Refuge from Reality – An Essay on Digital Life

December 22 2015

With the project Digital Life, the Fritt Ord Foundation has invited the public to a debate on the place of computer games in culture and society. In addition to a series of events in the winter 2015/2016, the project includes of an essay competition with a deadline for entries on Friday, 15 April.

Help influence how gaming culture is covered in the public space. The texts can deal with anything from the history of gaming media, tools and potential, to personal experiences and experience of games and gaming.

Prompted by the Fritt Ord Foundation, Martin Bergesen has written a personal text about computer games and his own childhood. It serves as a model for how the assignment can be done. You can either be inspired by “”http://digitaleliv.no/virkelighetsflukten/“>Refuge from Reality” in form and content, or you can opt to move in entirely different directions when you write your entry.

Read more about the call for entries on http://digitaleliv.no.

Twelve texts will be selected for a digital anthology. They will also be given eternal life by professional illustrators. The best text will win NOK 25 000, while the other texts selected will win NOK 5 000.

News

Mykhailo Tkach, Andrei Aliaksandrau, Arevhat Sahakyan (Factor TV), Nino Bakradze (iFact), and Lola Tagaeva (Verstka).

Free Media Awards for 2026. Press freedom under pressure in wartime: – Silence does not protect democracy

September 29 2026

This year’s winners of the Free Media Awards from the Fritt Ord Foundation and Zeit Stiftung Bucerius received their awards in Toppsalen at the Munch Museum in Oslo on 29 September 2026.
The Belarusian journalist and media manager Andrei Aliaksandrau came straight to Oslo after spending over five years in prison for his work. Aliaksandrau dedicated the award to imprisoned journalists and editors in Belarus and quoted the Liverpool FC anthem: “You’ll never walk alone”.

Mykhailo Tkach heads investigations at Ukrainska Pravda, which uncovers corruption, even in a Ukraine fighting an existential war against Russia.
– I face charges in at least thirteen cases related to my work. I have been threatened. My team has been threatened. And what is our answer? To keep digging. Silence does not protect democracy. Journalism does.

Mykhailo Tkach

Ukrainian, Georgian, Armenian, Russian and Belarusian journalists and media to receive five Free Media Awards for 2026

September 3 2026

This year’s prize laureates for the Free Media Awards from the Fritt Ord Foundation and Zeit Stiftung Bucerius are:
The investigative journalist Mykhailo Tkach from Ukraine
The investigative media outlet iFact from Georgia
The online media Factor TV from Armenia
The online media Verstka from Russia (in exile)
The journalist and media director Andrei Aliaksandrau from Belarus (imprisoned)*

Fritt Ord's grants for master’s degrees

August 30 2026

Is your master’s project about freedom of expression, social debate or journalism? If so, you can apply for a student grant from the Fritt Ord Foundation.

The Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute 2026

August 18 2026

The rap duo Karpe has been awarded the Freedom of Expression Foundation Tribute for giving voice to the experiences of many young people from minority backgrounds. Through the language of rap, they are expanding the space for the expression of identity and belonging.