RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The 13th Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) will be held in Bali, Indonesia on Dec 10.

The event is aimed at responding to the question ‘how democracy will enable the society to recover and build resilience during and post-Covid-19 pandemic.’

This was stated by Abdi Satya Utama, Consul for Socio-Culture Affairs at Indonesian consulate general Karachi while briefing reporters during a meeting held at a local hotel on Thursday. He said the BDF 2020 will address the theme of ‘Democracy and Pandemic: Challenges from Covid-19 experiences.’

Over the years, the BDF has succeeded in making democracy a strategic agenda in the Asia Pacific. It has encouraged countries to establish a balance between economic and political development, between creating peace and security, and promoting human rights and fundamental freedom as well as respecting humanitarian values. All of which is reflected in the three founding pillars of the United Nations charter.

He said the BDF was established in 2008 to create a progressive, democratic architecture in the Asia-Pacific region.

In the past decades, the forum facilitated dialogues through sharing experiences and best practices in managing diversity that encourages equality, mutual understanding and respect.

Ade Pranajaya, Economic Affairs and Information & Socio Cultural Affairs at Indonesian Consulate General Karachi on this occasion said that the main objective of this event is providing platform for sharing experiences among state actors and invited stakeholders to identifying the possibility of shift in public preference towards governance caused by the pandemic, to understand better the sequent move by stakeholders and the possible consequences of the crisis, as well as to seek answers on questions about future of democracy in the age of global crisis.