Fritt Ord Award consists of two prizes awarded by the
Fritt Ord Foundation (Stiftelsen Fritt Ord). Two prizes are awarded in support of
freedom of speech and freedom of expression; the Fritt Ord Award (
Norwegian: Fritt Ords pris) and the Fritt Ord Honorary Award (
Norwegian: Fritt Ords honnør).
These are awards are distributed annually during the month of May in connection with the anniversary of the liberation of Norway at the end of
World War II in May 1945.
Prizes are awarded to one or more persons or organizations that have contributed to areas where the organization works, especially in the work of freedom of expression. In addition to a monetary reward, the award includes a statue by sculptor
Nils Aas.
[1][2]
Fritt Ord Foundation was founded on 7 June 1974 by
Jens Henrik Nordlie (1910–1996) who was CEO of Narvesen from 1957 to 1975, corporate director Finn Skedsmo and jurist
Jens Christian Hauge (1915–2006) .
The foundation was funded by
Narvesen, the Norwegian based chain of
convenience stores and news outlets.
[3][4][5]
Fritt Ord Award
These are the laureates of the Fritt Ord Award:[6]