Awards ceremony, Fritt Ord Foundation Competition 2016

April 19 2016

Thanks to all those who submitted contributions to the 2016 Fritt Ord Foundation Competition for upper secondary school students. We received many exciting texts and media productions on censorship in both direct and indirect forms, featuring many good observations about digital surveillance, freedom of information, self-censorship and rebellion against established truths.

Three winners have been chosen from among 150 entries submitted by 210 participants. The three winners of the competition are:

  • Sara Pernille Jensen, Oslo Cathedral School
  • André Jonassen, Stavanger Cathedral School
  • Thea Sundet, Thora Storm Upper Secondary School, Trondheim

The awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday, 19 April, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Fritt Ord’s premises at Uranienborgveien 2 in Oslo.

There will be speeches by the prize laureates, chair of the jury Henrik G. Bastiansen and the Fritt Ord Foundation’s Executive Director Knut Olav Åmås. Author Soudabeh Alishahi will deliver a speech and award the prizes to the winners. A musical interlude will be provided by pupils from Edvard Munch Upper Secondary School.

The event is open to the public. Welcome!

The Fritt Ord Foundation Competition for upper secondary school is an annual competition that invites students to submit entries about freedom of expression and democracy. This year’s topic was “Censorship”. The submissions were adjudicated by a jury consisting of Professor Henrik G. Bastiansen (chair of the jury), Amal Aden, Simen Ekern, Anine Kierulf, Nefise Özkal Lorentzen, Lars Nyre and Jostein Saxegaard.

First prize is a grant for NOK 20 000, second prize for NOK 15 000 and third prize for NOK 10 000. The prizes also include a trip to Strasbourg, where all the prize laureates will visit the EU Parliament, the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights. Read more about the project here.

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