In mid-December, ten journalists from Karelia, Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Severodvinsk and Apatity visited Oslo and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. The Barents Press journalists had a tight three-day schedule of discussions with Norwegian journalists, sessions on ethics and human rights in journalism, and visits to various institutions, from the Bredtveit women’s prison to the media company VG.
The renowned Russian expert on ethics in journalism and media Yuriy Kazakov held two sessions on propaganda and ethics – and Olga Romanova from the NGO “Imprisoned Russia” shared her experience on reporting from Russian prisons. Alexey Vladimirov from the Karelian newspaper Chernika shared his impressions from researching the ongoing case of Ildar Dadin in the infamous prison in Karelia. A range of Norwegian institutions and journalists facilitated interesting dialogue sessions with the Russian guests, on investigative journalism, self-regulatory mechanisms and responsibilities when reporting on vulnerable groups like migrants and minorities.
On the last evening, the Russian journalists had the opportunity to attend and report from the torchlight processionA Thousand lights for refugees downtown Oslo, where 2400 persons demonstrated against the terminology and policy currently implemented by the Norwegian authorities against refugees and asylum seekers.
A few days later, Aleksey Vladimirov wrote an article from the visit to the Bredtveit women’s prison outside Oslo, and we expect more articles to follow from the active participants of the work shop.