In the autumn of 2008, the financial crisis led French president Sarkozy to declare that it is high time to redefine capitalism, while Queen Elizabeth asked why no economists saw the crisis coming. A year later, the stock exchanges are embarking on an insipient recovery, but the questions about the cause of the crisis and the future of the market economy remain.
Press Release, 18 June 2009
From 1 to 6 June 2009, Oslo will host the Global Forum on Freedom of Expression. This will be the largest global event organised in this field to date, with 500 writers, researchers, film-makers, publishers and activists from 200 organisations in 120 countries.
In tandem with the positive turn in the struggle for gay and lesbian rights and life situations in recent years, new stories are emerging. Where it used to be common to talk about the toil, anxiety and pain of growing up as a homosexual or as the child of homosexual parents – today’s homosexual family stories are characterised by more joy and creativity. The picture book and exhibition Gay Kids and the romantic comedy Patrik 1.5 are good examples of the new storytelling tradition.
The issue of freedom of expression created controversies repeatedly in 2009. The latest stirs include the allocation of the Freedom of Expression Prize to Nina Karin Monsen, the recent debate at the UN’s Human Rights Council’s meeting in Geneva in April and the winter’s failure to resurrect the blasphemy section of Norway’s Constitution. Many challenges related to freedom of expression have emerged in the wake of globalisation’s new public spaces, cultural conflicts and different views about the place of religion in society. All in all, freedom of expression is currently under pressure from quarters we could hardly even have imagined 20 years ago.