Letter from President and CEO Tony Banbury: IFES’ New Vision and Mission
Dear colleagues, friends and partners worldwide:
On September 30, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) celebrated its 10th annual Democracy Awards Ceremony. It was an inspiring evening, full of firsts: we recognized former United States (U.S.) Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright (D), former U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley (R) and former Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström, and launched our Tech4Democracy (T4D) alongside its founding contributor, Facebook.
And – in a particularly exciting moment – I was honored to announce IFES’ new vision, mission and the first step of our five-year strategic plan, four strategic outcomes:
Vision: Democracy for a better future.
Mission: Together we build democracies that deliver for all.
Strategic Outcomes:
- Trusted electoral institutions deliver credible elections.
- Effective governing institutions are accountable to the people they serve.
- All people safely participate in civic and political life on an equal basis.
- Technology, information and data positively serve elections and democracy.
It was fitting that I shared this announcement in a room with many of IFES’ board members, staff and champions, as this is the culmination of a truly collaborative, collective effort – including the critical 2019 Country Director Conference and a series of other engagements with IFES board members and staff. Together, we developed a new vision and mission that are grounded in recognition of the traditional and emerging threats to democracy and electoral integrity. They set an ambitious role for IFES that reflects our commitment to partnering with people and societies around the world to achieve their right and aspiration for representative and responsive government. I am very grateful to all colleagues who contributed to this process and helped us redefine IFES’ place in the world.
In the coming weeks, I encourage you to continue to engage with IFES – especially via IFES.org and social media – as we spotlight each of our strategic outcomes and share more about our strategic planning process.
Thank you. I am honored to have your support as, together, we build democracies that deliver for all.
Anthony N. Banbury
IFES President and CEO
