The corona crisis: Fritt Ord earmarks an additional MNOK 40 for projects

March 17 2020

The virus epidemic has put Norway’s cultural life and public discourse in an extremely difficult situation. In response, the Fritt Ord Foundation will be making an extraordinary contribution to projects that can safeguard the spaces for public discourse, develop new arenas for public discourse and help promote dynamic, vital public discourse.

"We are currently expanding the funding we make available for grants by MNOK 40 to help facilitate good projects at a time that both calls for and creates new ways of conveying information", remarks Grete Brochmann, chair of the Board of Fritt Ord.
 
The call for applications is open. Applications may, for example, involve:


  • Digital communications about art, culture, knowledge and social debate from freelancers, groups, institutions, organisations, etc.
     

  • Project support for especially vulnerable independent players, smaller organisations, and small- and medium-sized institutions and production companies operating in the Fritt Ord Foundation's areas of interest.
     

  • Other types of projects and initiatives of particular relevance for the communication situation going forward in 2020.

 

The call for proposals applies to all the Fritt Ord Foundation's areas of interest, e.g. factual prose, journalism, criticism, documentary photos, documentary film, independent dramatic art, lectures and social debates.
 
The applications should include a description of the content of the project, information about the performers/participants, the means of conveying information/its distribution and the target groups, as well as a simple budget with a list of expenses, revenues and any other sources of funding.

Use the usual application form found here and label the application "Additional grants 2020" accompanied by the name of the project in the title field.
 
Deadlines for application:

  • 3 p.m. 31 March 2020
  • 3 p.m. 30 April 2020
  • 3 p.m. 4 August
  • 3 p.m. 11 September

 
For application instructions and questions, contact us at post@frittord.no, or contact Executive Director Knut Olav Åmås at knut.olav.amas@frittord.no or Project Director Bente Roalsvig at bente.roalsvig@frittord.no.
 
For all other types of projects, please apply by the Fritt Ord Foundation's ordinary deadlines, three in the spring and three during the latter half of the year, see frittord.no. 

News

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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.