The world around us has become less predictable. Democracies are increasingly focused on their own domestic problems. Following the change in administration in the United States, the former flagship of the free world has been transformed into a grotesque caricature. There has been a significant reduction in the resources that for decades were directed toward the development of democracy, civil society, and independent media around the world. Many programs have been suspended or revised. For many of those working for freedom, human rights, and an open society, this has become a serious challenge.
But it is precisely at such moments that it becomes clear that the main resource of democracy is not grants or aid programs. The main resource is the people who practice democracy by taking responsibility for the country — each in their own way.
That is why the International Renaissance Foundation continued to work alongside those who defend the country and uphold human rights within it, who launch drones and develop independent media, assist military units and self-governing communities, who sustain education and foster trust in society, and who seek solutions for the country’s future. We did this together with thousands of partners across Ukraine.
This report is not just about the Foundation’s activities. It is about a society that has refused to live by the rules of fear. About people who, even during war, refuse to trade freedom for silence. About citizens who prove time and again that democracy is not a political technology or a borrowed model. It is part of our national DNA.
If you are holding this report in your hands, then you are likely a carrier of this DNA as well.
And that is precisely why we have a future.
Oleksandr Sushko, Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation
