Brave journalists and media organisations from Russia and Eastern Europe to be awarded Press Prizes

June 24 2015
The Fritt Ord Foundation and the ZEIT-Stiftung invite the public to attend the awards ceremony on Wednesday 24 June 2015 at 12.00 h.

The six journalists and media organisations who will be awarded the Fritt Ord Foundation and the ZEIT-Stiftung Press Prizes at the The Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo are the weekly newspaper Pskovskaya Guberniya and editor Galina Timchenko from Russia, the news agency Slidstvo.Info and the journalists Serhiy Harmash and Valentyna Samar from Ukraine, along with the online news medium Netgazeti from Georgia.

Read more about the laureates here.

Attendees are asked to please register by sending an email to hanne.vorland@frittord.no

Programme

Improvisation: “Song of India”
from the opera Sadko by Rimsky-Korsakov

Welcome
Sigrun Slapgard, Foreign Reporter and Member of the Board of Trustees, Fritt Ord Foundation

Speech of congratulations to the prize laureates
Morten Høglund, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

A never-ending challenge?
Manfred Lahnstein, Professor and Chair of the Board of Trustees, ZEIT-Stiftung

“En fermant les yeux”
from the opera Manon by Massenet

Address on behalf of the jury
Theo Sommer, Chair of the Jury

Awarding of the 2015 Press Prizes to

  • the weekly newspaper Pskovskaya Gubernya (Russia)
  • the journalist Galina Timchenko (Russia)
  • the agency for investigative journalism Slidstvo.Info (Ukraine)
  • the journalist Serhiy Harmash (Ukraine)
  • the journalist Valentyna Samar (Ukraine)
  • the news and multimedia portal Netgazeti (Georgia)

Speech on behalf of the Laureates
Dmitrij Gnap, journalist (Ukraine)
Lev Schlosberg, founder of Pskovskaya Gubernya (Russia)

“Marechiare”
by F.P. Tosti

Musicians:
Håkon Kornstad (saxophone, vocals)
Frode Haltli (accordion)
Mats Eilertsen (double bass)

Buffet lunch

News

See all

Call for nominations: Free Media Awards 2025

March 14 2025

In collaboration with the ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS of Hamburg, the Fritt Ord Foundation has allocated the Free Media Awards annually since 2004 to Eastern European journalists and media that defy every obstacle to tirelessly ensure independent press coverage. Russia’s war against Ukraine and the subsequent wave of disinformation clearly demonstrates the need for independent reporting in the region. Journalist, editorial teams and media companies in and from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and Hungary who make a contribution to press freedom through their investigative, independent reporting can be nominated for the Free Media Awards.

Civitates' Tech & Democracy open call

March 6 2025

Civitates – The European Democracy Fund is a pooled philanthropic fund that was set up in 2018 for the sole purpose of addressing democratic decline and closing civic space in Europe. The case for confronting these threats is growing increasingly urgent. Fritt Ord Foundation is one of the initiators and partners of Civitates.

Civitates has launched its Tech and Democracy open call to support organisations working to ensure safer, more inclusive online spaces (social media platforms, search engines etc.) by improving the enforcement of EU tech regulations at the national level.

This open call offers a unique opportunity to strengthen civil society’s role in holding the tech sector accountable, with a focus on key EU regulations such as the Digital Services Act, GDPR, AI Act or the European Media Freedom Act to name a few.

Art and Institutions: “I Demand a Museum to Feel its Own Floors Tremble When Other Museums are Destroyed in War”

February 12 2025

Saturday 22 February 2025 at Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, from 14.30 to 16.30 h.

Conversation with Adam Budak (Poland/Germany), Stefanie Carp (Germany), Matej Drlička (Slovakia), Andrea Geyer (USA) og Sarah Lookofsky (USA/Norway). Ingerid Salvesen is moderator.

Across the world, cultural institutions are under increasing pressure. Censorship, self-censorship, drastic funding cuts, and political and sponsorship interference are on the rise. Former and present institutional directors – with personal experiences of political pressure, cancellation and censorship from different geographic contexts – will discuss the limitations and capacities of art institutions in the present.

Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute to Sara Gaulin

February 5 2025

Sarah Gaulin (30) is being awarded the Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute for her courageous and principled defence of freedom of expression in the face of extremism, gang crime and negative social control.
As a prominent voice, Gaulin has drawn attention to some of the most demanding and controversial social challenges of our time.