WEXFO
About us
World Expression Forum is a meeting place and driving force for global cooperation to ensure freedom of expression for future generations.
Take part in our events, joins us as a shareholder, promote your right to free speech.
World Expression Forum (WEXFO) aims to ensure and empower global free speech based on high-level guidance, best practice, and high-quality analysis. WEXFO is a common arena for those with a firm belief in freedom of expression as a prerequisite for a global sustainable development.
The need for a forum where the challenges to freedom of expression can be discussed and debated is greater than ever. But we also want to showcase progress. Free media, literature and other art forms are fundamental preconditions for freedom of expression. They provide knowledge, and are central to constructive, critical debate. They challenge entrenched notions, shape our self-understanding and, at the same time, preserve the memories of society.
Freedom of speech is necessary for trust and openness, both between individuals and between the public and social institutions. Freedom of speech is a prerequisite for a “society for all”.
WEXFO will empower and defend the freedom of expression as an absolute precondition for democracy and human progress. WEXFO unites defenders of freedom of expression in a strong and active global community. As a catalyst for change, we aspire to give new generations the power, the freedom and the safety to express themselves.
World Expression Forum will:
- be an inspiration internationally, nationally, and locally.
- be a hub, the central international meeting place for everyone who is concerned with freedom of expression.
- influence developments through reports and projects, discussions in the Forum and summary afterwards.
- share experiences, but especially search for best practices for improvement.
- seek cooperation with others to develop offers of Forum gatherings elsewhere as well.
- participate in developing the local cooperation in the region on freedom of expression, with
institutions such as the Norwegian Festival of Literature , Lillehammer UNESCO City of Literature and ICORN. - reflect diversity in the work and in the organization.
World Expression Forum (WEXFO) was established as an ideal joint stock company on 20 August 2021.
The WEXFO annual conference takes place in Lillehammer, Norway, in May/June. In connection with the conference, WEXFO also organises WEXFO Youth Lillehammer, WEXFO Youth Network Conference in Lillehammer as well as WEXFO Young Experts and WEXFO Youth seminars at Utøya.
Norway is one of the countries in the world with the highest degree of freedom of expression, according to Freedom of Expression Index (Our World in Data). Lillehammer is a UNESCO City of Literature, an ICORN city of refuge for artists at risk, and is the host of the biggest literature festival in Scandinavia. Both the city, the region (Innlandet) and Norway as a country are committed to supporting freedom of expression around the world.
WEXFO wants to inspire progress for freedom of expression on all levels of society – internationally, nationally and locally.