 This year we are celebrating Democracy Day under the shadow of the Ukraine war, an invasion that is a direct assault on fundamental principles of democracy, the right to self-determination and the right to choose one's destiny through free and fair elections. This is also a time when international ideas' global state of democracy report highlights the expanding threats of authoritarianism, political polarization and disinformation. These are tough times for democracy, yet there are also many stories of hope and democratic resilience from around the world. These stories deserve to be told. In Africa, peaceful transfers of power in the Gambia and Zambia revived democracy in those countries. In Asia, we are seeing the power of civic action in Sri Lanka holding leaders to account. In the Western Hemisphere, a constitutional reform process in Barbados involving broad public consultation is bringing to life the country's new status as a republic, a historic victory for self-determination. And in Europe, voters in the Slovenia reversed years of democratic backsliding by ousting a government that had clamped down on their basic rights like media freedom. Our world faces threats from rapidly growing inflation, climate change and rising authoritarianism. This challenge is unreal. But what is also real is that millions of people, from voters to election monitors, from indigenous peoples to women's groups, are fighting back, using the basic rights and shrining their democratic systems. Through their courage, democracy is proving its resilience. I'm speaking from Stockholm. Only a few hundred meters from this office, a young girl sat every Friday to demand that our leaders address the climate crisis. Greta Tumbre set in motion a mass movement of civic action that resonated around the world. On this day, let's take time to celebrate the many millions of people like her who insist and fight for the right to shape their own future in Ukraine and everywhere else.