6-8 November: World Forum for Democracy

03-11-2023 

Sofía Medina Sánchez 

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher 

Global Human Rights Defence 

The World Forum for Democracy will take place from Monday 6th to Wednesday 8th of November 2023, at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. This event will gather intellectuals, activists, experts, politicians and young people from all over the globe to discuss how democracy is able to increase the chances of peace. The event has been titled “Democracy= Peace?”, which appears as a highly topical question given the existing circumstances of war in Europe and the Middle East. Moreover, war is not the only concern which plagues our societies, but also the increasing inequalities, the polarisation of politics and the challenges faced by governments such as climate change, global health crises, and the rapid advancement of new technologies.

This 2023 edition has the following programme : “Forum talks” on the topics of The truth of war crimes – making use of electronic evidence and open-source intelligence; Memory, memorials and teaching history; Women, democracy and peace; Building peace and democracy across borders; Economics of peace; Sudan’s democratic transition de-railed; International community and democratic insecurity; Learning to wage peace and democracy; Press cartoonist: a profession in danger; Inside Kabul; Seven Winters in Teheran; the 4th branch of government: deliberative democracy.

A series of ten laboratory sessions, designed to tackle challenges from various perspectives and showcase existing solutions, will contribute to formulating a democratic approach to the concerns discussed during the Forum. The Council of Europe's Democracy Innovation Award will be bestowed upon the most acclaimed initiative proposed during these sessions, with the award ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, November 8, during the closing segment.

The Forum is jointly hosted by the Council of Europe in collaboration with the Strasbourg City Council, the European Collectivity of Alsace, the Grand Est Region, and the French Government.

Sources and further reading: 

Council of Europe, Newsroom, World Forum for Democracy: ‘Democracy = Peace?’, 3 November 2023: https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/world-forum-for-democracy-democracy-peace-. 

Council of Europe, World Forum for Democracy 2023: Democracy = Peace?, Strasbourg, 6-8 November 2023: https://www.coe.int/en/web/world-forum-democracy