The Oslo Desk

22/01/2026

Master's student, Sharon Ochieng, is researching how African origin immigrants in Norway access, use and engage with multicultural media as well as their experiences.

It takes 10 minutes to take the survey.

Your responses will help highlight audience experiences and how multicultural media play a role in immigrant and minority communities in Norway.

05/10/2025

On October 10th at midnight, John Alan Reese will flip the switch on Drammen Unlimited Radio, becoming the founder and Editor-in-Chief of his own independent station. It’s the culmination of a plan years in the making.

His vision for the station draws heavily on childhood memories of Ohio radio in the 1970s and 80s. “I grew up in rural Ohio in the USA,” he explains. “The radio stations out of Cleveland and Akron reached us, and those are the stations I grew to love. They were quite varied, and there was a lot to keep me listening—everything from rock to soul to R&B to jazz.”

On October 10th at midnight, John Alan Reese will flip the switch on Drammen Unlimited Radio, becoming the founder and Editor-in-Chief of his own independent..

05/10/2025

Press release from Art and Culture Hong Kong International (ACHKI).

Art and Culture Hong Kong International (ACHKI) will launch the “Independent Publishing Project” on September 28, becoming the first international platform dedicated to publishing Hong Kong art and culture books in English. The project aims to fill the gap in publications related to Hong Kong’s artistic freedom, democracy, and human rights, and to help global readers understand Hong Kong’s cultural context and historical development through English-language books.

The first book release will take place on October 18, 2025, at the Flying Bookstore in The Hague, Netherlands, conducted in a hybrid format (online + in-person) with online pre-orders available.

Link: https://oslodesk.com/achki-marks-umbrella-movements-11th-anniversary-with-new-publishing-project/

05/10/2025

Press release from Art and Culture Hong Kong International (ACHKI)

Press Release Amplifying Hong Kong’s Artistic and Cultural Freedom for Global Readers The Hague, Netherlands – Art and Culture Hong Kong International (ACHKI) will launch..

23/09/2025

Korean adoptee Uma Feed delivered a notice of intent to sue the Norwegian government today through performance art, alleging her adoption was illegal and constituted human trafficking. Her case challenges Norway's role in facilitating problematic international adoptions from South Korea spanning decades.

All photos supplied by Uma Feed Oslo, September 23, 2025 – Korean adoptee Uma Feed delivered a formal notice of intent to sue the Norwegian..

17/08/2025

On June 6, 1944, the world remembers the heroes of D-Day. Among them was Anton J. Elvesæter, a Norwegian who emigrated to the US and enlisted to fight tyranny in Europe. His life was cut short just an hour before the landings began—but his courage and sacrifice live on. Read his story.

Photo: Portrait of Private First Class Anton J. Elvesæter In the early morning hours of 6th June 1944, as the world braced for the greatest..

17/08/2025

Press Release:
Vinn Vinn Verden is a civic initiative dedicated to aligning environmental responsibility with human well-being through education, public engagement, and advocacy. The organisation promotes policies and practices that create lasting, equitable, and sustainable change.

Event Details:
What: Who Gets Your Vote and Why It Matters More Than Ever – Public Forum
When: Thursday, August 21, 2025
Where: Eidsvolls plass, Oslo
Organiser: Vinn Vinn Verden

Why: To empower voters with factual insights, challenge untested assumptions, and promote solutions that advance both human well-being and environmental sustainability. An opportunity to have an accountable answer to “What did you do when you had the chance?”

Link: https://oslodesk.com/who-gets-your-vote-and-why-it-matters-more-than-ever/

08/07/2025

Catja Christensen reflects on Jo Strømgren’s A Dance Tribute to The Art of Football, showing at Oslo Opera House through to 20 July. The performance piece examines men’s emotional terrain in the theatre of sport—on masculinity, closeness, and vulnerability.

Photo: Knut Bry Four footballers warm up beneath floodlights, skipping around the white chalk lines of the pitch and stretching their hips in wide lunges...

17/06/2025

Verdenskvinner is an initiative developed by Verdensfolk, which aims to create a platform for reflection, exchange and visibility of women's experiences and agency - locally and globally. Through conversation, art and entrepreneurship, we want to shine a spotlight on women's contributions to social change, community and sustainable development.

The day starts with a conversation between strong female voices from different backgrounds and continues with the opening of the verdenskvinner's Bazaar - a new arena for female entrepreneurship, social participation and cultural diversity.

Part 1:

Panel discussion: Women's power in different countries and cultures
Time: 12:00–13:00
Duration: 45 min conversation + 15 min Q&A

How do women exercise power in societies where norms are still male-dominated? What strategies, values ​​and voices shape women's path to influence - whether in business, the arts or the investment world?

In this engaging panel discussion, we meet women who, each in their own unique way, have challenged established structures and paved the way for new narratives of leadership. The discussion highlights cultural inequalities and common struggles, and highlights women's agency and resilience in different contexts.

Moderator:
Miriam Nabunya – Founder and Cultural Entrepreneur, Nabunya AS & Edges and Drinks

Panelists:
Madihe Gharibi – Author and Artist
Ka Man Mak - Founder and investigative journalist, The Oslo Desk
Ana P. M. Tanajura Ellefsen - Nordic department manager at an international company

The panel discussion is developed in collaboration with the art festival EMPWRNG VOICES, which takes place at Gamle Munch in Oslo, October 16 - November 2, 2025. This year, the festival explores women's power through art and dialogue. This year, Verdensfolk is participating with the program "World Women" as part of the festival's official program.

Part 2:

World Women's Bazaar
Time: 1:00 PM–4:00 PM

For the very first time, the Verdenskvinner's Bazaar presents a cross-cultural meeting place for female entrepreneurship and craftsmanship.

04/06/2025

June 4 marks 36 years since the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Once home to the world’s largest public commemoration, Hong Kong has not seen a legal candlelight vigil since 2020.

At last week’s Oslo Freedom Forum, exiled Hong Kong voices reflected on the city’s evolving role in preserving memory and advocating for rights under growing pressure.

My report: https://oslodesk.com/a-city-remembered-hong-kong-at-the-oslo-freedom-forum/

Recent developments from Hong Kong:
🔹 June 4 – Foreign diplomatic missions in Hong Kong mourn Tiananmen crackdown with social media posts (HKFP)
🔹 May 30 – Hong Kong releases second group of democrats jailed for four years in national security trial (The Guardian)
🔹 May 30 – China sets up international body in Hong Kong to rival UN's International Court of Justice (Al Jazeera)

As space for public remembrance narrows, voices abroad continue the conversation.

This piece captures a moment at the 2025 Oslo Freedom Forum (May 26–28), where Hong Kong’s diaspora and exiled activists worked to keep the city’s..

29/05/2025

Throwback highlight from Oslo Freedom Forum 2025

Pedro Urruchurtu was one of six top opposition campaign leaders who spent over a year trapped inside the Argentinian embassy in Caracas, Venezuela surrounded by armed security forces loyal to Nicolás Maduro. In this gripping and emotional talk, introduced by Human Rights Foundation CEO and Founder, Thor Halvorssen, Pedro recounts how he and his colleagues managed to defy a dictatorship, run a presidential campaign from diplomatic captivity, and ultimately escape under the nose of a repressive regime. From smuggling Starlinks into Venezuela to launching “Operation Guacamaya,” this is a story of courage and hope in the face of tyranny.