The ‘Summit for Democracy’ wrapped up its first day on Thursday evening with an address from United States Vice President Kamala Harris, who followed speeches from various world leaders.

More than 100 participants, which included world leaders, were attending the crucial virtual diplomatic call that was held to promote democratic structures and denounce rising autocracies.

Here are the highlights from Day 1 of the summit:

-United States President Joe Biden said that he will establish a “Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal”, which will be focused on building on top of the country’s ongoing mission of boosting democracies and protecting human rights, CNN reported.

-According to a White House fact sheet, United States will approve an amount of nearly $420 million for the initiative, depending on the approval of House of Representatives and Senate. 

-The funds will be directed towards fighting corruption, supporting free and independent media, defending free and fair elections and political processes, advancing technology for democracy and bolstering democratic reformers.

-Other leaders took turns delivering their own remarks on the state of democracy — many prerecorded — often reflecting on the stress that rapidly evolving technology is having on their nations

-“The democratic conversation is changing,” said Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. She added, “New technologies and large tech companies are increasingly setting the stage for the democratic dialogue, sometimes with more emphasis on reach than on freedom of speech, according to reports from Associated Press.

-Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who took part in Thursday’s summit and later spoke by phone with Biden, said on Twitter, “Democracy is not a given, it must be fought for. 

-Poland “took on a commitment to be a support for democracy in Eastern Europe,” Duda said. “It is a beautiful task, but it has its consequences. It has made us the target of the Kremlin propaganda.”

(With AP inputs)