Alliance of Democracies Foundation

Watch the highlights of the Copenhagen Democracy Summit 2024, where global leaders and human rights activists gathered at a crucial time for democracy amidst this super election year. Together, we explored vital strategies to strengthen democratic governance worldwide. 🌐 Watch all sessions: https://bit.ly/3VlqU7k

Congratulations to MyDefence, Dan D. S. Hermansen and team on opening new Production facilities for their anti-drone equipment which they also deliver to the brave men and women in Ukraine. 🇺🇦 I had the pleasure of moderating an excellent debate on security and defense with Torsten Schack Pedersen, Bjarne Laustsen, Charlotte Wetche, and Anders Asdal Andersen. My framing intro remarks: 1️⃣don’t take the military security of our democracies for granted. Russia’s attack on Ukraine shows that. 2️⃣Europe must step urgently up arms production to benefit the arsenal of democracy. North Korea and the axis of autocracies 🇮🇷🇨🇳support Russia. 3️⃣ we need innovative Danish and European defense companies to secure that. It was also great to listen to keynote remarks by HRH Prince Joachim (gave him my 📕 the Battle for 🇹🇼). Excited to listen to Kim Jesper Jørgensen about Danish Ukraine contributions too. And Jacob Kaarsbo from Tænketanken EUROPA on the threat landscape. Personal pleasure to meet mayor of Aalborg Lasse Frimand Jensen housing great danish defense companies. Once again congrats to MyDefence - its also OurDefence in the battle for liberty. #ukraine #defense #defendDemocracy

Resilience and courage are what defines Ukrainian people. Their spirit remains unbreakable. On this Independence Day of Ukraine, from Alliance of Democracies, we stand firmly by Ukraine's side, committed to extending our support until freedom prevails over tyranny and aggression. Slava Ukraini! 💙💛

🚀 Join Alliance of Democracies Foundation and YEP Accelerator for the Kick-Off event for the Democracy Tech Entrepreneur Fellowship in Kyiv! We’re thrilled to invite you to an inspiring day of learning and innovation, featuring a dynamic educational agenda and pitches from rising Democracy Tech startups. 📅 Date: September 13, 16:00-20:00 📍 Location: Kyiv (Exact location will be shared upon registration) 🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/dTuzQ9WX What to Expect: 👉 Panel Discussions: Hear from experts on the latest trends and challenges in democracy tech. 👉 Startup Pitches: Watch innovative startups present solutions to strengthen democratic processes and tackle issues like corruption, digital literacy, and economic security. 👉 Networking: Connect with like-minded individuals, industry leaders, and potential collaborators. Whether you’re passionate about democracy, technology, or both, this event is for you. Don’t miss this chance to be inspired and contribute to shaping the future of democracy tech. Secure your spot today! #DemocracyTech #DefendDemocracy

We are excited to welcome three new Junior Associates to our team for the next upcoming months. Maria holds a Bachelor’s in International Business and Politics at Copenhagen Business School and is currently in her second year of a Master’s in International Business and politics at CBS, with prior experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers, as well as GN Store Nord. Rachel has a Bachelor’s in Law at the University of Copenhagen, and has just started her Master’s in Law. With previous experience in Novo Nordisk and international moot court competitions, she brings a strong legaI background to our team. Rosa is in her third semester of her Master’s in Media and Communication at Roskilde University. She has a background in European Studies and experience in corporate communications, as well as being actively involved in European Youth Denmark. All three have a strong passion for International Relations and Geopolitics. We are excited to welcome Maria, Rachel and Rosa and look forward to working with them during their internship at the Alliance of Democracies!

Even after leaving China & Hong Kong, freedom fighters face repression. This report documents 34 cases of harassment & assault during President Xi's visit to San Francisco: https://lnkd.in/e-MauHcc Free world governments must protect freedom fighters, especially on our own soil. At the Copenhagen Democracy Summit we've been proud to give a voice to Hong Kongers' rightful demands for freedom, including Carmen Lau Joey Siu 邵嵐, Nathan Law and Joshua Wong. Hong Kong Democracy Council

My full support to the Venezuelan people protesting for their democratic future, including opposition leader María Corina Machado Parisca. Maduro and his corrupt cronies are attempting to steal the election and stay in power indefinitely. The international community must step up pressure against Maduro’s illegitimate regime. The Alliance of Democracies Foundation has hosted the Venezuelan opposition for years at our annual Copenhagen Democracy Summit, with Juan Guaidó and Leopoldo Lopez. We will continue doing all we can to support those fighting for a future based on freedom. #defendDemocracy #Venezuela #GanoVzl

Apply to join the Democracy Tech Hackathon in Georgia 🇬🇪 here: https://shorturl.at/ES9SI #DemocracyTechHackathon #DefendDemocracy

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Søren Steensig from Globalnyt about the work I do at the Alliance of Democracies Foundation. During our conversation, I also shared my thoughts on the sector and highlighted the incredible work of my friend Faisal Saeed Al Mutar at Ideas Beyond Borders. From my book list, I recommended Infectious Generosity by Chris Anderson For Danish speakers, you can read the full interview below.

SUMMER READING - HOW WE FINANCE AUTOCRATS & HOW TO SUPPORT DEMOCRACY INSTEAD. I read Marcos Buscaglia "Beyond the ESG Portfolio: How Wall Street Can Help Democracies Survive" over summer. A strongly recommended read. Three important take-aways: 💡 We finance autocrats and democratic decline. How? Purchases by Wall Street investors in autocratic countries' sovereign debt or through exchange-traded funds (ETF), where you and I invest our savings. That can be the economic lifeline for dictators and wannabee autocrats. Not too long after the Saudis dismembered journalist Khashoggi, quasi-sovereign Aramco made its market entry raising $25.6 billion. The total value of Emerging market-dedicated ETFs was more than $331 billion in January 2023 with many non-democratic countries included. Take #China. The repression has gone up with Xi Jinping in power from 2012. Meanwhile, investors have bought into China's goverments bonds oblivious to the danger signs. Shortly after the 2020 crackdown on #HongKong China’s government bonds were included in J.P. Morgan’s GBI-EM index. Chinese government bonds are rated A+ by Standard and Poor’s. Yet investors, in my view, forget or ignore the geopolitical risk from an autocrat. Ponder #Putin's war in #Ukraine where we got the warning signs by the first invasion in 2014 and investors still didn't depart. As Buscaglia puts it well: "The irony cannot be lost: investors in democratic countries are financing the undermining of democratic standards elsewhere." 💡can #ESG solve this? no, is the short answer. The total green, social, and sustainability (GSS) bond market grew to $2.9 trillion by June 2022. Massive amounts. But there is too little focus on democracy, which is why Buscaglia suggests expanding it to D-ESG with a clearer democracy component steered by indexes by the Economist Intelligence: EIU, Freedom House and V-Dem Institute. 💡What to do instead? Start financing democracies and democratic progress. A compelling option is Democracy Investments and their Democracy International Fund (DMCY) fund available to private and institutional investors. The fund relies on the Economist Democracy Index for its investments. It has a three year performance above the market. Conclusion: it pays off to invest in democracies. This year at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit #CDS2024, Anders Fogh Rasmussen and I invited Julie Cane & Rick Rikoski on stage (https://lnkd.in/dP_mzzMP) to provide democracy-fans an option to invest their money where their values are. This is still a small fund, but a great start. Another good tool is the Defund Dictators website. You can check your ETF and its autocracy score. Kudos to Human Rights Foundation Perth Tolle/Life + Liberties indexes for their work. We need more momentum on investing in democracy and disinvesting in autocracy. That's a building block for an Alliance of Democracies Foundation