Fireside Chat with Audrey Tang

Audrey Tang, Taiwan's first digital minister, discussed the importance of fighting disinformation and authoritarian interference without sacrificing democratic freedoms in a fireside chat with Jonas Parello-Plesner, executive director of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation.

Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s first Digital Minister (2016-2024), is renowned for her groundbreaking work in digital democracy. Celebrated as one of TIME’s “100 Most Influential People in AI” in 2023, Tang played a pivotal role in Taiwan’s acclaimed COVID-19 response and safeguarded the 2024 elections from cyber threats. As the first globally recognized nonbinary cabinet member, Tang, identifying as "post-gender" and comfortable with any pronouns, is a respected community leader. A founding contributor to g0v, Tang promotes transparency in Taiwan’s governance. Tang’s contributions include the Join.gov.tw platform, enhancing public engagement in policy-making.

Jonas Parello-Plesner is the Executive Director of the Copenhagen-based Alliance of Democracies Foundation, founded by former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in 2018. The Foundation seeks to advance democracy and strengthen the alliance between the world’s democracies. Parello-Plesner has been instrumental in making the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, the foundation’s annual event, bringing together world-class speakers and important annual publications such as the Democracy Perception Index.