Journalist and freedom of expression advocate Maria Ressa will return to Norway and Lillehammer to speak at the global conference World Expression Forum (WEXFO) on June 2-3.
Maria Ressa won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 alongside Dmitry Muratov for their efforts to protect freedom of expression. Born in the Philippines, Ressa has distinguished herself as a fearless defender of free speech and a critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s regime. She is the co-founder and CEO of Rappler, a digital news site renowned for its investigative journalism and exposure of corruption and abuse of power.
World Expression Forum unites freedom of expression advocates from around the world. A recent report from the renowned V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg shows a widespread decline in democracy globally and a weakening of freedom of expression in a quarter of the world’s countries – the largest decline ever measured.
“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.
At the 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.
World Expression Forum held its first conference in 2022, where Maria Ressa was also among the speakers. Other Nobel Peace Prize winners who have participated include Dmitry Muratov, Oleksandra Matviichuk (Center for Civil Liberties), and the family of Narges Mohammadi.
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).
About World Expression Forum
World Expression Forum (WEXFO) is a meeting place and driving force for global collaboration to ensure freedom of expression for future generations. WEXFO organizes an annual global conference on freedom of expression, which takes place in Lillehammer in May/June. The conference gathers experts, activists, journalists, and academics from around the world. In connection with the conference, WEXFO also organizes a youth freedom of expression festival and week-long seminars on freedom of expression in Lillehammer and Utøya for young advocates.
Photo of Ressa: Guram Muratov
