WHY DEMOCRACY?

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OCTOBER 8th 2007 marks the start of the most ambitious factual media event in broadcast history.

More than 35 broadcasters worldwide, a global web presence and an international newspaper are working together for the first time ever to debate the dominant political issue of our time. They are asking the question: Why Democracy?
The season will start with an unprecedented global premiere on myspace.com. Then 10 documentaries from all over the world will screen simultaneously in 200 countries to a potential audience of over 300 million people. The films span the multi-faceted themes of democracy: from examining the thorny issue of US torture to a fun but telling story of the election of a class monitor in a Chinese primary school, from interviewing President Musharraf on his idea of how to rule a country, to exploring the machination behind the Danish cartoons scandal. Other films come from Japan, Egypt, India, Bolivia and Liberia.
A global dialogue is taking place in the unique pages of www.whydemocracy.net where a group of young people from across the world are running a website for everyone to get involved. Forums, chatrooms and blogs are open to all, and users can even upload their own films. There are also worldwide polls – including ‘Who would you vote for as President of the World?’
Metro Newspapers in 28 countries will be replacing the ’60 Second Interview’ with ’10 Questions About Democracy’ – with interviewees ranging from Pelé to Metallica. These will also be filmed and made into a series of short films, as well as posted online.
All this, plus the wide-ranging plans of each of the broadcasters (some are even theming their quiz shows around Why Democracy?) is just the beginning. There are 25 short films from young filmmakers across the world, public launches with the UNDP, the Bolivian Government (as well as in Paris, London, Berlin, and Cape Town) and a global outreach campaign.

This is a world first – international public broadcasters working together to explore one of the great issues of our time. On screen, in print and online, make sure you stay tuned