In July 2021, Sunnylands joined with the Ditchley Foundation and Wilton Park, organizations located in the United Kingdom with similar mandates to convene experts in dialogue to promote good public policy, to produce the Report on the Transatlantic Listening Series to Revitalize Democracy.

We have watched with concern as nations on both sides of the Atlantic have experienced a trend of democratic backsliding. Our organizations joined forces for the first time to convene a broad cross-section of influential global thinkers to engage in candid dialogue on democratic regression and steps to revitalize democratic values and institutions.

The Listening Series focused on three components that have driven democratic regression: the decline of local news, the inability of democracies to form a political consent for climate action, and how COVID-19 has fostered distrust in democratic institutions. The discussion summaries and takeaways included in the Final Report contribute to the global conversation on democratic revitalization, and provide our three convening institutions with new concepts for future conferences, dialogues, and retreats.