The Fritt Ord Foundation
The Fritt Ord Foundation is a private non-profit foundation that seeks to promote freedom of expression, public debate, art and culture.
Making the film «Farouk» – on the geologist that secured Norway its oil
Geologist Farouk Al-Kasim joined the the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate in 1968, shaping Norwegian petroleum resource management for decades afterwards. Now, documentary film director Halkawt Mustafa and producer Janne Hjeltnes are making a film about Al-Kasim’s life and reflections.
“Farouk tells me something in this film that he has not talked about before, because he has always told the version he feels Norway wanted to hear,” recounts Mustafa, who has Iraqi roots himself.
Read the interview with the director and see the list of grants awarded by Fritt Ord in June 2025.
Bård Vegar Solhjell new chair of the Fritt Ord Board
Bård Vegar Solhjell (53) has taken over as the new chair of the Fritt Ord Foundation Board.
Cultural newspaper TBATBA.no and new journalism grants – June 2025
– Cultural journalism is under pressure. Part of the problem is media outlets failing to cover culture in formats and ways that appeal to people under 30, says Ida Madsen Hestman, editor, freelance critic, and founder of TBATBA.no. Last year, she started the kind of publication she herself would want to read.
The magazine TBA is among those awarded funding in June 2025. See the full list of grants in Norsk Journalistikk.
In times of darkness, satire assumes a more important role
“In times of darkness, when more is at stake, satire has a more important role to play,” said Marvin Halleraker as he accepted the Fritt Ord Prize for 2025, together with May Linn Clemet and Morten Mørland.
Launching Reuters Digital News Report 2025 in Norway
Breakfast seminar: Danby Choi, editor of Subjekt, and Karoline Fossland, head of podcasts at Aftenposten, comment on the Norwegian sub-report Reuters Digital News Report 2025, together with media researcher Hallvard Moe and Craig Robertson
Tuesday, 17 June 2025 from 8.30-09.45 a.m.
Uranienborgveien 2, Oslo
The Reuters Digital News Report 2025 will be launched internationally on the night of 17 June.
Organisers: Fritt Ord Foundation, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism in Oxford and the University of Bergen.
Fritt Ord's grants for master’s degrees
Is your master’s project about freedom of expression, social debate or journalism? If so, you can apply for a student grant from the Fritt Ord Foundation.
Apply for Funding
Apply for Funding
Application portal
The Fritt Ord Foundation’s new application portal is now available.
Grants
The Fritt Ord Foundation is a private non-profit foundation that aspires to promote freedom of expression, public debate, art and culture. The projects that receive funding should benefit the Norwegian public and be accessible to all. In special cases, the Fritt Ord Foundation can help promote freedom of expression in other countries.
Prizes
Projects
Research
Fritt Ord has taken the initiative for several research projects on freedom of expression that have been conducted by various Norwegian research communities. Among other things, the studies have examined social norms and political tolerance in respect of statements, online harassment and polarisation, artistic freedom of expression and freedom of expression in the workplace.
International Projects
Fritt Ord takes part in a number of joint projects outside the borders of Norway, primarily related to freedom of the press, democracy building and the strengthening of organisations of civil society.
Documentary Photography
Over the years, Fritt Ord has worked to strengthen the position of documentary photography through special calls for applications for funding, providing ongoing support for photo books and exhibitions, and establishing projects like The Norwegian Journal of Photography.
Libraries, Encyclopaedia, and Houses of Literature
Fritt Ord has launched various initiatives related to the communication of knowledge and the promotion of literature, including an annual subsidy scheme earmarked for Norwegian public libraries. In 2005, the Foundation took the initiative to establish Norway’s first house of literature and, in 2010, to ensure the further operation of Store norske leksikon.
Media and Journalism
Since its inception, Fritt Ord has had media and journalism as one of its core target areas. In today’s demanding media situation, the Foundation has set up separate grant and subsidy schemes for journalists and critics.
Young People and Students
Fritt Ord offers grants for students working on master’s theses or on documentary films in fields such as human rights, journalism, freedom of expression and democracy building. It also hosts the Fritt Ord Foundation Competition for Upper Secondary Schools and the Norwegian Historical Society’s competition for pupils.
Publications
Books and reports published by the Fritt Ord Foundation, alone or with partners.