 25 years ago, as walls and all-world orders fell, an idea was born, to come together to form a global coalition to strengthen and revitalize democracies, creating a catalyst of positive political energy across the planet, reinforcing the right to vote from remote South American rainforest to rapidly expanding African mega cities, helping give voice to all, regardless of gender and class, regardless of religion and ethnicity. 25 years ago, international idea was born here in Sweden. Quarter of a century later, we see democracy being challenged in unprecedented ways. We live in a world where political polarization and anger are taking center stage, where we witness rising economic inequality and the climate crisis threatens our future. Our authoritarianism is no longer in retreat. Pacivity and silence are not an option. Defending democracy is a collective endeavor, because it protects our agency and voice at this most critical moment. Until a decade ago, the world had witnessed democratic progress. Generally elections in almost all countries around the world, more than 50 countries turning into democracies, and the understanding that democracies were more likely to succeed in fighting poverty, fighting corruption, or ending civil wars. But now, we live in perilous times. Lately, we have seen democracy losing ground. More autocratic governance, attempts to silence journalists and change the rule of law. Focusing democracy in a more inclusive, in a more just way is a need of today's 21st century democracy, I believe. I had an opportunity to work with the idea, focusing on building the indigenous peoples' caucus in the parliament, making the new constitution in Nepal more gender-friendly. This has to be marked as one of the landmark contributions of the idea into NASA. Social media is a challenge because it's not easy to apply jurisdiction. So we began with the idea by receiving some help for the last 2019 general elections to provide proper monitoring to this challenge, and based on that experience, we provided then assistance to Argentina, to the Dominican Republic, and to Hawaii, so we are helping each other among electoral bodies. I think institutions like IDEA are very important in any society. I know for many people, the notion of democracy appeared to be buried in school textbooks, or is something that happens only when people go to vote. We don't often realize that as citizens, we can change the status quo. I have the highest respect for the work of IDEA. I think through their reports and their outreach, their electoral advice to so many countries around the world is an important role. We who believe in democracy have to defend it and fight for it. We're working hard to teach the value of elections to future generations. We stand for managing electoral processes in the most challenging environments. We stand for investigating the influence of money in politics. More than ever, this is the time to fight for the right to electoral participation, to uphold the fundamental freedoms that are at the core of our common human heritage, to strive for more representative political institutions, fairer economic structures and more inclusive societies where every human being has her dignity protected. Only democracy can ensure that. At a time like this, global efforts to protect democracy and human rights are essential. This is what International IDEA does. This is what it stands for. And this is why it is needed more than ever.