A systems thinker who looks under the hood
I'm Roy Virah-Sawmy, and I work on democracy, human rights, and the systems and power that shape them, from Brussels.
I came to this through law and human rights. I studied both, and worked in journalism in Mauritius, where I'm from, before the question that has driven me since: why does so much good work stay small and defensive, forever dependent on someone else's goodwill? After years inside the field, my answer is that the problem usually isn't the people. It's the structure. How work is funded, who holds the power, and what the money is actually allowed to do.
That idea has run through every role. At Civitates, a fund backing democracy across Europe, I ran the legal and financial machinery of moving money to the field, and the strategy behind it. At the Network of European Foundations I built governance. At the European Partnership for Democracy I led EU advocacy. The thread is simple: the work that protects democracy and rights is infrastructure, not charity. It's what makes investment safe and governance honest, and what keeps power answerable.
I now work independently, with funders, foundations, institutions, and the leaders trying to shift something that matters. I have no patience for box-ticking, or for the report nobody reads. The work starts with listening properly, not with a template, and getting to what you actually need. Then it's about finding the move that's precise, honest, and worth remembering. Sometimes that means refusing the question you were handed and asking a sharper one.
How I work is no secret. I value diplomacy, but only when it's built on honesty. I'll tell you where the real weakness is, even when it's easier not to, and I won't claim a win that isn't mine to take.
Away from work, I'm a musician and a serious cook, happiest in good company over a long dinner. I care deeply about Mauritius, where I'm from, and even more about my family and the people close to me. Curiosity drives most of what I do, along with a refusal to be put in a box.
Selected background
Civitates · Network of European Foundations · European Partnership for Democracy
LL.M Human Rights & International Law, University of Kent · College of Europe
Works in English and French · Based in Brussels
