In this issue, CountDown highlights the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Spanish Government, the Regional Government of Madrid and the Town Hall of Madrid with the Club of Madrid, for the staging of the International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security. Through this agreement, all levels of Spanish government are reaffirming their desire to use this Summit as a symbol of their commitment to combat terrorism and their support of its victims. The official signing took place last tuesday, february 1, in Madrid: The Spanish Government, the Regional Government of Madrid and the Town Hall of Madrid sign a cooperation agreement with the International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security.

In our Webpage we are publishing interesting contributions to the debate made by
people out there, through our section Contribute, such as:

Safe Democracy
by Mary Kaldor
How should democratic societies respond to terrorism? On 11 March 2005, a year
after bombs in Madrid killed 191 people and almost killed thousands, a major
summit in the Spanish capital will address this most fundamental question. Here,
Mary Kaldor suggests an agenda.

Five steps for defeating terrorism
by Karin von Hippel
An advisor to the forthcoming Madrid summit on terror and democracy outlines
what can be done to tackle terror while retaining and strengthening democratic
principles.

We are waiting for your take; please, send us your opinions.

WHAT THE MADRID SUMMIT IS
An independent event to build a common agenda on how terrorism can most
effectively be confronted by the community of democratic nations.

WHAT THE MADRID SUMMIT IS NOT
A showcase of undemocratic proposals, radical positions or ideas outside the
spirit and the letter of the law.

FORUM NEWS

Activity has been remarkable in the forums related to the WorkGroups. An example is the debate on the Definition of Terrorism, where the question of what we are speaking exactly is analyzed with detail. Causes or Underlying factors of Terrorism, divided in 5
subforums, waits for your contributions.

The same is happening on the debate Confronting Terrorism, Towards a Democratic Response and Engaging Civil Society.

Also, we shouldn't forget Debating the debate, where the very same Madrid Agenda is discused.

If yoy want to be part of the discussion, you will have to register first; we do want responsible and useful participation.

Meet on 11 March

Now it's time to ask for your active support for the Summit's aims. In cooperation with openDemocracy, the International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security wants you to play a part by holding your own small, private gatherings on 11 March, a year after the terrible bombings in Madrid which left 191 people dead and thousands injured.

The route to the Atocha station will be filled with citizens demonstrating their continued determination to find a democratic response to terrorism. They will be joined by political leaders from around the world.

Please join them, by holding your own small, private gatherings on the same day, on your own city. Just sit down with friends, family and colleagues to remember the victims of terror, not just in Madrid but around the world from New York to Bali, from Istanbul to Baghdad.

And talk about the nature of the threats facing modern democracies, and decide
for yourself what governments and people can do to secure and improve democracy
in a world where terror is used as a political tool.

We hope that you'll take the time to learn more and sign up to hold a Meeting on 11 March.