liberia

With the Why Democracy? broadcast screenings officially starting today, the Democracy House is encouraging all our readers to think about and join our various debates.

Starting today until 18 October, each of the 10 movies will have a dedicated day in our news blog. Each entry will provide news stories about the respective country and clips from the movie. Feel free to follow the links toward our forums, where you can participate in a global dicussion about democracy.

Question of the day: Are Women More Democratic Than Men?

Amidst all the stories about democracy faltering in Africa it is important to remember the gains that are being made around the continent, especially in post-conflict countries.

It's almost two years since President Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson came to power in Liberia. Progress as far is rebuilding the country is slow but ongoing, and perhaps the big news story is that there is no big news story. A quick search of BBC news website, reveals headlines about revealing clothes being banned in school and the discovery of ghost workers - a far cry from the days when the devastating civil war dominated the headlines.

Let's not forget the peaceful elections in Sierra Leone and the historic first democratic elections in DRC.

My message, yes - there is still a lot of work to be done, but progress is being made and we are increasingly seeing African countries finding solutions to their own problems.

The future can only be brighter, no?