The Difference Day Honorary Title is a commendation that VUB and ULB award annually to a person, association of institution that delivers an indispensable contribution to maintaining or promoting freedom of expression in an ever increasingly changing, democratic society.
Daphne Caruana Galizia’s profile fits that description to a tee. The anti-corruption activist and research journalist’s work focused on among other things government corruption, nepotism, money laundering and the connection between the online gambling industry and organised crime. For those activities she was twice incarcerated by the Maltese police. It did not silence her though: she kept publishing articles in the The Sunday Times of Malta and later in The Malta Independent.
Galizia also had a much-read blog, Running Commentary, in which she wasn’t afraid to call a spade a spade. That resulted in many a complaint, including some that had her end up in court. On October 16th, 2017 she sadly was permanently silenced in the bombing of her car.