On June 19th, we had the pleasure to meet the International Republican Institute (IRI) regional director for Asia, Johanna Kao. She brings more than 20 years of experience in international political development, non-profit management, and citizen empowerment to this role. She was accompanied by Amy Studdart, a senior advisor at IRI, where she leads the organization’s digital democracy programming.

IRI has helped spread democracy by offering workshops on strengthening multi-party political systems, democratic governance, women’s empowerment, civil society, youth leadership, and electoral processes. IRI encourages democracy in places where it is absent, helps democracy become more effective where it is in danger, and shares about the best practices where democracy is flourishing.