“In every democracy that’s been under attack, you are strongest at the beginning of the attack. The longer it goes, the weaker you become. It’s death by a thousand cuts. Silence is consent,” Maria Ressa says in a statement to World Expression Forum.
Ressa will deliver one of the keynote speeches at a conference that gathers participants and speakers from around the world. Additionally, she will speak at a public meeting on freedom of expression.
“We are very pleased that our conference in Lillehammer will once again feature a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Maria Ressa is one of the bravest and most skilled journalists of our time. Freedom of expression is under threat worldwide, and the need to fight against this trend and promote free press has not been greater in decades. This will be our most important conference ever,” says Kristenn Einarsson, CEO of World Expression Forum.
Among the speakers at the World Expression Forum 2025 are Charlie Hebdo editor Gérard Biard, lawyer and feminist Seyran Ates, filmmaker Deeyah Khan, and Norway’s Minister of Culture and Equality, Lubna Jaffery. The conference will be led by Norwegian journalists Jette F. Christensen (Altinget) and Kristoffer Rønneberg (Aftenposten).
IPA President, Gvantsa Jobava, will also speak on a session entitled Election Aftermath Worldwide – Future Possibilities for Freedom of Expression and the IPA will also hold the Prix Voltaire award ceremony at the Gala dinner on 2 June.
You can see the full WEXFO program here: https://wexfo.no/wexfo-conference/program/