“Previous generations built an order to keep peace. Now we must build one to keep democracy, by making democracy the centre of gravity for security, accountability, and solidarity”, said the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, at the opening of the World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg today. “Real security means institutions people trust, laws that apply equally, and the kind of stability that lets democracy grow. That is democratic security – Europe’s first line of defence”, Berset added. The Council of Europe is currently hosting the annual World Forum for Democracy, an event bringing together policymakers, campaigners, experts, intellectuals and young people from across the globe. Together, they will “examine the causes behind citizens’ disengagement from democracy and seek solutions”, the European Council explains, “to strengthen democratic culture, combat disinformation and foster participation”. This year’s Forum is part of the New Democratic Pact: a “strategic and political process that aims to reinforce and reimagine democracy in the face of contemporary challenges”. It is “a collective effort by the Council of Europe to address disinformation, foreign interference, democratic backsliding, and the climate crisis”, that is to say, “everything that weakens our democracies”, the Secretary General stressed in his address.