How to protect civilians in times of war?

February 18 2017

Film screenings and debates at the film festival Human Rights Human Wrongs.

In connection with the screenings of the Fritt Ord-supported documentary film Nowhere to Hide about Iraqi family father and nurse Nori Sharif, Fritt Ord, the Human Rights Human Wrongs Film Festival and Ten Thousand Images invite the public to three debates at the Cinematek:

The struggle for Iraq’s future – Wednesday, 15 February, at 7.45 p.m.
Media on War (in English) – Saturday, 18 February, at 6.30 p.m.
How to protect civilians in times of war? – Saturday, 18 February, at 8 p.m.

About the event: “How to protect civilians in times of war?”
The conflicts in Syria and Iraq are terrifying examples that show how the international community fails to give sufficient help to civilians who are trapped in blankets of bombs and exchanges of fire. We find many heroes in civil society: those who dig people out of bombed houses and buildings, those who transport food, clothing and medicines between bursts of fire and those who to try to rebuild cities that have been totally destroyed.

How does the international community try to help civilians in distress today, and why do we get the feeling that international players are standing on the sidelines? What should be done to help and support civil society when it finds itself deadlocked in the most serious war situations? How can one improve preparedness and do more on the ground when conditions are extreme?

Panel:
Ole Solvang, deputy director of the division for investigating and reporting breaches of human rights in crisis situations at Human Rights Watch.
Cecilie Hellestveit, lawyer, author, researcher, and one of Norway’s foremost Middle East analysts.
Hans Husum, physician specialising war injuries and author of the manual “War Surgery: Field Manual” – a textbook in War-time Surgery.
Manal Alsheik, Iraqi poet and author, associated with the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN)

Moderator: Stig Arild Pettersen, (founder of the podcast “Du Verden!”)

Time and venue: Saturday, 18 February, 8.00 p.m. at Cinemateket


The film Nowhere to Hide is scheduled for the following screenings at Human Rights Human Wrongs:

Wednesday, 15 February, 5.30 p.m. at Cinemateket
Friday, 17 February, 1.00 p.m. at Cinemateket
Saturday, 18 February, 4.00 p.m. at Cinemateket

Read more about the Oslo première here.

About the film festival:
The Human Rights Human Wrongs Film Festival is being arranged from 14 to 19 February, and features 25 Norwegian and foreign documentary films of current interest. The debates are part of HRHW Live, the segment of the festival programme that includes debates, exhibitions, etc. The full festival programme can be downloaded here (pdf).

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.

Norwegians increasingly more positive to computer games

March 5 2025

Norwegians are increasingly more positive to accepting computer games as culture

About 17 per cent have developed a more favourable view of computer games over the past year. Six of ten play computer games, and one of three plays computer games weekly. At the same time, computer games are ranked as having lower status than books and music, for example.
“Computer games deserve more attention and discussion”, contends Joakim Lie of Fritt Ord.

– Computer games are also art

March 4 2025

“The problem with far too many media reports about computer games is that they start begin with sentences like: ‘computer games have come a long way since Pac-Man’,” sighs American computer game critic Jacob Geller.

“Let us first simply agree that computer games are indeed an art form and an expression of culture, and then let us examine the works as part of the history of art and culture.