathering “Solidarity across Borders.” That’s not just a reflection of who is here in this room or watching online. It’s a statement of purpose. Around the world, we’re seeing democratic backsliding accelerate not as isolated incidents but as part of an increasingly interconnected pattern.

While the tactics differ across contexts, they share many of the same elements: the silencing of dissent, the shrinking of public space, and efforts to isolate those working for change. But we’re also seeing something else.

We’re seeing people refusing to give in, movements resisting in ways that are both visible and quiet. We’re seeing coalitions take shape across communities, countries, and continents and, in other cases, across generations, identities, and sectors.

This gathering is rooted in that spirit. Our goals today are simple but ambitious. We want to highlight the shared threads that connect democratic challenges across regions. And we want to learn from one another’s contexts and strategies.

We want to catalyze relationships among those doing the difficult work of defending and reimagining democracy. And we want to offer something we all need right now: courage and solidarity.

We all know that this is a critical moment. And yet, while this global authoritarian wave is strong, we believe the demand for democracy and the will to create more just and inclusive systems is stronger.

That belief is grounded in what we’ve seen in places all over the globe. People are organizing and speaking out. They are building new models of resistance and democratic participation.

This Global Conversation on Democracy, we hope, reflects these examples of resilience and imagination. It is an invitation to listen, to connect, to imagine, and to leave this room with more resolve than you came with.

Paloma Dallas is senior program officer for Democracy around the Globe at the Kettering Foundation.