Seminar on journalists' safety

October 29 2014

The Fritt Ord Foundation, the Norwegian Union of Journalists, Norwegian PEN, the Norwegian Press Association, the Association of Norwegian Editors and the Norwegian UNESCO Commission invite the public to a seminar on journalists’ safety on 29 October from 12.00 -3.30 p.m. at the Fritt Ord Foundation’s premises at Uranienborgveien 2, Oslo.

The occasion is the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.

On average, one journalist is killed every week. Media employees are also susceptible to violence, threats, harassment, unlawful detention and kidnappings. Very few attacks on journalists are ever investigated and the perpetrators generally go free. This impunity contributes to self-censorship, depriving the public of important information.

The seminar is open to everyone, and there is no registration.

Attacks on journalists are attacks on freedom of expression. Enabling journalists and media employees to do their jobs without risking their own lives is a prerequisite for democracy. Journalists’ safety and freedom of the press are important fields for the UN, and UNESCO plays a special role. Every time a journalist is killed, the Director General of UNESCO issues a letter of censure. The murders are also listed on this website.

News

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.

Bård Vegar Solhjell new chair of the Fritt Ord Board

July 1 2025

Bård Vegar Solhjell (53) has taken over as the new chair of the Fritt Ord Foundation Board.

Cultural newspaper TBATBA.no and new journalism grants – June 2025

June 19 2025

– Cultural journalism is under pressure. Part of the problem is media outlets failing to cover culture in formats and ways that appeal to people under 30, says Ida Madsen Hestman, editor, freelance critic, and founder of TBATBA.no. Last year, she started the kind of publication she herself would want to read.

The magazine TBA is among those awarded funding in June 2025. See the full list of grants in Norsk Journalistikk.