 Hello, I'm Kevin Casasamora, the Secretary General of International Idea. I am delighted to be speaking with you on Partners for Democracy Day, an initiative of the Global Democracy Coalition. I want to thank all the organizations that have made this event possible. And I want to thank all of you who are joining in person and online from all over the world. You're all vital defenders of democracy in your respective countries and regions. And this is your day. As you may know, International Idea is an intergovernmental organization with 34 member states from all regions and a mandate to support democracy globally. We are also honored to co-coordinate the Global Democracy Coalition, which now includes over 100 organizations. I have proudly watched the Coalition grow into a valuable multi-stakeholder partnership in a bit less than two years. In today's event, we will benefit from the tremendous diversity and generosity of this community, from small NGOs in the Solomon Islands to the European Commission, who will share their perspectives in a remarkable program of over 60 sessions. Above all, this is a forum for non-state actors to continue contributing to the Global Democracy Conversation, in parallel to the Official Summit for Democracy. These contributions, which have been ongoing since the genesis of the summit, have proven critical. I particularly want to underscore civil society's role in sustaining the summit's ongoing initiatives, the Democracy Cohorts. The success of the cohorts is largely thanks to the effort and energy of civil society groups from all over the world, who co-lead the cohorts with governments and international organizations. International Idea has just told this success story in a new paper, which also includes recommendations to further strengthen the cohorts' inclusiveness with respect to civil society in the global south and also to youth. Just as civil society has been essential for the success of the summit, so too is civil society essential for the success of democracy. The serious and global threats facing democracy today can only be addressed through collective action that puts citizens at the center. And let's face it, the more I look around me, the more convinced I become that the drive and ideas to renew the democratic project are not coming from governments. They are coming from civil society activists. Every day civil society organizations, including those here, show through both words and deeds that democracy truly is a universal human aspiration and a human achievement worthy of the work it demands from all of us. Thank you all for your contributions to protect, sustain and strengthen democracy worldwide. And thank you for being here today to share your experience, to learn from each other and to reinforce this remarkable collective project to support democracy.