Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim—chairman of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies (ICDS—was invited to Stockholm last week to give the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the World Meeting of Democracy Promoting Foundations. Dr. Ibrahim took the opportunity to explain the critical moment which Egypt now faces in its democratization process, and how progress in Egypt could echo throughout the Arab world. Dr. Ibrahim stressed, however, that the proponents of democratic change in Egypt need international support.
To that end, ICDS has recently created the Egyptian Democracy Support Network (EDSN), a broad, but informal coalition of Egyptian and international NGOs and activists, who are dedicated to bringing democracy and political liberty to Egypt. The Network will be administered by an ICDS-based secretariat, which will recruit members and coordinate their efforts. Regular reports and dissemination of important updates will act as calls to action, which ESDN members will use to develop their own strategies for political reform, as they deem appropriate. This could mean signing onto joint declarations or lobbying their respective governments. The mobilization of a quick international response will help protect local Egyptian democracy proponents by curbing the Mubarak regime's excesses. Additionally, the members of the Network may provide funding and technical assistance to local member organizations whenever possible.

The EDSN's mission is to:
• To become the focal point for collaboration on democracy development in Egypt among civil society organizations and activists, in addition to forging strong connections with similar democracy-concerned organizations in the region, and the rest of the world.
• To monitor, document, analyze and disseminate information on the political developments in Egypt.
• To mobilize rapid local and international response to political developments in Egypt.
ICDS has already secured the participation of several prominent Egyptian civil society organizations, such as the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, the Group for Democratic Development, and regional organizations such as the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation. ICDS plans to add other domestic members as well as Western and Middle Eastern partners.