The Fritt Ord Foundation is a private non-profit foundation that seeks to promote freedom of expression, public debate, art and culture.
The virus epidemic has put Norway’s cultural life and public discourse in an extremely difficult situation. In response, the Fritt Ord Foundation will be making an extraordinary contribution to projects that can safeguard the spaces for public discourse, develop new arenas for public discourse and help promote dynamic, vital public discourse.
The Fritt Ord Foundation has received queries from several grant recipients who are wondering how to handle different projects in response to the coronavirus, and we will do our best to help find satisfactory solutions.
Oslo, 13 May 2020
PRESS RELEASE
Film-makers Sara Johnsen and Pål Sletaune will be awarded the Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute for the TV series July 22nd, an eminent artistic contribution to critical reflection about the tragic event that occurred in Norway on 22 July 2011. The protagonists of this drama series are the people who worked at key institutions in Norway, a welfare state based on the rule of law: the public health service, the media, the school system, the church and politics.
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 2020.
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.
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.
