The city of Strasbourg yesterday organised the World Forum for Democracy for the 7th consecutive year dedicating this year’s forum to Maltese assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Her husband was present at the event.

The forum is organised in partnership with the Council of Europe, the State, the Grand Est region, and the Bas-Rhin Departmental Council. The theme this year is ‘Gender Equality: Whose Battle?’

This year it pays tribute to Caruana Galizia “who paid for her freedom with her life” when she was assassinated in a car bomb a few metres away from her home in October 2017.

The forum consists of two parts. One is held at the Council of Europe that brings together politics students, experts and civil society stakeholders from all over the world. It is an opportunity for them to discuss and trade experiences.

The other part comprises different events and is coordinated and managed by the City of Strasbourg and targets the general public. It seeks to build bridges between the forum and the events and also includes activities proposed by other local authorities.

The aim is to provide the public with the tools to understand the role women have in society. It is a forum for reflection and information, to address the issue through different forms of expression.