Why is it so important for the people of Finnmark to be ‘king of their own castle’? Photographer Ingerid Jordal has asked herself this question in four exhibitions planned for 2024, while the ‘shotgun wedding’ of the former separate counties of Troms and Finnmark is to be ‘annulled’. Three photographers portray motherhood, and Persian poetry is explored as a political force in Iran. See the list of new grants awarded by Fritt Ord.
“Those of us who do not live in cities also deserve access to rich public discourse,” says Tora Hope, editor of Jaja, a new journal about narratives based in the village of Fjaler in western Norway. The student newspaper Universitas has received funding to examine the situation for freedom of expression at educational institutions, and photojournalist Nora Savosnick has been on a reporting trip to Israel and Palestine. See the new grants for journalism (list in Norwegian only).
The Fritt Ord Foundation, Masahat for Arab Culture in Exile, and Vega Scene cordially invite the public to a conversation on Wednesday, 29 November 2023 from 6 – 8 p.m. at Vega Scene in Hausmanns gate 30, Oslo.
“It takes differences of opinion to have a debate. When the stakes are high, discussions pick up momentum, but a high level of conflict combined with an irreconcilable tone raises concerns about democracy per se,” says author and social geographer Anja Sletteland, who has earned a PhD in ‘deadlocked debates’. The controversy surrounding the NRK programme Brainwash got her interested in debates ‘that go bananas’, and in cancellations. Now she is writing a book about why this happens and how to avoid sliding into perpetual trench warfare, where no one listens to each other. See the grants that Fritt Ord awarded in October (list in Norwegian only).
Fritt Ord’s project ‘Islam in Norway’ invites the public to an open debate and discussion on male roles in Muslim communities, with a special focus on the situation of boys. The event will be held on Thursday, 9 November 2023, from 6 to 7.30 p.m. in ‘Skramsalen’ at the House of Literature, Wergelandsveien 29, Oslo.
The report Fritt Ord commissioned on the media coverage of the 22 July terrorist attacks from 2011 to 2022 has been nominated for the AMEC Awards.
For more than two years, seven photographers have explored doomsday dreamers, a forgotten grandfather, fast fashion, Moria refugees, trans families, northern Norwegian roots and ‘deep ecology photography’. On Thursday, 12 October, the sixth edition of the long-term documentary projects associated with the Norwegian Journal of Photography was presented at the Vega Scene venue during the Mirage Film Festival.
Join us for a master class in collaboration with Norwegian Journal of Photography and Mirage featuring star photographer Michael Christopher Brown, where he will let us in on his latest AI projects and share the thoughts behind them. He will talk about how he works with AI technology, and the challenges it poses for photographers and the industry. This is a unique opportunity to hear from an expert and gain insights into the future of photography and technology
Friday, 13 October 2023, 7.30 p.m. – 9.00 p.m.
Vega Scene 1, Oslo
“We have failed,” wrote VG. “The courts are the last institution still held sacred by the press,” commented TV2. Many admissions and regrets were expressed when the report on the media coverage of the Baneheia case was presented at the Norwegian Press House on Tuesday.
The Norwegian Press Association and Fritt Ord present a comprehensive report on the media coverage of the Baneheia case.
“Facts must always trump emotions,” stated author Bjørn Olav Jahr when he received the Fritt Ord Tribute on Monday.
Forty libraries have received funding to arrange debates on Norwegian non-fiction. “Artificial intelligence is the most recurring theme in the pile of applications this year,” reports Oskar Kvasnes. The funding, totalling NOK 2 395 000 is the second highest amount since Fritt Ord began calling for proposals for library activities in 2008.
Decolonizing the documentary has been a recurring theme at IDFA, the world’s largest documentary film festival, since Orwa Nyrabia became the Artistic Director in 2018. Under his leadership, the festival has been tackling the difficult questions of representation, equity and inclusion.
Time: September 24, 4-6 PM
Place: Vega Scene, Oslo
Artificial intelligence creates local journalism in Tromsø, Ukrainian refugees become journalists in Sarpsborg, and white men pushing 80 are also pushing podcasts. These are among the examples of new allocations for journalism awarded by Fritt Ord in August.
Journalist and author Bjørn Olav Jahr (54) is awarded the Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute for thorough and persistent journalism that uncovered a miscarriage of justice in the Baneheia case, and contributed to a preliminary conviction in the Birgitte Tengs case.
Lene Berg’s film ‘Riders of the Apocalypse’, Håvard Fossum’s film ‘Facts about Tamokdalen’, Marte Heian-Engdal’s book about everyday life against the background of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Johanne Nordby Wernø’s book about getting diagnosed with autism as an adult are four of the many projects that received support from Fritt Ord in August.