The research group MEKK is happy to report that the 7th international conference of the Safety of Journalists in times of Infodemics was a success!
Despite the fact that the pandemic still causes problems, such as entry restrictions that forced several participants to present from home – 48 international participants made it to Oslo and met with Norwegian colleagues.
The first panel took place at Fritt Ord on Monday evening, while the following two days were organized at OsloMet.
The Head of the section for Freedom of Speech and Safety of Journalists at UNESCO Paris, Guilherme Canela opened the conference together with the Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences, Oddgeir Osland. Svein Amund Skara thrilled the audience with a great piece of Mendelssohn-Barholdy.
The keynote speeches focused on the safety of female journalists and Maria Ressa in general (Julie Posetti), Safety and Infodemics (Admire Mare), the role of journalists and the ongoing crisis in Ethiopia (Terje Skjerdal), and protection of ‘high risk’ people (Runa Sandvik).
We are in particular happy that the PhD candidates from our new Safety Matters project with Brazil, South Africa, and the USA completed the very first PhD course in journalism at OsloMet and presented their papers within the fields of trauma, gender and digital safety. They made the teachers from all four countries proud!
There were many interesting presentations, discussions, and interventions. And lunch and dinners where the discussions continued for those present in person.
Ine Schwebs, Silje Marie Thorstensen, and Erik A. Eileng were core in taking care of all the practical details, ensuring the success of the conference. Thank you!
We in the research group MEKK are already looking forward to the 2022 conference – watch this space for more information.