"DEMOCRACY MEANS EQUALITY!"

As Executive Head of the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), Annika Savill manages a UN Secretary-General's Trust Fund that strengthens the voice of civil society, promote the rule of law and human rights, and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic processes. Before joining UNDEF, Annika Savill served in the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General from 1997 to 2008, working under Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon as the Secretary-General's speechwriter and a senior member of his communications team. Sven Lilienström, founder of Faces of Democracy, spoke with Annika Savill about democracy, gender equality and the projects on which UNDEF will focus this year.

MS. SAVILL, THE FACES OF DEMOCRACY INITIATIVE WANTS TO SUPPORT A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF DEMOCRACY AROUND THE WORLD. HOW SIGNIFICANT ARE DEMOCRACY AND DEMOCRATIC VALUES TO YOU PERSONALLY?

Annika Savill: I grew up in six countries on three continents, some of them at that time newly independent from colonialism, some of them undergoing profound and turbulent change. This first-hand experience instilled in me, from a fairly early age, a conviction that the most successful societies are those underpinned by democratic institutions and the rule of law; that true stability can never come from repression; that social and economic progress are far more likely to take hold if people are given a genuine say in their own governance, and a chance to share in the fruits of progress.

GLOBALISATION, DIGITALISATION, MIGRATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE ARE BIG CHALLENGES FOR GOVERNMENTS WORLDWIDE. WHAT ARE THE PROJECTS AND TOPICS ON WHICH UNDEF WILL FOCUS IN 2019?

Annika Savill: Globalization has left in its wake a huge swathe of unhappy people around the world. Twenty years...