Grants in response to applications for less than NOK 100 000 in November 2021

December 3 2021

The Fritt Ord Foundation’s list of allocations has been updated to include grants in response to applications for less than NOK 100 000 in November 2021.

In November, the sum of MNOK 3.095 was allocated to projects in the category minor ordinary applications. These applications are for NOK 100 000 or less, and this month, the grants include funding for documentary films, festivals and several exciting book projects.

The bookshop Audiatur Bokhandel AS was granted NOK 80 000 to publish an anthology about Belarus, in which contemporary Belarusian writers furnish texts about the ongoing political situation in Belarus, which are subsequently translated and published in Norwegian. Marina Hobbel, Ulyana Veryna and Gunnar Wærness are the editors of the anthology project.

Stray Dog Norway was awarded NOK 75 000 to develop the documentary film ‘Good in Norwegian’. The film investigates what is taught at the Norwegian language and social studies classes that are obligatory for individuals applying for work and residence permits in Norway, and how participants experience the courses.

The Trondheim Documentary Festival was awarded NOK 75 000. The festival was held for the 13th time from 18 to 20 November 2021. Since its inception in 2009, the goal of the festival has been to pioneer the promotion of documentaries in Norway by presenting a variety of different documentary genres and disciplines.

See the full list of grants here.

News

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.