The Fritt Ord Foundation is a private non-profit foundation that seeks to promote freedom of expression, public debate, art and culture.
Utøya Island and CEO Jørgen Watne Frydnes were awarded the Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute on 21 August 2021. This feature article is an abridged version of the speech delivered at the awards ceremony by Bård Vegar Solhjell, deputy chair of the Fritt Ord Foundation.
This past spring, Fritt Ord invited applications for grants of NOK 60 000 each for debates and discussions based on non-fiction and fiction literature on issues involving freedom of expression. The Foundation received 47 applications, and will award funding to 27 applicants. Altogether, MNOK 1.5 will be divided among libraries all across Norway.
On 25 August, ALTSÅ was named Magazine of the Year at the annual awards ceremony for the Media Prizes.
The Fritt Ord Foundation will be granting up to MNOK 25 annually for four years for journalistic projects. This MNOK 100 initiative is entitled Norwegian Journalism.
Fritt Ord awards support for projects that help promote freedom of expression, public discourse, art and culture. The measures supported should contribute to the common good and be available to the public.
Potential applicants must register at the Fritt Ord Application Centre.
The Fritt Ord Foundation’s various deadlines for applications in 2021
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.
City of Refuge artist Ahmed Falah Al-Ogaili has received NOK 40 000 for his art project “Fighting Covid-19 with drawing”, in which innovative graphics and street art will be used to illustrate the recommendations issued by the World Health Organization and local institutions.
Espen Stueland has received NOK 75 000 to develop the manuscript for the book “Kontagium 2020” about the corona crisis and earlier literary works about pandemics and plagues.
Fin Serck-Hanssen has received NOK 100 000 for a photo project about health care workers during the pandemic.
Lyder Produksjoner has been granted NOK 150 000 for “Tut & Mediekjør” – “a podcast for those of you who wonder how journalism is created.”
Fuglene AS has been awarded a grant for development of the documentary film “Mina, the robbers and the Sámi Motorcycle Club”, based on the work of Martine Rand and Mina Hadjan on Robber Radio. Kari Anne Moe is the director.
Director Tommy Gulliksen is among those responsible for the documentary film “War on Art”, in which artists in North Korea meet artists from the West.
Ten Thousand Images and the director Ellen-Astri Lundby have been granted support to develop the documentary project “LAPP versus SÁMI”
manuscript development of the graphic novel “Job”
Writer Yohan Shanmugaratnam and photographer Line Ørnes Søndergaard were granted NOK 125 000 for the publication and online story associated with the book project "Maelstrom – Free movement and free fall in Brexit-land”.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Books and reports published by the Fritt Ord Foundation, alone or with partners.
