Fritt Ord (organization)

Fritt Ord (organization)

Fritt Ord (in English The Freedom of Expression Foundation) is a Norwegian foundation, whose self-proclaimed aim is to support freedom of expression and a free press. It was established on 7 June 1974 by Narvesen Kioskkompani's leaders Jens Henrik Nordlie and Finn Skedsmo as well as the lawyer Jens Christian Hauge.

Fritt Ord has significant funds and is playing an important part in supporting various projects in Norway, as investing in the newspaper Morgenbladet, supporting an encyclopedia (Store Norske Leksikon) and holding a 10.1% ownership in the media group A-Pressen. In addition it awards scholarships to students within media and journalism, awards the Freedom of Expression Prize, supports writing competitions and publishes reports within the area of freedom of expression.

The organization awards two prizes to support freedom of speech; the Fritt Ord Award (Norwegian: Fritt Ords pris) and the Fritt Ord Honorary Award (Norwegian: Fritt Ords honnør). "Fritt Ords Pris" is not to be confused with "Ytringsfrihetsprisen", the annual Freedom of Expression Prize awarded mostly to international writers by the Norwegian Authors' Union.