Initiatives

The Freedom of Expression Foundation's Student Research Grants

The Fritt Ord Foundation announces student research grants in collaboration with colleges and universities for students who are working on master's theses and documentary films in the fields of human rights, freedom of expression and/or democracy building.

Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet - Institutt for kunst- og medievitenskap

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Universitetet i Stavanger - Master i dokumentarproduksjon

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Roman/Samtid/Norge

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Journalistikk og Demokrati, Hvor går mediene? Hva kan gjøres?

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Brethren!

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Grants for library literature programmes 2013–14

The Fritt Ord Foundation is calling for applications for grants of NOK 50 000 for activities to promote Swedish, Danish and Norwegian non-fiction and fiction. Projects that promote contemporary literature or our common Scandinavian cultural heritage and literary history will be given priority. Applications will be accepted for activities such as seminars, readings, concerts, exhibitions, discussions or online communications activities. Applicants are free to select the topic of their choice.

Deadline for applications: 20 June 2013.

Through this call for applications, the Fritt Ord Foundation seeks to encourage activities that will promote literature and strengthen public libraries as communications arenas. Applications should be submitted using the form on the website. The application should be labelled "Broderfolk" (Brethren) and have the name of the project in the title field.

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Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus – Institutt for journalistikk og mediefag

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MNOK 2.2 granted to New Norse (Nynorsk) projects at the public libraries

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Press release, 9 August 2012

This past spring, the Fritt Ord Foundation announced grants of NOK 50 000 each for communications activities to promote New Norse literature in Norwegian public libraries. The Foundation received 93 applications, and has approved support for the projects of 46 applicants. Collectively, MNOK 2.2 will be divided among libraries all across the country.

Fritt Ord has given priority to projects that are innovative, and has attached importance to showing the diversity and wealth of ideas among the applications. The successful applications cover topics such as self-understanding in Hedmark County, Hulda Garborg's life and authorship, and New Norse Twitter short stories. The communications projects range from theatre productions, concerts, courses and lectures, to meetings with authors. The initiatives are aimed at all age groups.

The Fritt Ord Foundation hopes the grants will encourage the dissemination of New Norse fiction and non-fiction literature, kindle more interest in reading and promote local debates. The projects will be carried out in autumn 2012 or in 2013.

Selected examples of projects granted support:

Hulda Garborg Projects
The 150th anniversary of "the mother of New Norse" Hulda Garborg (1862–1934) is the theme of five projects at Ryfylke Library Forsand, Skien Library, Sogn & Fjordane County Library and Bergen Public Library. Garborg's life and authorship will be brought to life through lectures, puppet theatre and storytelling performances.

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Grants to promote literature programmes at public libraries, 2012–13

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New Norse literature

To strengthen linguistic diversity and public libraries as information arenas, the Fritt Ord Foundation is calling for applications for grants of NOK 50 000 for activities at Norwegian libraries.

Norwegian public libraries, or associations or individuals that cooperate with libraries, are invited to apply. Choose your own topic and type of initiative. You can, for example, organise seminars, visits by authors, debate meetings, lectures or school projects.

The Fritt Ord Foundation is publishing this call for applications to promote New Norse fiction and non-fiction literature and to enhance interest in reading and encourage local debates. The project can be viewed in connection with the 200th anniversary of Ivar Aasen's birth in 2013.

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MNOK 2 for the promotion of poetry in public libraries

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This past spring, the Fritt Ord Foundation invited applications for grants of NOK 50 000 each for the promotion of Norwegian and foreign poetry by public libraries in Norway. The Foundation received approx. 70 applications, and a decision has been made to award funding to 42 applicants. Collectively, some MNOK 2 will be distributed to libraries all across the country.

The Fritt Ord Foundation has given priority to projects that are innovative, and has tried to capture the full range of poetry-related activities offered by public libraries. The projects receiving support cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from the presentation of everything from Bob Dylan's lyrics and Hafez’ poetry in Norwegian translation to Trymskvida and nursery rhymes. The events will take place through many different channels, e.g. poetry readings, festivals, lectures, theatre productions, competitions, concerts, courses and visual poetry. The initiatives address all age groups.

Four examples of projects receiving support:

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Poetic Practice – grants for the dissemination of poetry through libraries 2011-12

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verse | visual poetry | rap | lyrics | poetry slam | haiku

The Fritt Ord Foundation is announcing grants of NOK 50 000 earmarked for initiatives including Norwegian or foreign language poetry. The programme should target the general public, and activities may include seminars, visits from authors, concerts, exhibitions, debates or online dissemination. The individual library can decide on the topic/theme and type of initiative they would like.

Closing date for applications: 20 June 2011.

Read more >

Norwegian Online Encyclopaedia

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Store norske leksikon (Norway's leading encyclopaedia) transitioned from being a salient reference work found on the bookshelves of countless Norwegian homes to being a free online encyclopaedia in 2009. The Fritt Ord Foundation and the savings bank foundation Sparebankstiftelsen DNB took the initiative to continue Store norske leksikon (the Great Norwegian Encyclopaedia) , Norsk biografisk leksikon (Norwegian Biographical Encyclopaedia) and Store medisinske leksikon (The Great Medical Encyclopaedia) in summer 2010. The goal was to find a way in which signed encyclopaedia articles written by qualified experts could exist with a new online presence. The Fritt Ord Foundation allocated MNOK 16 for the project period.

"Since there were no public or private interests willing to take responsibility for a modern online encyclopaedia based on Store norske and its collateral works, we joined Sparebankstiftelsen DNB in securing the rights for the works from Kunnskapsforlaget publishing house and brought in other parties. It meant a great deal to the Fritt Ord Foundation that we had previously allocated about MNOK 25 to produce the Norwegian Biographical Encyclopaedia and MNOK 10 for the most recent paper edition of Store norske. We were quite simply concerned about ensuring continuity for this Norwegian encyclopaedia with a century of proud tradition. Given the need for alternative encyclopaedia formats and the importance of public debate about signed encyclopaedia articles written by qualified experts, the Fritt Ord Foundation Board gave its whole-hearted support for an online version of Store norske from day 1. Francis Sejersted has represented us on the Board from the very beginning", comments Erik Rudeng, executive director of the Fritt Ord Foundation.

Since the Fritt Ord Foundation joined the project, the number of visitors to Store norske has increased dramatically. In 2013, the website exceeded 100 000 visitors a day. The encyclopaedia has also engaged more than 400 active experts to update the works and write new articles. In 2012, these professionals wrote texts equivalent to 60 non-fiction books.

The three encyclopaedias are published by the organisation Store norske leksikon. The organisation was established in 2013 by the Fritt Ord, Foundation, Sparebankstiftelsen DNB, and the Norwegian Academy of Science. Even the Norwegian Non-Fiction Writers and Translators Association, the universities and IKT-Norge are represented in the board. Anne Marit Godal is Editor-in-chief, and Trond Andreassen is Chairman of the Board.

Blog – jury's decision on the Fritt Ord Foundation's call for applications

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To contribute to a comprehensive exchange of opinions in Norway, the Fritt Ord Foundation announced the availability of MNOK 2.5 to civic-minded bloggers. The call for applications was aimed at blogs edited personally by individuals with no institutional affiliation. This afforded bloggers an opportunity to apply for funding to set up new blogs or to further develop existing blogs.

Applications for funding were accepted from individuals and small groups of people. It was also possible to invite guest bloggers. The jury has looked for bloggers who have taken journalistic and essayistic approaches.

The Fritt Ord Foundation received 219 applications for project funding in September 2010. The jury decided to award grants to 16 applicants.

Eight of the projects are new ventures. The other eight are already existing blogs that will be further developed.

The blogs focus on politics, society, the environment, health and culture.

The Fritt Ord Foundation's call for applications to fund blogs is an experimental project aimed at creating new platforms for shaping the social media in Norway. The call for applications is also an attempt to build up alternative voices. Priority has been given to blogs that facilitate debate and dialogue, and innovative projects in Norway's blog universe.

The projects will be evaluated in autumn 2011.

The applications have been reviewed by an independent jury consisting of:

Gisle Hannemyr, assistant professor, Department of Informatics, University of Oslo (chair of the jury); Marika Lüders, media researcher, Department for Cooperative and Trusted Systems, SINTEF; Sven Egil Omdal, journalist, Stavanger Aftenblad; Jill Walker Rettberg, associate professor, Department of Linguistic, Literary and Aesthetic Studies, University of Bergen.

Contact:
Gisle Hannemyr, chair of the jury, mobile phone: +47 905 53659
Bente Roalsvig, project director, Fritt Ord Foundation, mobile phone: +47 916 13340


THE 16 SELECTED BLOG PROJECTS ARE:

NEW VENTURES

Walid al-Kubaisi
Blog: For the secular Muslims (www.opplystemuslimer.no)
Support granted: NOK 310 000
The blog will be established in January 2011.
What Walid al-Kubaisi says about the project: "Secular and liberal Muslims are assigned a marginal place; they are marginalised despite the fact that they account for the majority of the Muslim minority! This secular majority is equally concerned about the future if the Islamists get to dominate the debate and become representatives for the whole Muslim minority. Religionising the minority has the same function as spreading prejudices, opposition to Muslims and racism. In a secularised Europe, religion dominating politics and providing grounds for ranking the citizenry is almost a thing of the past. Yet this is taking place daily in Oslo, and it is gradually gaining momentum.

The media debate is selective and narrow. It is characterised by strong emotions and little knowledge. It is governed by culturally relativistic attitudes that permeate the public sphere and the media. It aspires to fight racism, but at the expense of facts and information. Accordingly, the debate is an expression of Norwegians' anti-racist feelings and tolerance, but it should alter conditions to encourage more integration.

What we want to do, is not to limit the blog to the debate on Islam, as the media have used Muslims thus far. No, we want to engage in the social debate about conditions in Norway."


Anders Sømme Hammer
Blog: From Afghanistan (andershammer.com)
Support granted: NOK 220 000
The blog will be established in November 2010.
What Anders Sømme Hammer says about the project: "Since June 2007, I have lived and worked as a freelance journalist in Afghanistan. Living and working in Afghanistan feels important to me. Around 80 per cent of the enquiries I get from Norwegian media have come in connection with Norwegian soldiers being injured or killed. Then my phone rings incessantly with calls from editors who want a presence and stories of grief. That is understandable, but does little to explain what happens in Afghanistan. When the flags are flying at half mast in the army camps, it seems insensitive to ask critical questions. Yet it is this coverage that has largely been given priority. Very few resources are being invested in independent reporting from Afghanistan the rest of the year. The suffering, the problems and the rest of the lives of the local population are undercommunicated. This means that we in Norway do not hear much about perspectives that can help explain why things are not going well in Afghanistan, and why the war has not led to peace.

Since I plan to continue to live in Afghanistan, I would like to publish continuously what I hear, see and think about the war and the situation as it unfolds now that the country is in its most dramatic period since 2001. By creating a blog, I want to cover the war on a regular basis, as it is experienced when you do not accompany soldiers. I want to write about the lives of civilian Afghans and my own personal experiences. And I will discuss the consequences of the ongoing warfare, and the difference between how the war is experienced in Afghanistan and how it is portrayed in Norway."


Elisabeth Breien Ellingsen
Blog: Political blog portal (bloggeriet.no)
Support granted: NOK 300 000
The blog will be established in January 2011.
What Elisabeth Breien Ellingsen says about the project: "A pilot study is needed to show the way to blogs that address social issues and generate a good debate. I would like to create a blog portal that shows the way to all the good blogs that are being written. The point is to render more voices visible, and to give readers a signpost into the blogosphere.

The point is also to foreground topics that are overlooked by other media. This is especially important and interesting in the election year 2011. We have a new media reality that is not reflected anywhere other than in fragmented blogospheres. Many follow bloggers they find interesting, and many end up in blogs accidentally through bloggers' links under articles on online newspapers. Notwithstanding, the bloggers lack a forum where new readers can find their blogs. I am of the opinion that thematic editing of a blog portal is the way to go."


Morten Øverbye and Jan Thoresen
Blog: News blog (desk.no)
Support granted: NOK 500 000
The blog will be established in January 2011.
This is what Morten Øverbye and Jan Thoresen say about the project: "From online newspapers' debate groups, it is our experience that the readers always include people with deep, relevant and frequently personal knowledge about today's most important news items. Their knowledge is often more extensive or their stories are longer than the medias' format, ranking of priorities and dramaturgy allow.

We aspire to build up a blog revolving around individuals with unique knowledge about the leading stories in the news. Using journalistic working methods and new technology, we want to democratise and open up the social debate to more voices. The blog is to be a place where everyone can participate through blog postings and open debates.

Every day, we will actively bring in individuals with unique personal knowledge of the day's most important events. This might be people who already figure in today's most important news stories, and who are quoted on the front pages of the newspapers. We aspire to give them an opportunity to amplify their points of view by telling their stories unedited and without space limitations. We will actively work with them to ensure that they receive guidance in angles of approach and writing when necessary. By actively giving the sources of today's front page headlines an opportunity to amplify points of view and tell their side of the story, we will serve as a supplement and a corrective to the dramaturgy of the major media."


Mette Lindbæk
Blog: China (kinablogg.com)
Support granted: NOK 92 500
The blog will be established in December 2010.
What Mette Lindbæk says about the project: "Interest in China and its fierce development and economic growth are considerable. There is already a lot of information about this trend, but my feeling is that South China is more of an unknown quantity, and the region is not well known in Norway.

Transparency and a liberal mindset makes the region more receptive to innovation and change, and it is especially interesting to observe how South China serves as a 'test laboratory' for political and economic reforms for the rest of China. On several occasions, the Chinese authorities have chosen to test new political and economic reforms in a limited area before possibly spreading it further across the country. South China is a such an area, a pioneering site for most of the development trends in this gigantic country.

I want this blog to foster even greater interest in China in general and South China in particular. This will be significant as I live in China and observe society personally at close range, through the eyes of a third party. Besides a general Norwegian target group, I hope the blog will be of interest to journalists and others who work in China, including Norwegian enterprises."


Hanne Tråsdahl and Marte Solbakken
Blog: Apple stealing – ethical consumption and vegetarianism (ekstremtbra.blogspot.com)
Support granted: NOK 50 000
The blog will be established in November 2010.
What Hanne Tråsdahl and Marte Solbakken say about the project: "The blog is to be a vegetarian, ethical 'feel good blog', in which we will use good pictures and entertaining contributions to communicate a message that it is possible to live as a vegetarian and sustainably, despite being young and interested in fashion. We will be sharing recipes and experiences and test products, to show a favourable and specific way to accomplish this.

We want to invite people to exchange opinions, not by being an Internet version of a debate site, but by cultivating the blog as an artistic idiom. We will mainly aim at young blog readers, especially young girls, a segment that dominates the blogosphere. We will use the 'typical girl blogs'' artistic idiom to communicate a positive ideal and to point out that there is an alternative to unscrupulous consumption. This entails a strongly personal style, with many pictures of high quality.

By monitoring other blogs on which authors express a clear value platform, we are confident that the blog will engage and provoke readers, without requiring any manifesto or letters to the editor. We are very confident that by taking the blog format seriously, we can contribute to exchanges of opinions in contexts where online debates and newspaper debates fail to reach the mark."


Lan Marie Nguyen Berg
Blog: Climate – Tuvalu (klima-tuvalu.no)
Support granted: NOK 80 000
The blog will be established in December 2010.
What Lan Marie Nguyen Berg says about the project: "My blog will address climate changes and their consequences on Tuvalu, a low-lying island state in the Pacific. By visiting the island state from December 2010 to July 2011, I want to help add to Norwegians' knowledge about climate changes and where they lead in poor, vulnerable countries such as Tuvalu.

I will explore the topic through fact-based articles, reports and interviews with local people. By inviting some of them to be guest bloggers, they can share their experiences and thoughts, so their voices will be heard. With a melange of facts, statistics, research, academic material and personal experiences, text, pictures, audio and film, I want to create a blog that features easily accessible, engaging information that will appeal to as many groups of readers as possible.

What do the people of Tuvalu think about climate change? How do they understand the changes around them? How does this differ from Norwegians' understanding of climate change? What does it mean to be a climate refugee? What happens to the families? The networks? The culture? The language? What kind of international protection do we offer the climate refugees of today and tomorrow?"


Anna Tostrup Worsley
Blog: Health blog (diagnostisert.no)
Support granted: NOK 80 000
The blog will be established in December 2010.
What Anna Tostrup Worsley says about the project: "The blog will document the Norwegian health and welfare service from the inside, with participation by patients and therapists, and it will contribute to public debate and well-rounded exchanges of opinions.

Every fourth NOK in Norway's central government budget goes to health care, i.e. about NOK 128 billion this year. We rarely hear anything specific or objective about what happens in actual practice when this money is spent, how patients experience going through the treatment system, and what it is like for health care workers and administrative officers to work there. The stories that appear in the media are usually tragic stories of illnesses and hospital mistakes that are rewritten and simplified in tabloid format.

I would like to bring more humour and more provocative, profound social criticism to the debate on the public health service. As a civic-minded chronic patient, I find that what I choose to call the 'patientification process' deprives the person who is ill of responsibility and of the choice of how he or she wants to live with his/her own health. Sickness is a gigantic industry where your diagnoses and mine are sources of income that offer a huge return, as long as we stay sick. But who is actually interested in us staying healthy? It should be the State, but thus far, the State helps by paying for acute and chronic illnesses when they are far advanced, i.e. no help for self-help or for health-promoting, preventive efforts. This is what the coordination reform seeks to improve, but with a budget of about MNOK 78 this year, as opposed to NOK 128 billion for the 'regular' health care service that is focused on illness, one might ask how much the reform can achieve."


THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALREADY EXISTING BLOGS

Jan Arild Snoen
Blog: Criticism of the media (www.minerva.as)
Support granted: NOK 75 000
What Jan Arild Snoen says about the project: "The main purpose of criticising the media is not to show that journalists have a particular agenda, but to disclose errors, selective use of facts and other contextual defects that give a misleading picture. One recurring element in my cases is that the journalist does not check the primary source. Another is that she is not discriminate about the source, particularly if the source appears to be well-intentioned and non-commercial. A few times, I have also brought up items I feel involve plagiarism or something similar. A more common criticism is single-source journalism."


Markus Gaupås Johansen and Sturle Vik Pedersen
Blog: The Satire Blog 5080.no (www.5080.no)
Support granted: NOK 230 000
What Markus Gaupås Johansen and Sturle Vik Pedersen say about the project: "There are few channels available to satirical writers. The radio programme 'Hallo i Uken' is the only dedicated large-scale communicator of satire in Norway today. 5080.no is intended to help promote a broader diversity of satirical voices in Norway's public sphere by recruiting external contributors into a more regular system of cooperation. When more individuals contribute to the production of content, more sharp voices will also be heard in the public space. Financial support will make it possible for the website to provide comments on society more often and in a manner more appropriate to the net-based news routines. 5080.no can now - through broader appeal in terms of both content and expression – participate actively in exchanges of opinion."


Maria Gjerpe
Blog: Maria's Method (www.mariasmetode.no)
Support granted: NOK 80 000
What Maria Gjerpe says about the project: "The blog takes shape and meaning as I explore, reflect on and put into words different aspects of the problems and questions that arise from the fact that I am both a patient and a licenced physician. Through blogging, I have gained a different perspective on the health services system, i.e. the vantage point of a user. In this connection, I have discovered that stigmatisation, psychologisation and health care personnel's encounter with the outer limits of their own knowledge in interaction with people who have long-term, vague disorders cause patients to suffer additional trauma due to shame and guilt. I have chosen a position from which I can 'speak freely'. This can be difficult when working on a professional team, where one must take into account careers, network building, one's own job, and the acceptance and approval of colleagues."


Ivar Johansen
Blog: Ivar Johansen's blog (www.ivarjohansen.no)
Support granted: NOK 150 000
What Ivar Johansen says about the project: "A great deal of the philosophy underlying blogs and online engagement involves lowering the threshold between elected officials and the citizenry. I try to do this by making myself as available as possible for contact/queries. Cases can be high profile or just sent out for comment, but regardless: stakeholders/skilled experts/those involved will be invited to express opinions – which will normally be made available on the Internet at the same time."


Maren Agdestein, Linn Søvig and Hedvig Myklebust
Blog: Restart revolution – what do computer games have to do with social criticism? (spillpikene.no)
Support granted: NOK 62 500
Maren Agdestein, Linn Søvig and Hedvig Myklebust about the project: "The game girls blog about games, game research and game culture. One of our goals has been to offer an alternative to the abundance of hyped up news stories in other game journalism media, and to present an alternative to game journalism characterised by time pressure and little focus on game research or contexts. With the new series entitled 'Restart revolution - what do computer games have to do with social criticism ?', we ask: Can games provide social criticism? Which examples of social responsibility have computer games and computer game culture produced?"


Pål Hivand
Blog: RE:minder – a blog about whistleblowing (www.advarsel.no)
Support granted: NOK 100 000
Pål Hivand about the project: "Employees' freedom of expression and whistleblowing in particular will be an ever more relevant topic as the emergence of social media forces operations and authorities to think about communicating in new ways. RE:minder's task in general will be to direct the spotlight at whistleblowing and freedom of expression, with special attention devoted to trying to fortify the Act so that its gives better, more well-defined protection for whistleblowers. By the same token, an ombudsman scheme should be able to protect whistleblowers from reprisals and from being rendered invisible, and protect the whistleblower (person or institution) against illegal assaults under the protection of the whistleblower institute."


Association for Master Communication – Anne Aaby
Blog: The Master Blog (masterbloggen.no)
Support granted: NOK 100 000
What the Association for Master Communication – Anne Aaby - says about the project: "The Master Blog challenges not merely the student him- or herself, but also the universities and teaching institutions whose 'products' appear in the public space. In the long run, we can help challenge the roles that exist in the world of academia, where supervisors and employees at the institutions set the agenda and thus possess a lot of power through knowledge, compared with the students and society at large. In the long term, one can envisage the Master Blog as an arena for debates between student and sensor, sensor and society, or student and reader."


Roar Sørensen and Else Berit Kristiansen
Blog: The Literary Blog (litteraturbloggen.com)
Support granted: NOK 70 000
What Roar Sørensen and Else Berit Kristiansen say about the project: "The Literary Blog aspires to be a website on which writers, journalists, writers and readers can meet to discuss literature and relevant social issues. The blog offers established writers and unpublished writers a place to post content (poem, excerpts from novels, chapters, essays, etc.) and to have their postings commented on by colleagues and others with an interest in literature."

MNOK 2 for literature programmes through public libraries

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To help strengthen libraries as literary arenas, this spring, the Fritt Ord Foundation called for applications for grants of NOK 50 000 for initiatives at Norwegian public libraries. The Fritt Ord Foundation received 94 applications, and funding will be awarded to 42 applicants. Collectively, MNOK 2 will be divided among libraries all across the country.

The Fritt Ord Foundation has given priority to innovative projects, and has tried to capture the full range of activities offered by public libraries. The projects receiving support cover a wide variety of topics, from the first Sami book publications to geotourism. The events will take place through many different channels, e.g. festivals, visiting authors, theatre productions, temporary library branches, discussion fora, concerts, reading relays, film screenings, competitions, exhibitions and a lyrical elevator. The initiatives address all age groups.

Read more >

The dissemination of literature through libraries 2010-11

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To help strengthen libraries as arenas for literature, the Fritt Ord Foundation is announcing grants of NOK 50 000 earmarked for initiatives at public libraries in Norway.

This call for applications is aimed at initiatives to be implemented under the auspices of public libraries in Norway, possibly in cooperation with other institutions and/or organisations. The individual public library can decide on the topic/theme and type of initiative they would like, but the promotion of non-fiction or fiction literature should be the focal point. Activities may include seminars, visits from authors, debates, lectures, exhibitions or storytelling events. The programme should target the general public.

The Fritt Ord Foundation aspires to stimulate the promotion of literature and to promote interest in reading and literary debate.

Read more >

Bodø University College, Centre for Journalism

Contact: Tom Jacobsen

2009

Synne Kvam and Kristine Lindebø, ”Has the global community forgot the Serbian refugees and why? Series of reports (multi-media)”, NOK 15 000

Ida Kroksæter, Kjersti Sjursen Lien and Beth Mørch Pettersen, ”Series of reports on journalists' working conditions in Russia (newspaper)”, NOK 40 000

Kine Moxness Sandnes, ”Three reports/portraits from Northern Norway on the topic of ’Courage’” (newspaper), NOK 10 000

Read more >

Finnmark University College – Faculty of Media and Journalism

Contact: Stine Sand Eira

2011

Inga Renate Buljo, Alice Marie Johansen and Maret Biret Sara Oskal, "The Facebook Boys of Finnmarksvidda" (documentary film), NOK 12 500

Richard Fagervoll and Elin Iversen Sie, "Finnmarksløpet (the Finnmark Race)" (documentary film), NOK 6 000

Maila M. Haugen and Bjarne Krogstad, "The Hunt for the Black Book" (documentary film), NOK 12 500

Lemet Ailo Holmestrand, Svein Arild Mienna and Tor Egil Rasmussen, "365 Days" (documentary film), NOK 9 000

Read more >

Volda University College, Faculty of Media and Journalism

Contact: Ingvar Elgesem

2012

Eirik Grønmo Bjørnsen and Anna Mantzaris, "But Milk is Important" (animated film), NOK 20 000

Kristian Bye, "A North Norwegian Evel Knievel" (documentary film about freestyle snow cross),
NOK 15 000

Simon Furdal and Kristian Larsen, "Warp" (animated film), NOK 15 000

Read more >

Lillehammer University College – Department of TV and Film

Contact: Alexander Røsler

2011

Jon Vatne and Sindre Vesterås, "A Fistful of Dollars 2012" (documentary film/master project), NOK 23 500

Marius Bergersen and Sindre Vesterås, "The Funeral" (documentary film/master project), NOK 19 000

Kristin Rogstad and Kristin Bull, "In the Borderland" (documentary film/master project), NOK 23 500

Ida Valvik and Siw Gøril Nystad Olaussen, "The Magic Circle (45´)" (documentary film/master project), NOK 19 000

Read more >

Norwegian Centre for Human Rights

Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Sociology and Political Science

University of Bergen, Department of Comparative Politics

Contact: Maria Daniela Sommardahl, Norwegian Centre for Human Rights

Call for applications >

2012

Luis N.V. Cordero, "Monitoring Trafficking in Persons and Human Rights in Peru", NOK 50 000

Magali Hytten, "Time in Custody – about remand prisoners' experience of time", NOK 25 000

Marie Kvamme, "What bearing do human rights obligations within and outside the EU have on the application of the Dublin regulation’s discretionary clauses to vulnerable asylum seekers?", NOK 50 000

Read more >

The University of Oslo – Department of Media and Communication

The University of Bergen – Department of Information Science and Media Studies
Contact: Åke Refsdal Moe, Department of Media and Communication, The University of Oslo

2011

Brenda Bukowa (UiO), "Cyberspace for free speech in Zambia", NOK 25 000

Brenda Businge-Kamulegeya (UiO), "Internet and Free Expression in Uganda", NOK 25 000

Hilde Sofie Pettersen (UiB): "Journalism in Today's Russia", NOK 25 000

Read more >

University of Oslo, Department of Political Science

Contact: Øyvind Colbjørnsen

Call for applications >

2010

Ane Kristine Djupedal, “The role of Frontex in the Mobility Partnership”, NOK 10 000

Olav Elgvin, “The Muslim secularists: How Muslim leaders in Norway relate to the secular state”, NOK 10 000

Guro Hortemo Odden, ”Brain drain from poor countries. A normative analysis based on Norway's obligations relating to Human Rights”, NOK 5 000

Read more >

Norwegian University of Life Sciences at Ås

– Dept. of International Environment and Developmental Studies (Noragric)
Contact: Esben Leifsen

2011

Connor Joseph Cavanagh, "Organizational Culture, Power, and Forest Governance: Towards a Neo-Institutional Sociology of Conservation at Mount Elgon National Park, Uganda", NOK 10 000

Yee Yee Htun, "The Role of Sivil Society in the Process of Democratizing and Development: A Study of Burma/Myanmar", NOK 10 000

Emma N. Tembo Mutoloki, "Human rights and cultural aspect of the disabled people in Zambia: a study focusing on women and children of Chongwe district", NOK 10 000

Read more >

Debate-provoking television documentaries – production support

The Freedom of Expression Foundation was established on 7 June 1974 to promote freedom of expression and democratic trends in Norwegian cultural and community life. Through project support, prizes and grants, the Foundation has strived to achieve that goal for 30 years. As a link in the celebration of its 30th anniversary in 2004, the Foundation increased the parameters of its production support for television documentaries. The Freedom of Expression Foundation made a total of MNOK 12 available for programmes designed to provoke public debate.

An independent jury, consisting of Film Director Maria Fuglevaag Warsinski (chair), Lecturer Nazneen Khan-Østrem, Professor Bjørn Sørenssen and Dean Malte Wadman, has assessed the applications and arrived at a final result.

The jury's statement:

The Freedom of Expression Foundation received 101 applications for production support for television documentaries on current social issues. The jury's quest has been for documentaries that meet ambitious genre requirements and may potentially contribute to the public debate. The applications varied considerably in scope and quality. Of the projects submitted, the jury identified eight documentary projects that merit funding: 5 TV series and 3 documentary films. The jury selected projects that address a broad range of relevant contemporary topics at the national and international levels. Emphasis was also attached to the projects' creative approach and originality. In the opinion of the jury, the winning projects are all well-suited as contributions to debates about conditions in Norway and the rest of the world.


THE EIGHT SELECTED FILM PROJECTS, PRODUCED BETWEEN 2004 AND 2009, ARE:

Folk Flest Filmproduksjon: “Å Herregud!” (Oh my God!) (2008)
Directed by: Gunnar Hall Jensen
Produced by: Ørjan Karlsen
Format: Series
Production support grant: NOK 2 200 000

The documentary film project “Oh my God!” aims at presenting the world religions' diversity, distinctive natures and issues through a personal journey. The Norwegian director Gunnar Hall Jensen and the Swedish journalist Sören Wibeck embarked on a journey to explore the everyday religiosity underlying the many serious religion-generated conflicts in societies today and in times past. The project is characterised by insight and originality, and offers a new, more provocative angle of approach to this issue than what is usual in the mass media. The strongly subjective point of view (as seen in the film “Gunnar Goes Comfortable”) will help make encounters with different ways of practising religion interesting and dynamic, and it may also help generate debate with a view to both form and content.


Incakola Productions: “Smaken av hund” (The taste of dog) (2007) (“Good Norwegian – power, food and public opinion”)
Directed by: Are Syvertsen and Jon Martin Førland
Produced by: Are Syvertsen and Jon Martin Førland
Format: Individual documentary
Production support grant: NOK 1 000 000

In an original, refreshing manner, the project focuses on a powerful Norwegian industry that has long evaded critical attention. The jury is convinced the film will help generate debate about the quality of Norwegian food at a time when international players are in the process of moving into Norway, where they are encountering considerable resistance from national powers-that-be. The project sheds light on the old Norwegian myths about 'Good Norwegian' being best. It also challenges a well-known protectionist attitude regarding Norwegian products. The jury believes this documentary will capture the interest of Norwegian consumers when it comes to the power held by the agricultural industry and the ways in which attitudes are shaped.


Medieoperatørene: “The Interview – behind closed doors at the Directorate of Immigration (UDI)” (2006) (“As truthful as possible”)
Directed by: Charlotte Røhder Tvedt
Produced by: Øyvind Rostad
Format: Individual documentary
Production support grant: NOK 900 000

Medieoperatørene (The Media Operators) were given a unique opportunity to work 'freely' on a documentary film in the Asylum Department at UDI. The documentary film will monitor the progress of asylum cases behind closed doors and will thereby also provide insight into asylum-seekers' encounters with Norway's immigration bureaucracy as well as case officers' rough workdays. The film will give the public more general knowledge about political and bureaucratic processes, and thus provide a glimpse into a real-life situation that has largely remained behind closed doors until now. The jury is also convinced that the project will exercise the discretion required by such a delicate topic, at the same time as it will provoke debate about the entire process to which asylum-seekers are subjected and the difficult tasks facing case workers on a daily basis.


Panopticon: “The Future of Water” (2007)
Directed by: Anders Taylor Larsen
Produced by: Erik Hannemann and Tove Gravdal
Format: Series
Production support grant: NOK 600 000

The documentary series “The Future of Water” discusses the world's water resources based on a manuscript written by Professor Terje Tvedt of the University of Bergen. While the volume of water available is constant, the need for water is on the rise the world over. Financial short-sightedness in this area can lead to ecological disasters, at the same time as the struggle for control over and the distribution of water resources are increasingly causing national and international conflicts. The project is an independent sequel to the TV series “A voyage through the history of water”, which attracted international interest. The project proposal is characterised by good subject-related knowledge communicated in a 'catchy' visual manner. Complex causalities are presented in a manner that makes correlations clear without resorting to simplifications.


Relation04 Media: “Reindrift i kamp” (Reindeer at War) (2006)
Directed by: Svein Andersen and Karl E. Rikardsen
Produced by: Karl E. Rikardsen
Format: Series
Production support grant: NOK 1 200 000

This film project highlights the classic conflict between David and Goliath – the Sami versus the Norwegian Armed Forces and NATO. The living conditions and basis for existence of a vulnerable people are being jeopardised by military interests. The project describes a traditional community that is in the process of fading away. In a sensitive, individual and cinematically striking manner, the Sami philosophy of life and basis for existence are showcased, at the same time as we see how the military establishment is eating its way into Sami grazing grounds. The project's strength lies in its ability to depict a microcosm that embraces a classic conflict on a more global level. In addition, the film shows the ecological consequences of this drama. The jury believes the film project has international potential.


Snitt Film Production: “My Daughter the Terrorist” (2007)
Director: Beate Arnestad
Produced by: Morten Daae
Format: Individual documentary
Production support grant: NOK 1 000 000

The film project “My daughter the terrorist” can potentially unveil knowledge about why young people are willing to die for a cause. The film follows a female guerrilla soldier in Sri Lanka. With this project, the film-makers have managed to gain access to an environment that has largely been unavailable to the media. The film provides knowledge of a conflict in which Norway is deeply involved, and it has the potential to serve as a platform for further debate.


Speranza Film: “Modern Slavery” (2009)
Directed by: Thomas Robsahm and Tina Davis
Produced by: Thomas Robsahm and Margreth Olin
Format: Series
Production support grant: NOK 3 000 000

In spite of the UN's Human Rights Convention, millions of people the world over are still forced to live their lives as slaves. As opposed to direct slavery, which is now recognised as illegal all over the world, modern-day slavery is characterised by the short-term exploitation of people for financial gain. Slavery is supported by corrupt governments, multinational corporations and ultimately, intentionally or unintentionally, by consumers of goods and services based on different types of forced labour. This project will arouse debate about the world's significant poverty problems and the exploitation of weak groups. Slavery has not been eradicated, but it has changed shape. The series is intended not only to present misery in the form of forced labour, trafficking, forced marriage, extreme child labour and commercial sexual exploitation of children, but it will also contribute to consciousness-raising and suggest methods for putting an effective end to slavery.


Subrosa Film: “The Ice Cold War” (2009)
Directed by: Anne Berit Vestby
Produced by: Anne Berit Vestby
Format: Series
Production support grant: NOK 2 100 000

The increase in organised crime is a relevant and dangerous topic that the jury feels it is important to illuminate. By directing attention to organised crime, this film project can serve as an important instrument in the struggle to counteract this trend. The topic is not only an international, but also a national challenge. White-collar crime is flowing freely across national frontiers, featuring widespread cynical trade in drugs, human beings and weapons. In selecting suitable projects, the jury attached importance to film projects that explored topics in a particularly clever, insightful and courageous fashion.

A new era? – Subsidies for dialogue meetings at libraries – 2009

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In 2009, the Freedom of Expression Foundation announced grants of NOK 50 000 each, earmarked for public meetings to discuss values and social issues made timely by the financial crisis. The Freedom of Expression Foundation received 22 applications, and NOK 730 000 was awarded to 15 selected projects in July.

THE 15 SELECTED DIALOGUE MEETINGS ARE:

Deichman Library, Bjerke branch, ”The financial crisis, also an economic crisis?”, NOK 50 000

Deichman Library, Nordtvet and Romsås branches, ”Modern western poverty. Poor in soul and mind – in the wake of the financial crisis”, NOK 50 000

Philosophical Policlinic, in collaboration with Bergen Public Library, ”Dialogue meetings about the welfare state and public health service”, NOK 50 000

Read more >

Free Word Centre to open in London

The new Free Word Centre will open on Tuesday, 15 September 2009, at 60 Farringdon Road in London, with participation from the Fritt Ord Foundation. The property used to be the Guardian Newsroom Building.

In Norway, freedom of expression is largely determined by international policy, legislation and media trends. For that reason, since the 1970s, the Fritt Ord Foundation has maintained professional relations with and provided support for three London-based organisations: Index on Censorship, Article 19 and International PEN. All of them have world-wide activities. They recently played a prominent part in the Global Forum on Freedom of Expression organised from 1 to 6 June 2009 in Oslo. The Fritt Ord Foundation was co-organiser and initiator: http://expressionforum.org.

In recent years, freedom of expression has been curtailed in a number of countries. Accordingly, there is a need for far better contact and cooperation across national frontiers among organisations dedicated to promoting freedom of expression. To be able to act more clearly and to put forward even more cogent arguments on behalf of free speech, it was decided that nine organisations would locate their offices under the same roof in central London.

For this purpose, the Fritt Ord Foundation bought a piece of property from the Guardian Media Group at 60 Farringdon Road for MNOK 67 in 2007. After extensive planning among the organisations, the building is now ready to accommodate them. The British are very interested in further contact with Norwegian cultural life in this area. The agreement with the Fritt Ord Foundation is that the tenants can benefit from being located in the building on favourable terms for up to 12 years. At that point, the Fritt Ord Foundation will sell the property at market price, and possibly move on to support other targeted initiatives.

In addition to promoting freedom of expression on the international arena, the Free Word Centre will provide a venue for cultural exchanges in a variety of media. The festival programme for 16 September to 9 October 2009 offers a 'teaser' in respect of the activities planned for the public, see www.freewordonline.com. The website posted by the Free Word Centre also offers a presentation of the nine organisations involved. The building has enough space for 75 employees.

The Free Word Centre aspires to become an international centre for freedom of expression. It may also serve as a bridgehead for intensifying joint international British-Norwegian efforts. The centre is supported by the Arts Council England.

The House of Literature

In 2005, the Freedom of Expression Foundation took the initiative to establish Norway's first House of Literature, which is located at Wergelandsveien 29 in central Oslo. The House of Literature is patterned after the European Houses of Literature, and one of the main ideas behind this initiative was the desire to provide a new arena for literature in Norway.

Wergelandsveien 29 was designed by the architect Henry Fearnley Coll and built for the Oslo Teachers' College in 1932. The Freedom of Expression Foundation financed and was the contractor for adapting the building to accommodate the House of Literature in 2006–2007, and the House of Literature was opened to the public on 5 October 2007. The building is run by the independent House of Literature Foundation, which was established by the Freedom of Expression Foundation in 2006. The House of Literature Foundation will receive an annual contribution for operating expenses until 2014, and is responsible for day-to-day operations, publicity and programming.

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Debutanter under bokhøsten 2009.
Photo: Nina Hansen
The House of Literature has 3500 m2 of floor space, and houses auditoriums, a bookstore, a cafe, showrooms and seminar rooms. The building is appropriate for a wide variety of activities, including meetings with authors, discussion fora, concerts, exhibitions, writing courses and school visits. The House of Literature had 240 000 visitors in its first year of operation, and 76 000 individuals took part in more than 670 events.

It is the Freedom of Expression Foundation's hope that the House of Literature will serve as a meeting place for all those who are interested in literature – readers, writers, students, pupils and people in the book industry, and that this cultural institution will provide inspiration for debates and promote interest in literary fiction and non-fiction alike.


The House of Literature: www.litteraturhuset.no


Background article on European Houses of Literature by Florian Höllerer,
see A House (of Literature) for the Continent
(from the anthology Culture Report Progress Europe, Stuttgart, 2007)

Documentary photography

To strengthen the position of documentary photography in Norway, the Freedom of Expression Foundation invited applications for project funding of up to MNOK 6 from civic-minded photographers. The call for applications was addressed to photographers who work with innovative expressions or within the classic documentary tradition. The jury was looking for projects that are socially relevant and have a distinctive photographic nature.

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Linda Næsfeldt, Football and most people
The Freedom of Expression Foundation received 371 applications for project support in March 2007. The jury decided to award grants to 38 applicants. Altogether, MNOK 6 was awarded, divided among 19 female and 19 male photographers. Half the project funding was awarded to younger applicants, i.e. those under age 35. The youngest to be awarded funds was 17 years old, while the oldest 65.

Twenty-five of the projects are based in Norway. The other 13 projects focus on the rest of the world.

The themes range from children at war to life in shopping centres. Recurrent topics include cultural change, identity, climate, indigenous peoples, migration, national identity and disadvantaged groups.

An independent jury, consisting of Rune Eraker, documentary photographer (chair of the jury), Hanne Holm-Johnsen, curator, Preus Museum, Eva Klerck Gange, curator, the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, and Per Anders Rosenkvist, photographer and assistant professor in photojournalism, Oslo University College, have considered the applications and arrived at a final result.

In the light of the selected projects, Susanne Ø. Sæther is curating the exhibition ”Norwegian documentary photography” in collaboration with Caroline Engelstad at the Henie Onstad Art Centre, being shown at the art centre from 22 October to 13 December 2009.

Forlaget Press (Press Publishing House) is publishing the book Norsk dokumentarfotografi i dag (Norwegian documentary photography today), a presentation of all 38 projects. Rune Eraker is picture editor for the book, and Eva Klerck Gange has written an introductory essay.

Contact: Bente Roalsvig, Fritt Ord, telephone 23 01 46 43 or 91 61 33 40


THE 38 SELECTED DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECTS ARE:

Linda Schade Andersen, ”The lads in 116”, NOK 50 000

Oddleiv Apneseth, ”Jølster 2008”, NOK 380 000

Jonas Bendiksen, ”The places we live”, NOK 350 000

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Jonas Bendiksen, The places we live


Per Berntsen, ”Generator”, NOK 140 000

Marcus Bleasdale, ”Global oil production”, NOK 250 000

Eirik Brekke, ”Life at the shopping centre”, NOK 300 000

Paul Patrick Børhaug, ”Deconstruction of the city room”, NOK 20 000

Lill-Ann Chepstow-Lusty, ”Norwegian Gay Kids”, NOK 200 000

Guri Dahl, ”Invitation”, NOK 200 000

Linda Bournane Engelberth, ”Reception centre for asylum seekers”, NOK 90 000

Leif Gabrielsen, ”Transcultural families”, NOK 300 000

Andrea Gjestvang, ”Greenland”, NOK 150 000

Ellen Lande Gossner, ”Portraits of 12 Russian women”, NOK 120 000

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Ellen Lande Gossner, Portraits of 12 Russian women


Jiri Havran, ”Coastal Culture in Nordland County”, NOK 150 000

Christina Hermanstad, ”Stigma”, NOK 80 000

Bent Are Iversen, ”Life in Norway”, NOK 35 000

Jan Johannessen, “Casper has CP”, NOK 75 000

Sara Johannessen, ”Moods of Music”, NOK 70 000

Rune Johansen, ”Rune Johansen in America”, NOK 200 000

Anne-Stine Johnsbråten, ”Space people in Norway”, NOK 70 000

Monica Larsen, ”Modernisation in Kigali”, NOK 60 000

Hilde Lillejord, ”Nan bread with Norwegian goat cheese”, NOK 200 000

Jumana Manna, “The Arab Man”, NOK 60 000

Bo Mathisen, ”The rain forest”, NOK 150 000

Veronica Melå, ”This is my home”, NOK 200 000

Raymond Mosken, ”Aerial photo”, NOK 225 000

Ingun A. Mæhlum, ”The inhabitants of Kautokeino and gender roles”, NOK 60 000

Eivind H. Natvig, ”The journey of melt water”, NOK 100 000

Linda Næsfeldt, ”Football and most people”, NOK 200 000

Karin Beate Nøsterud, ”Children's lives in wartime”, NOK 200 000

Ken Opprann, ”Religion in Norway”, NOK 150 000

Espen Rasmussen, ”On the run”, NOK 350 000

Hans Kristian Riise, ”Weapons and macho culture in Latin America”, NOK 100 000

Siv Johanne Seglem, ”Young mothers”, NOK 50 000

Pia Solberg, ”Murrin Bridge”, NOK 70 000

Hilde Tobro, ”Siblings”, NOK 55 000

Knut Egil Wang, ”Norwegians in southern Europe”, NOK 390 000

Marte Aas, “The top of Torshov”, NOK 150 000

The dissemination of literature through public libraries – 2008

To help strengthen libraries as arenas for literature, the Freedom of Expression Foundation announced subsidies of NOK 50 000 earmarked for Norwegian public libraries. The Freedom of Expression Foundation received 96 applications for subsidies in May 2008. 46 applicants were allocated funds. Collectively, MNOK 2.3 was allocated and divided among libraries all across the country.

The Freedom of Expression Foundation gave priority to projects that are innovative, and the organisation has tried to represent the full breadth of what is on offer from public libraries. The projects supported cover a wide range of topics, ranging from debate about stories from World War II in Norway that have been suppressed, to promotion by factual prose about hunting and fishing. The information projects were either initiatives such as festivals, storytelling events, discussion fora, visits from the author or exhibitions.

The Freedom of Expression Foundation aspires to stimulate the promotion of literature and to arouse interest in reading and literary debate. The projects will be implemented in autumn 2008 or in 2009.

THE 46 SELECTED INFORMATION PROJECTS ARE:

Askim Library, "Bibliostreken”

Aurland Public Library, ”Communication of literature about wild animals, hunting and fishing”

Bergen off. library, ”Music & Poetry – 2008”

Read more >

History project competition

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2013/2014 school year

MY FAMILY AS PART OF HISTORY

Have you ever talked with your grandparents about their childhoods? Or have you thought about what it must have been like to grow up at a time when material living conditions were much worse than today? Perhaps you have parents or grandparents who have experienced war or major upheavals in Norway or in other countries? This project competition invites you to study these conditions. The point of departure is you yourself, your own family or another person who is close to you. You have considerable freedom to choose how you want to approach your topic, but the subject is history. In other words, you must study something from the past – distant or recent. The theme is quite broad and can be tied to several of the topics you will otherwise be studying at school in the subject of history.

You should not only describe what happened, but also try to explain why it happened. Include your own reactions and thoughts about the events that unfolded. Why did you chose to write about this topic in particular? What was your point of departure, and did you find what you expected to find? How did you react to what you found out?

POSSIBLE TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

Formulate your own topic for discussion. In a good project entry, your topic will serve as the 'Ariadne's thread' that ties the whole investigation together. Examples of topics for discussion include:

Living with wars and conflicts
Do you have one or more relatives who have lived in an area of conflict? How has this affected their lives? What do they think about the conflict and the people involved? Perhaps have you relatives who grew up in Norway when the country was at war? What can they tell you about life in Norway during the war?

Living conditions then and now
Compare the conditions your generation have had while growing up with the childhood conditionss of your parents or grandparents. What differences did you find, for example, in relation to material wealth, values, educational opportunities or recreational activities? What do the differences you found tell us about social development?

Migration in Norway or to Norway
Have your ancestors moved within Norway or from Norway? Or do you perhaps have parents or grandparents who moved to Norway? Why did you, your parents or your grandparents move? What did they leave behind, and what did they move to? How did moving change their lives?

These are examples of topics you can investigate. Naturally, you are free to make up other questions for investigation. If you would prefer not to examine your own family so closely, you can write about other people you know or key individuals in your local community.

YOUR QUESTIONS AND USE OF SOURCES

In trying to formulate a question to study, you might need help from your teacher. Remember that you should do research, not just repeat what others have said. It is important that your question is clearly articulated, and that you make an attempt to answer it.

In the history books, you can read about changes that have taken place – major and minor alike. These changes will set the stage for your report, but the most important part of your entry will be what you yourself can find out about the conditions you are investigating. This means that a large part of your project will involve using different sources that can shed light on your family, e.g. interviews, pictures, diaries, letters and statistics.

Your essay must specify how you have used your sources. You must also determine whether you can trust them and ask questions aboutwhat the sources actually can say. Your assessments should preferably be included at the points in the text where you cite sources. When you quote from or paraphrase sources, you must always make it clear that you are citing something that is not your own. Feel free to use footnotes. Lastly, remember to include a list of written and oral sources.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

The competition is being organised by the Norwegian Historical Society (HIFO) with support from the Freedom of Expression Foundation and Aschehoug Publishing House. It is open to pupils in lower and upper secondary school.

The purpose of the competition is to promote investigative teaching methods in the subject of history. Pupils themselves are to produce presentations of history associated with their own experiences and thoughts. The ’little story’ should be tied into the ’big picture’.

Supervision and assessment criteria
HIFO offers supervision to teachers and pupils and can be contacted at this address:
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The product
The product can be an article, preferably illustrated, a DVD or a website. Once submitted, entries will not be returned. For that reason, participants should be sure to keep a copy for themselves. The entry is supposed to be made during the 2013/2014 school year.

Jury
A jury consisting of two teachers and a specialist in didactics will select the best entries.

Prizes
There are cash prizes in the competition: NOK 5000 for 1st place, NOK 2000 for 2nd place and NOK 1000 for 3rd place. Winners will be named in two classes: one for upper secondary school and one for lower secondary school. Some of prizewinners will also be given an opportunity to take part in young people's encounters in Europe, along with prizewinners from other countries in the summer and autumn of 2011. Two different encounters will be organised: one for prizewinners under the age of 18 and one for those over the age of 18. The encounters will have history as their common denominator, and they will be organised by EUSTORY – the History Network for Young Europeans at the Körber Foundation in Hamburg. All participants will receive a diploma.

Participation
Pupils can sign up individually or in groups with a maximum of four participants. Entries are to be in the Norwegian language, and the written product should be a maximum of 15 pages long with the line spacing set at 1.5. The entry can well be shorter. The entry must specify the pupil's date of birth, telephone number and e-mail address. If a pupil enters work done at school, his or her teacher's name should also be specified.

The deadline for submitting entries is Monday, 24 March 2014

Send your entry to:

HIFO's history project competition
The Freedom of Expression Foundation, Oslo
Uranienborgveien 2
NO-0258 Oslo

More information

Click on HIFO's website at: www.historiekonkurransen.no

Folder 2013.pdf (pdf, in Norwegian)

The Freedom of Expression Foundation's Competition for Young People

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2012
WRITING COMPETITION ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Our right to express our opinions, and to read, see or hear what we want should not be taken for granted. Throughout history, constraints have been placed on literature, art, music, the press and broadcasting, as well as on religious, scientific and political expressions. The Freedom of Expression Foundation invites young people between the ages of 12 and 20 to explore this theme.

POSSIBLE TOPICS

Major questions about freedom of speech have become very timely in the wake of the 22 July tragedy.

What is evil, and how can society deal with it?

What is the point of punishment? Should capital punishment be reconsidered in connection with the genocide and mass murder?

Should constraints be placed on free speech, for example, in new media such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter? Does anonymity constitute a threat to democracy?

Should extremists from all quarters be entitled to speak freely? Should racially discriminatory remarks be punished or be allowed to be expressed in public?

Has the war on terror influenced the international debate? What role does it play in terms of fundamental democratic values?

To what extent is the voice of immigrants heard in the media? How are they represented in newspapers, on radio and TV?

Is freedom of expression solely a western value, or does it also apply in other cultures?

What is information and what is the propaganda in the media? Where does the line run between lies and truth?

These are simply examples of various topics participants might want to write about. You can choose a topic from the past or present, Norwegian or international, and based on your own interests. It might be a good idea to take your point of departure in something you have read in the newspapers or on the internet, seen on television or learned at school.


REPORT OR ESSAY

You can write a research report based on sources you have collected yourself, or you can write an essay on an issue that concludes with you own independent assessments and analyses. It is important for the jury to be able to see that you have worked with the text on your own and that you have arrived at some independent conclusions. References to sources such as books, films, etc. can be placed either in parentheses or in footnotes. The ideal length is about 10 pages, but shorter and longer reports or essays will also be judged.


PRIZES

1st prize: A grant of NOK 10 000
2nd prize: A grant of NOK 8 000
3rd prize: A grant of NOK 7 000

The three winners will also win an all-expenses paid trip to Strasbourg in autumn 2011 or spring 2012 to visit the European Court of Human Rights and the European Parliament.


THE JURY AND REGULATIONS

The jury consists of six experts, and the jury's decision is final. Participants are not allowed to publish a contribution while it is in the process of being judged. Once the prizes have been awarded, the jury is entitled to publish contributions on the condition that the participants' names are specified. Groups of up to three individuals can enter the competition together. Participants must be between the ages of 12 and 20, and they must not yet have embarked on tertiary education. Entries must not previously have won a prize in any Norwegian or international competition.


REGISTRATION, INFORMATION AND QUESTIONS

Deadline for registration for 2012: 1 February 2012
Deadline for submitting contributions: 15 February 2012

The three finalists in the Freedom of Expression Foundation Competition for Young People will be invited to participate in a finals weekend in Oslo in April 2012, along with finalists in the Young Researchers Competition. The weekend will culminate in the awards ceremony.

Participants can register for the Freedom of Expression Foundation Competition for Young People at www.proscientia.no
or register at:

Proscientia
The Research Council of Norway
P.O. Box 2700 St. Hanshaugen
NO-0131 OSLO

If you have any questions, just send an E-mail to:
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or ring +47 220 37322

For further information about the Freedom of Expression Foundation Competition for Young People, see www.proscientia.no


FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, established pursuant to §100 of the Constitution of Norway:

There shall be freedom of expression.

No person may be held liable in law for having imparted or received information, ideas or messages unless this can be justified in relation to the grounds for freedom of expression, which are the seeking of truth, the promotion of democracy and the individual’s freedom to form opinions. Such legal liability shall be prescribed by law.

Everyone shall be free to speak his mind frankly on the administration of the State and on any other subject whatsoever. Clearly defined limitations to this right may only be imposed when particularly weighty considerations so justify in relation to the grounds for freedom of expression.

Prior censorship and other preventive measures may not be applied unless so required in order to protect children and young persons from the harmful influence of moving pictures. Censorship of letters may only be imposed in institutions.

Everyone has a right of access to documents of the State and municipal administration and a right to follow the proceedings of the courts and democratically elected bodies. Limitations to this right may be prescribed by law to protect the privacy of the individual or for other weighty reasons.

It is the responsibility of the authorities of the State to create conditions that facilitate open and enlightened public discourse.

Further, Article 19 of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

The Freedom of Expression Foundation's Competition for Young People, Norwegian text (pdf)