Bjarne Kveim Lie to join the Fritt Ord Foundation Board

May 31 2023

Growth investor Bjarne Kveim Lie will join the Board of the Fritt Ord Foundation as of 14 June 2023, succeeding Christian Bjelland.

Lie graduated with an MA in History from the University of Oslo/European University Institute in Florence, Italy. He later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. Lie is currently managing partner and chief investment officer at Verdane Advisors (www.verdane.com), which he co-founded some 20 years ago. Verdane invests between five and ten billion NOK in unlisted growth enterprises each year. Ten per cent of Verdane is owned by a foundation focused on sustainability globally and diversity locally.

Bjarne Kveim Lie is engaged in activities that extend across multiple industrial sectors and far beyond the borders of Norway. He has extensive experience of micro-finance in developing countries, and is currently a member of the European Council of The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental organisation. He has maintained his ties to the humanities by serving a total of 12 years as an independent director at the department and faculty levels at the University of Oslo.

Following Lie’s appointment, the Fritt Ord Foundation’s Board will consist of Grete Brochmann (chair), Bård Vegar Solhjell (deputy chair), Bjarne Kveim Lie, Frank Rossavik, Sigrun Slapgard and Sylo Taraku. Knut Olav Åmås is executive director of the Fritt Ord Foundation. The Fritt Ord Foundation is a private non-profit foundation that is intended to protect and promote freedom of expression, public debate, art and culture.

News

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.

Call for nominations: Free Media Awards 2025

March 3 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. Journalists and media in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and Hungary that promote freedom of the press through their investigative and independent reporting are eligible to be nominated for the Free Media Awards.

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.