Disparity in Norway

November 23 2012

The Norwegian Polytechnic Society and the Fritt Ord Foundation invite the public to three meetings at the House of Literature under the title ‘Disparity in Norway’. The meetings will be held on Tuesdays on 9, 23 and 30 October 2012, from 7 to 9 p.m., at Wergelandsveien 29 in Oslo.

Please register in advance at www.polyteknisk.no.

Programme:

Tuesday, 30 October 2012, 7 to 9 p.m.: The social model of the future

Is there a need to ‘civilise’ capitalism – or to get rid of it? Should Norway continue to be a country apart from all others? Are the Norwegian party patterns and partisan blocks prior to the parliamentary election in 2013 appropriate for facing the challenges of the future? What are the parties thinking?

Debate featuring Khamshajiny Gunaratnam, City Council representative for the Labour Party in Oslo, Andreas Christiansen Halse, leder i Sosialistisk Ungdom, Himanshu Gulati, chair of the Party of Progress Youth, Bjørnar Moxnes, chair of the Red Party, Nikolai Astrup, MP for the Conservative Party, and Anna B. Jenssen, editor of the newspaper Morgenbladet (moderator).

Tuesday, 9 October 2012, 7 to 9 p.m.: Are we heading towards greater social and financial disparity?

Is the Norwegian tradition of egalitarianism sustainable? Are the labour market and the skewed growth in affluence creating new proletariats and social disparities? Are the reports of greater financial disparities exaggerated?

Debate featuring Kristin Clemet, managing director of Civita, Jon Hippe, director of Fafo, and EconomistCamilla Bakken Øvald (moderator).

Tuesday, 23 October 2012, 7 to 9 p.m.: What constitutes social justice in a heterogeneous society?

Globalisation, technological change and immigration make Norway more widely diversified, and ‘we’ is becoming more different. Does this change our view of social justice? What kinds of disparities should we try to counteract? How can we achieve equitable distribution of the benefits of social welfare?

Debate featuring Anne Britt Djuve, head of research at Fafo, Alexander W. Cappelen, professor at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, Magnus E. Marsdal, researcher and chair of the Board at the Manifest Centre for Social Analysis, and Dilek Ayhan, managing director of Alarga (moderator).

News

Free Media Awards for 2025

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The Fritt Ord Foundation and the ZEIT Stiftung Bucerius hereby announce that the Free Media Awards for 2025 will be presented to media outlets and journalists from Ukraine, Georgia, Hungary, Russia, Belarus and Azerbaijan

Greater diversity among journalists results in greater diversity among sources

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A recently published report reveals biases in who is allowed to participate in the public debate. According to a new report from Retriever commissioned by the Fritt Ord Foundation, men who have Nordic names dominate both as sources and journalists in Norwegian media. Women, younger people and people with foreign names are less likely to be included. This is true both as interviewees and as authors of articles. That being said, greater diversity among journalists results in greater diversity among sources.

Eirin Larsen and Hadia Tajik join the Fritt Ord Board

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Eirin Larsen (36) and Hadia Tajik (42) bring valuable experience from journalism, technology, politics and jurisprudence to the Fritt Ord Board.

Making the film «Farouk» – on the geologist that secured Norway its oil

July 1 2025

Geologist Farouk Al-Kasim joined the the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate in 1968, shaping Norwegian petroleum resource management for decades afterwards. Now, documentary film director Halkawt Mustafa and producer Janne Hjeltnes are making a film about Al-Kasim’s life and reflections.
“Farouk tells me something in this film that he has not talked about before, because he has always told the version he feels Norway wanted to hear,” recounts Mustafa, who has Iraqi roots himself.

Read the interview with the director and see the list of grants awarded by Fritt Ord in June 2025.