Celebration in Stockholm marks International IDEA’s 30th anniversary

Senior officials and leading democracy voices from over 40 countries came together to mark the occasion, which coincided with the Stockholm Conference on Electoral Integrity, an initiative fostering global cooperation on electoral integrity and policy dialogue between electoral management bodies.

The 30th anniversary celebration was a week of rich discussions, strengthened partnerships and commitments from a diverse set of partners to continued work to support, advance and protect democracy worldwide. The program kicked off with a public lecture as part of the Stockholm Series on Climate Change and Democracy. The event combined perspectives from one of the Institute’s most established work areas – elections – with its novel work on the climate-democracy nexus.

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As part of the events, the Institute hosted its Board of Advisers in Stockholm for an official meeting, marking the Board’s first in-person gathering in over two years. The Board, chaired by Christian Leffler, former Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service, is an advisory group of 14 eminent individuals from all regions. At its meeting, the Board engaged in discussions on the Institute’s strategic direction and identified opportunities for greater collaboration and impact. The group also welcomed two new Members, Beatriz Argimón, who served as the Vice President of Uruguay until March 2025, and Geneviève Garrigos, an elected representative of the 20th arrondissement of Paris since 2020 and recipient of the Légion d'honneur. 

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International IDEA’s Council of Member States, consisting of 35 Member States and 2 Observers, met for an extraordinary meeting in honour of the 30th anniversary. In 2025, Switzerland has been at the helm of the Institute’s Council, highlighting the links between democracy, inclusion and prosperity as part of its presidency. Patricia Danzi, Director-General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, chaired the anniversary meeting which focused on the current geopolitical context, how the Institute’s Strategy should be updated to reflect the evolving democracy support landscape and the action needed to ensure the relevance and continuity of International IDEA’s mission for the years to come. 

The meeting concluded on a festive note with the Council releasing a 30th Anniversary Statement, calling for continued and elevated efforts to protect and strengthen democracy and reiterating its strong and steadfast support to International IDEA, its mandate and the principles expressed in its Statutes. 

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Since its founding in 1995, the Institute’s headquarters has been housed on the island of Strömsborg in central Stockholm. Sweden, a founding Member State and host country, has been central to International IDEA’s journey. To acknowledge this special role and longstanding partnership, a flagship event of the celebrations was hosted by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden at the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard. The Minister and Secretary-General Kevin Casas-Zamora had the honor of welcoming over 100 senior officials and democracy advocates from around the world to the occasion.

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As part of the high-level session, Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile and an alumna of International IDEA’s Board, provided an engaging keynote speech.

For three decades, International IDEA has provided us with invaluable tools and information to monitor the state of democracy globally, such as the Democracy Tracker. Resources like this give us access to data from 173 countries—data that we can use in our analysis and to strengthen our proposals for reinforcing democracy worldwide. 

— Michelle Bachelet, International IDEA 30th Anniversary High-Level Session, Stockholm, 12 June 2025

The subsequent panel discussion featured Director-General Patricia Danzi, founder of Yiaga Africa and International IDEA Board Member Samson Itodo as well as Vice Chair of the Board of Open Society Foundations and founder of the Daniel Sachs Foundation Daniel Sachs. The speakers offered powerful remarks on the importance of leadership and commitment to democracy and multilateralism. Cármen Lúcia, Chief Justice of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil, delivered the closing remarks.

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The events concluded with a networking reception hosted by Andreas Norlén, Speaker of the Swedish Parliament, at the Riksdag – the institutional heart of Swedish democracy.

The anniversary week in Stockholm was a testament to the global ownership and reach of International IDEA. Building on the successes and learnings of the first three decades, the Institute is committed to enhancing and intensifying its democracy support efforts alongside its expanding network of Member States, Board Members and electoral partners.