The Rafto Foundation 2016 Annual Report

BRN: 877155102 Contents

Annual report 1. Foreword: 30 years promoting human rights ...... 4 2. The 2016 Rafto Prize and Rafto 30 ...... 8 3. Follow-up work – Human Rights Defender Assistance Pro- gramme (HRDP)...... 13 3.1 Assistance for the Rafto Prize Laureates ...... 13 3.2 Free Speech to Overcome Hate Speech ...... 15 3.3 Corporate Responsibility for Human Rights ...... 15 3.4 The Women’s Network ...... 19 4. Education and public liaison ...... 21 5. Communications...... 24 6. Operations ...... 27

2 FOREWORD: “The anniversary has provided us 30 years promoting with an opportunity to look back and human rights honour Prize Laureates from the last 1 30 years, as well as to look to the future”

2016 marked 30 years since the death of Professor and In 2016 we reinforced and enhanced our long-term programmes. human rights activist Thorolf Rafto and the subsequent estab- The Women’s Network has held training sessions in Lebanon and lishment of the Rafto Foundation in his memory. Rafto 30 was continues to develop as an important platform for young female commemorated through various events throughout the year. The grassroots activists from the Middle East, North Africa and South- anniversary year was rounded off with a grand gala event in a east Asia. Within work on free speech to combat hate speech, a packed Grieg Hall in Bergen on 20 November, with 18 Rafto Prize series of seminars was organised in Hungary, and the #tacklehom- Laureates in attendance. ophobia campaign enjoyed a high profile during Oslo Pride. In At the event, the annual Rafto Prize was awarded to the Iraqi hu- collaboration with the Institute for Human Rights and Business man rights activist Yanar Mohammed, whose fight for the rights of (IHRB), and in dialogue with a number of Norwegian businesses, women and minorities in war-torn Iraq exposes herself and her col- we started work to develop a course on human rights for the busi- leagues to great personal risk. At the Rafto Conference Yanar stat- ness community. ed that the prize would secure a higher profile for her work in her In 2016 more than 5,000 young people, teachers and student homeland. teachers took part in the Rafto Foundation’s human rights training. A number of previous Rafto Prize Laureates were also exposed We are experiencing major interest in our educational offerings to various threats and risks in 2016. Padre Melo’s close colleague at the Rettighetstanken educational facility in the Rafto House, as Berta Cáceres was murdered for campaigning to preserve natural well as in school projects such as Fremtidspiloten (the Future Pilot) resources in Honduras. In Bahrain, Nabeel Rajab was imprisoned and Dembra (Democratic Preparedness against Racism and Anti- for tweets critical of the government. In Russia, the human rights Semitism). The educational tool Demokratikaken (the Democracy group and lawyer association Agora’s office in Tatarstan was forci- Cake) is now available in Norwegian, English, Arabic and Tigrinya. bly liquidated, the organisation having been branded as a “foreign Translations have also been commissioned into Vietnamese, Kore- agent”. In Uganda, Frank Mugisha and several LGBT activists were an and Russian. In 2016 the Rafto Foundation, on the initiative of imprisoned during Uganda Pride. In Vietnam, Thich Quang Do the European Wergeland Centre and Utøya AS, also helped to devel- remains under house arrest for his non-violent work for religious op democracy education classes for young people on Utøya. freedom and democracy. 2016 was an extraordinary year for us. The anniversary present- The Rafto Foundation has provided support and striven to high- ed us with the opportunity to look back and honour the Prize Laure- light the extremely difficult situation in which many of our prize ates from the last 30 years as well as to look forward and to perform Laureates find themselves. As part of the 30th anniversary, the Raf- the groundwork to reinforce the Prize Laureates’ campaigns in a to Laureates’ Forum focused on the various challenges facing hu- world in which human rights are coming under severe pressure. man rights campaigners today. The forum brought together Prize Laureates and representatives from leading international human Jostein Hole Kobbeltvedt rights organisations and the UN, the EU and Norwegian authorities.

4 5 In 2016 the Rafto Foundation commemorated its 30th anniversary and brought together previous Prize Laureates in Bergen. From front left: José Raúl Vera López, Trimivi Velliste, Ramesh Nathan, José Ramos- Horta, Nnimmo Bassey, Junita Upadhyay, Pavel Chikov, Ian Hancock, Padre Melo, Julie Gromellon, Tatyana Fernandes. From back right: Sidi Mohammed Daddach, Maryam al-Khawaja, Rebiya Kadeer, Yanar Mohammed, Asha Kowtal, Malahat Nasibova and Frank Mugisha. Photo: Hans Jørgen Brun The 2016 Rafto Prize 2 and Rafto 30

The 2016 Rafto Prize coincided with the Rafto Founda- tion’s 30th anniversary in November. It was important to ensure a high public and media profile for this year’s prize, at the same time as highlighting 30 years of campaigning for human rights and raising awareness of our Prize Laureates’ causes among the general public, organisations and politicians.

Internal organisation The Executive Director was Project Manager of the 30th anniversary arrangements, and in 2016 the permanent position of Project Rafto Prize Laureate 2016 Coordinator for the Rafto Prize was established. In addition to two Yanar Mohammed spoke to 500 business project positions and an intern, communications advisers and ad- leaders at the Bergen Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Conference in visers in the follow-up department made key contributions to this The anniversary concluded with a series of events to mark the November. Photo: Bergen Chamber of year’s project. presentation of the 2016 Rafto Prize in November. Commerce Our partner events arranger Kulturoperatørene played a key role in arranging this year’s largest events. The student group, which The 2016 Rafto Prize this year comprised 17 members, all of whom were volunteers, The Rafto Prize was awarded to the Iraqi human rights campaign- also made an important contribution to the prize project. We also er and Director of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq engaged an extra group of volunteers to help arrange the various (OWFI), Yanar Mohammed (55). Yanar received the prize for her events we held in November. work for women and minority groups in war-torn Iraq. The Board of Directors decided on this year’s Prize Laureate in August, on Rafto 30 – Kick-off in Oslo the recommendation of the Rafto Foundation’s Prize Committee, The Rafto Foundation’s 30th anniversary featured prominently chaired by Martin Paulsen. In 2016 the Committee comprised in the media and was marked with several events throughout the eight volunteer members, assisted by a secretary and an admin- year. A separate visual identity was developed and the anniversa- istration intern. ry was honoured at most of the year’s events. This year’s award was announced on 29 September at the Raf- The anniversary started in January with an event for our part- to House in an event streamed live via rafto.no and nrk.no. The ners and supporters in Oslo. Rafto and Nobel Prize Laureate José prize received wide coverage in Norway, including from the Nor- Ramos-Horta and the Mayor of Oslo, Marianne Borgen, gave wegian News Agency, broadcasters NRK Hordaland, NRK Dags- speeches, followed by a panel debate chaired by Inga Bostad, Direc- revyen and TV2, regional and local newspapers. The newspapers tor of the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights at the University of Bergens Tidende and Dagen also wrote editorials on the prize. The Oslo (UiO). Dr Rajiv Narayan, an expert on Korea and senior advis- AFP news agency secured good international coverage, and we er to the International Commission against the Death Penalty, also are aware of around 50 online international news articles cover- participated in the debate. ing the prize, including on Alsumaria TV and in the Baghdad Post,

8 9 The 2016 Rafto Prize and Rafto 30

El Mundo and the Daily Mail, to name but a few. In addition, Mar- tin Paulsen and Arne Strand wrote a piece on behalf of the Prize Committee that was published on dagbladet.no following the announcement. The Rafto Prize received wide coverage through shares, comments and likes in social media, both nationally and internationally. Following the announcement, a breakfast meeting was held at Bergen Public Library in collaboration with the Bergen Student Society, where Prize Committee Chairperson and author Per Egil Hegge discussed this year’s and the 29 previous Prize Laureates.

The Prize Laureate’s visit to Norway, 16 –24 November Yanar Mohammed arrived in Bergen on Wednesday 16 Novem- ber together with two members of her family. Her colleague from OWFI in Iraq arrived on Friday 18 November, and participated in the remaining programme. The Rafto Foundation prioritised time for the press in the programme, and TV2, NRK Hordaland, the magazine programme Urix, Bergens Tidende, Bergensavisen, Dagen and student media all interviewed the Prize Laureate during her visit to Norway. In collaboration with the production company SMAU Film we produced an in- depth interview with Yanar Mohammed, along with mini portraits of all the Prize Laureates. Mohammed was also interviewed on stage in front of 500 business leaders during the Bergen Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Conference. The Rafto Conference “Fearless Women of Iraq – A Struggle Against Violence” was held for the first time in the university’s assembly hall in front of an audience of around 350. A mixture of activists and researchers as keynote speakers provided a wide-ran ging and interesting introduction to the challenges faced by wom- The Grieg Hall was full en and minorities in Iraq. Previous Prize Laureates also attended when this year’s and the last 29 years’ Prize Laureates were honoured during the conference. the gala event on 20 November. The Rafto Foundation’s Oslo Group, in collaboration with the Photo: Johannes Lovund Workshop and lobby meetings podcast Du Verden!, arranged a public event at MESH, where Yanar The follow-up department arranged a closed workshop for the Mohammed and Middle East researcher Cecilie Hellestveit dis- year’s Prize Laureate, as well as meetings with various stakehold- cussed the plight of women in modern-day Iraq. ers in Norway during her visit. The purpose was to highlight and discuss specific challenges facing the Prize Laureate, and to de- The Rafto Prize 30th Anniversary Ceremony fine relevant measures and partnerships for further prize-related The 30th anniversary in 2016 provided a fitting opportunity to work. Yanar Mohammed met Norwegian Prime Minister Erna honour each Prize Laureate from the last thirty years. A total of Solberg, State Secretary Laila Bokhari, various Norwegian MPs 18 Prize Laureates attended the award of the Rafto Prize and a and representatives from the Red Cross, NORAD and the Norwe- gala dinner at the invitation of the Mayor of Bergen. This year’s gian Defence University College. Her work generated great inter- prize ceremony was expanded into a major anniversary event at est, and the government made an extra grant of NOK 2 million to the Grieg Hall, where we celebrated 30 years of promoting human Mohammed and her organisation, OWFI. rights with a magnificent gala in front of an audience of 1,600.

10 11 The 2016 Rafto Prize and Rafto 30

International and national artists contributed to the celebrations, including major Norwegian stars such as Kygo, Sondre Lerche Follow-up work – and Morten Harket. Hans Jørgen Brun’s photo portraits of the Prize Laureates displayed in the foyer of the Grieg Hall provided 18 Human Rights Defender an excellent backdrop to the event. Prize Laureates 3 The Rafto Laureates’ Forum were in Bergen Assistance Programme (HRDP) The Rafto Laureates’ Forum was the most extensive specialist to take part in the event in the anniversary programme. Participants included 16 Raf- anniversary to Prize Laureates and a number of leaders from prominent inter- programme national human rights organisations, as well as the UN and the EU. 3.1 Assistance for the Rafto Prize Laureates The overall theme was “Protecting, Supporting and Empowering Assisting the Prize Laureates, for example by working to help Human Rights Defenders”, and the programme included plenary them reach political stakeholders, promoting political participa- sessions as well as parallel sessions focusing on the three main tion, supporting democratic capacity-building and documenta- areas of our follow-up work: women’s rights campaigners, free- tion work, is a key part of the Rafto Foundation’s follow-up work. dom of expression and hate speech, and the human rights respon- We also help to maintain the safety of Prize Laureates who are ex- sibilities of the business community. posed to threats and sabotage. In 2016 we prioritised support for The forum was closed and was attended by more than 60 partici the following measures: pants, all with important positions and of major standing in their respective areas. This was a unique opportunity for the Prize Laure- Activists in Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG – Rafto Prize Laure- ates to meet decision-makers and experts from important interna- ate 2011) were given support to maintain their safety. Following tional resource pools face to face. For Rafto the forum provided an last year’s amendment of Ugandan legislation and subsequent ex- opportunity to establish and consolidate relationships with a num- posure in the media, the risk of harassment and violence against ber of partners with a view to reinforcing work on matters affecting SMUG has increased. the Foundation and Prize Laureates. The Foundation donated funds to Bulambo Lembelembe Josué (2008) from DR Congo to hold a workshop to review the develop- Other events in Rafto Week in November: ment of the human rights situation in the province of South Kivu Portrait photography by Hans Jørgen Brun during 2015 and 2016. The event, which was held in December, was Group photo showing all attending Prize Laureates, by Hans attended by 86 people. International NGOs did not travel to the Jørgen Brun meeting due to security concerns in the country. A report currently The students’ welcome dinner in honour of the year’s Prize being prepared will document incidents including attempted as- Laureate sassinations, murders, gender-based violence, arbitrary arrest and Meet and Greet with businesses imprisonment, destruction of private property, failures of water and Torch procession with an appeal from the Rafto Foundation’s electricity supplies, reduced school offerings, non-payment of sala- student group ries to public-sector officers, and corruption. The report will contain Reception in the Grieg Hall recommendations aimed at both the civil and military authorities. We have also supported work organised by the Norwegian Sup- port Committee for Western Sahara to document the ongoing legal cases against activists from Western Sahara following the violent confrontations in Gdeim Izik in 2010. We also provided funding for the Honduran activist Padre Melo (2015) for technical operation of the free radio station Radio Progre- so, in addition to funds, coordination and technical assistance for a wide-ranging programme to mark the station’s 60th anniversary in

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The Rafto Foundation has also followed up and supported com- munication with relevant authorities about the situation of Thich Quang Do from Vietnam (2006), who is under house arrest in Sai- gon, and Nabeel Rajab (2013), who was arrested and mistreated in prison several times during the year, without trial as required under international standards. A third Prize Laureate to whom we devoted attention in 2016 was the human rights group and lawyer association Agora in Russia (2014), which was closed down after refusing to comply with the law on “Foreign Agents” in accordance with a rul- The Rafto Prize provided ing of the Supreme Court in May 2016. The Rafto Foundation front- Laureate Padre ed national media coverage of the case. We also followed up the Melo with technical and coordination arrest and mistreatment of representatives of SMUG during Pride assistance and funding in connection with Uganda in August. Radio Progreso’s 60th The Rafto Foundation’s follow-up department has additionally anniversary. contributed to the education department’s work on developing the educational tool “the Democracy Cake” by commissioning translations into Vietnamese and Korean. The resource is intended to be used by activist groups subject to authoritarian regimes.

3.2 Free Speech to Overcome Hate Speech In collaboration with the Prize Laureates we bring together activists and expert researchers to share in-depth insights into various forms of hate speech, and to identify the best way to utilise freedom of expression to promote at-risk groups’ human rights. In the long term this work is intended to result in publications aimed at the general public. During 2016 the Foundation continued the international seminar series “Free Speech to Overcome Hate Speech”, in collaboration with Rafto Prize Laureates Péter Molnár (1989), Ian Hancock (1997) The #tacklehomophobia and Frank Mugisha (2011). The seminars highlight problematic re- campaign participated strictions on freedom of expression in various countries, and how in Pride Parade in Oslo and Bergen. vulnerable groups’ ability to be heard in society is limited by hate speech. The seminars are intended to stimulate contact between research bodies and activists, and to provide representatives of groups under pressure from repressive regimes with the opportunity to December. Employees at Radio Progreso and the associated ERIC-SJ meet and thoroughly examine issues relating to freedom of expres- work at significant personal risk in collaboration with the indige- sion. Two events were held during the year: nous peoples’ organisation COPINH and other activist bodies ex- On 17 March we organised the international seminar “The Dam- posed to extreme violence and threat of execution. The murder of ages of Anti-Gypsyism and Tools for Improved Responses” in col- COPINH leader Berta Cáceres in March 2016 had a major impact on laboration with the Central European University in Budapest (CEU). the human rights situation in Honduras. The Rafto Foundation in- The event attracted an audience of 50 people. The seminar present- vited journalists and representatives from the Norwegian embassy ed research and experiences about how the Roma identity has been in Mexico to the events, and introduced the seminar on freedom of and is perceived by mainstream society and the Roma community expression and the concluding anniversary event. itself. Various forms of discrimination were discussed: discrimina-

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tion and portrayals of the Roma community in institutions such as schools, academia and the health service; internal discrimination of sexual minorities among the Roma community; hate speech in social media. In addition to Prize Laureates Péter Molnár and Ian Hancock, the keynote speakers comprised leading activists, journalists, educationalists and researchers from various Eastern Eu- ropean countries, Germany and Norway. Two-thirds of the keynote speakers were Roma. Representatives from several embassies in Budapest were among the audience. On 19 May we held a similar seminar entitled “Damages of Hate Speech and Tools for Improved Responses in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania” in collaboration with the Center for European Neighborhood Studies at the CEU in Budapest. Around 50 participants took part. The discussion cen- tred on the status of freedom of expression in countries tending towards authoritarianism in Eastern Europe, and presented issues such as challenges relating to hate speech and grossly prejudicial speech in traditional and digital media from representatives of In 2016 the topic of the governing and opposition parties. Molnár was one of the keynote Thorolf Rafto Challenge was Sport, Business and Human Rights. speakers, together with a number of researchers and activists from 3.3 Corporate responsibility for human rights From left: Sveinung Jørgensen (Norwegian School of Economics), the countries mentioned. One of the Rafto Foundation’s objectives is to help to ensure that Vibeke Johannesen (Norwegian football On 22 September a panel debate was arranged on the advance the business community actively embraces its responsibility for team SK Brann), John Morrison (Institute for Human Rights and Business), Tom of extreme right-wing groups in Hungary, based on the Hungarian respecting human rights. The aim is to encourage businesses to Høgli (FC København), Gjert Moldestad documentary “The Érpatak Model”, which was part of the Check- be both willing and able to pay the necessary attention to human (Brann supporter) and Lars Jacob Tynes Pedersen (Norwegian School of point programme at the Bergen International Film Festival. rights and over the long term to be able to assist businesses with Economics) A third event to present and discuss the wide-ranging work “Free capacity-building measures. Parties affected by a business’s activ- Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World”, written by Professor ities shall be consulted and have access to complaints schemes. Timothy Garton Ash from the University of Oxford, was planned to Another objective of the Rafto Foundation is to raise the compe- be presented with CEU as main arranger in autumn 2016, but was tence of grassroots activists so they can represent at-risk groups postponed until February 2017 due to illness. and enter into dialogue with businesses. The programme “Freedom of expression and hate speech” also In 2016 we prepared the groundwork for long-term and system- contains an anthology on North Korean refugees’ perception of atic work in this area. By participating in conferences and meetings themselves and a collaboration with the organisations Human with expert resource pools, the Rafto Foundation has established Asia, PEN Korea and the North Korean Women’s Union. relationships with key players locally, nationally and internation- The #tacklehomophobia campaign was relaunched in social me- ally, and has secured access to specialist expertise in most areas dia and for the general public during Oslo Pride with a visit from where the business community, stakeholders and at-risk groups Rafto Prize Laureate Frank Mugisha. The campaign had a stand in are encountering specific challenges. We have also worked to im- Oslo Pride Park, and participated in the parades in both Oslo and prove economics students’ access to relevant training. Bergen. The Rafto Foundation’s Oslo Group also organised an open seminar with Mugisha. Campaign participants included Norwe- Local and international partners gian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Mayor of Oslo Marianne Bor- The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) has been gen, media personalities and professional footballers. On Saturday our main partner and has contributed to a range of activities: 25 June Frank Mugisha was a guest on TV2’s live broadcast from the guest lectures at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH); European Football Championships studio at Kontraskjæret in Oslo. the Thorolf Rafto Challenge; a breakfast meeting at the Bergen

16 17 2 · Follow-up work – Human Rights Defender Assistance Programme (HRDP)

Chamber of Commerce; workshops with the business community, NHH students and human rights campaigners; and a series of consultancy meetings with internationally orientated businesses in Norway. In 2016 the Thorolf Rafto Challenge, which is an annual lecture in memory of Professor Rafto, was entitled “Sport, Business and Human Rights”. NHH’s assembly hall was packed, mainly with students. The Rafto Foundation is a member of the International Resource Group at the Bergen Chamber of Commerce. In November 2016 the Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Conference adopted a strong fo- cus on human rights, with Prize Laureates Yanar Mohammed and Maryam al-Khawaja speaking to 500 business leaders in Bergen.

Meetings with businesses In June 2016 the Rafto Foundation and the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) organised a meeting for businesses Panel debate during the and institutions such as OECD’s Contact Point Norway, the Minis- autumn 2017 as a higher education and continuing professional Rafto Conference. From left: Navi Pillay, Yanar try of Foreign Affairs, Oslo Stock Exchange, the Confederation of development offering. Mohammed, Shaista Aziz and Norwegian Enterprise, the Norwegian School of Economics, the Tormod Heier. Norwegian Business School, Ethical Trading Initiative Norway 3.4 The Women’s Network and Business for Peace, where the topic was how different stake- 2016 was a productive year in which the network for women activ- holders can jointly contribute to capacity-building. In addition, ists grew in numbers and strength. During the year we focused on meetings with businesses such as Statoil, DNB, Telenor and Hydro providing training on useful tools and ensuring that the partici- have produced useful knowledge about the business community’s pants communicated efficiently within the network. needs and our role in work to implement the UN’s guidelines for the business community on human rights. An internal workshop Training course with grassroots activists for Snøhetta helped to embed greater understanding of challenges Between 25–31 January a second training course was held for relating to women’s and employee rights in the Middle East. Group 1 in Beirut. For five days the participants received training Several Prize Laureates have been directly involved in work with in digital security, physical safety and mental well-being in the the business community: The National Campaign on Dalit Human form of stress management techniques. An NGO forum was also Rights in the Caste Consultancy Project – Maryam al-Khawaja as arranged, where relevant organisations from the region present- lecturer and workshop participant; Frank Mugisha and SMUG or- ed their work and ways in which they could assist the participants. ganising the consultation meeting in Kampala. SMUG was the local Group 2 was recruited during the first quarter of 2016, and re- arranger of a regional consultative meeting managed by the Of- ceived its first training course between 16–23 May in Jezzine in Leb- fice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights anon. As for Group 1, a training course was held in digital security, (OHCHR), IHRB and the Rafto Foundation as part of OHCHR’s work physical safety and mental well-being, in addition to an NGO forum on guidelines for the business community’s responsibility in rela- with relevant regional organisations that could potentially assist tion to global LGBTI rights. the participants in their work. On 29 May a meeting was held with the Advisory Committee Dedicated Master’s course at the University of Bergen (UiB) where restructuring of the network was approved. From this date In 2016 the Rafto Foundation partnered with IHRB to prepare the Advisory Committee and General Assembly were merged to course content and a curriculum for a Master’s course in “Busi- form the Consultative Group (CG). ness and Human Rights” at the UiB’s Department of Comparative Between 2–6 December the first joint meeting of Groups 1 and 2 Politics. The course, which equates to 15 study points, starts in was held in Beirut in Lebanon. The aim was to coordinate the groups

18 19 Education and 4 public liaison

The Rafto Foundation’s core offering in human rights and democracy education is aimed at our main target groups – students in upper and lower secondary schools. In 2016 we wel- comed school classes and held confirmation classes for young people from the following municipalities in Hordaland county: Askøy, Bergen, Bømlo, Kvam, Kvinnherad, Lindås, Meland, Stord, Os and Voss. We also provided teaching for students from the United World College from Fjaler and from Sund college in Inderøy municipality.

BRAVE WOMEN: On 28 May the Rafto Foundation and event Marked growth in 2016 arranger Festspillene organised a to enable them to work together in the network more efficiently. panel debate on women’s rights The statistics below reveal sharp growth for three groups in par- Work was performed on a joint action plan, with contributions from and identity. From left: Programme ticular. The number of teachers has grown more than fivefold chairperson Kari Birkeland, Caroline Amal Basha and Farida Nekzad, who are both members of CG. Ayoub, Maryam al-Khawaja and Amal since the previous year. This is primarily attributable to signifi- Basha cant demand for education on inclusiveness and togetherness, for Lobby meetings and public events which the refugee crisis and the municipalities’ action plans for Between 12–19 March we participated in the 60th session of the prevention of radicalisation and violent extremism form a basis. UN’s Commission on the Status of Women, CSW60, in New York. During 2016, together with RVTS Vest (Regional Resource Centre Rafto also arranged a meeting with the Norwegian Ambassa- for Violence, Traumatic Stress and Suicide Prevention), the Rafto dor Geir O. Pedersen, Maryam al-Khawaja and Sara Brandt from Foundation developed a course model for teachers on assignment CIVICUS. from Bergen municipality. The Rafto Foundation has also provid- In collaboration with event arrangers Bergen International ed similar educational offerings in Fredriksstad and Sarpsborg, Festival, on 28 May we arranged a panel debate in which Maryam and at the request of the Norwegian Directorate for Education al-Khawaja, Amal Basha, Caroline Ayoub and Farida Nekzad dis- and Training contributed to three county authority meetings for cussed women’s rights and identity in the Middle East. The debate teachers and the school health service. was streamed live via Festspillene’s YouTube channel. On 30 May members of CG and Rafto attended meetings with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In collaboration with the podcast

Du Verden! and Rafto’s Oslo Group, the same day we invited the audience to participate in a panel debate focusing on women’s contributions to improving the human rights situation in the Middle East. 3 Maryam al-Khawaja, Farida Nekzad and Amal Basha participated in the debate, which was held at Kulturhuset in Oslo. training courses During autumn we recruited a temporary replacement for our were arranged for Project Manager, who started parental leave from 1 January 2017. female grassroots activists in 2016

Teachers Students Org./others High schools Confirmands Folk high schoolsStudent teachers Secondary schools 20 # 21

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Several events and seminars were held to mark our 30th anniversary. This explains the significant increase in the category “organisations and other groups”. These are discussed under follow-up 5,000 projects and activities relating to the Rafto Prize and the 30th anniversary. participated in the hu- A final group whose activity levels were significantly up on the man rights teaching previous year was upper secondary schools. While much of the increase was attributable to school visits by seven of the Prize Lau- reates during the anniversary week in November, we are also con- fident that there is real and sustainable growth on account of the increased demand from teachers.

Dembra – Democratic Contingency against Racism and Anti-Semitism Dembra is a competence development project that allows teachers to continue their professional development and develops teaching about critical democratic formation, inclusiveness and selected controversial topics. The teachers receive training and guidance on structuring teaching and educational welfare measures adapted to individual schools. Dembra has been developed by the Center for Studies of the Holocaust and Religious Minorities, the European Wergeland Centre and the Department of Teacher Above: Democracy teaching Education and School Research at the University of Oslo. Dembra was held on Utøya for the started in the Østlandet region in autumn 2013 as a pilot project tumn 2016 Fremtidspiloten has been an established educational first time in 2016. Photo: EWC for schools. The Rafto Foundation is responsible for the project programme with six registered classes. below: Democracy Cake exercise – teaching for in the Vestlandet region, and Dembra started working with three members of the Eritrean diaspora lower secondary schools in Bergen in autumn 2016. Demokratikaken – The Democracy Cake living in Norway. In 2016 the Democracy Cake training tool was translated into Ti- The Fremtidspiloten project grinya (a main language in Eritrea) and we provided “training of The Fremtidspiloten (Future Pilot) project is aimed at young peo- trainers” for the Eritrean diaspora living in Norway. The tool is ple in upper secondary school, and has three main topics: human also available in Norwegian, English and Arabic. Translation into rights, understanding climate change and social entrepreneur- Vietnamese and Russian started in 2016. ship. The educational modules aim to link complex, global challenges with knowledge about the individual’s opportunities to in- Democracy teaching on Utøya fluence change in society and their own future. Democracy teaching on Utøya is a project in which students from The Rafto Foundation has had two partners in this project, up to ten different schools spend three days on the island learning Bærekraftige Liv (Sustainable Life) and Impact Hub. The partners about the terror attacks that took place in Norway on 22 July 2011. follow the classes using a concept development process based on Here students discuss and work together on topics such as demo- Design Thinking methodology. As part of the pilot projects the cratic citizenship and prevention of hate speech, anti-democratic research group LingClim (UiB) surveyed the students before and forces and extremism. The project is a partnership between the after the classes and identified two particular changes: greater un- European Wergeland Centre, the Rafto Foundation, Utøya AS and derstanding of the link between climate change and human rights, the 22 July Centre. A pilot was implemented in April 2016, with and greater perceived knowledge about the climate. two subsequent run-throughs in September. The project aims to From being a pilot project with four classes in 2015, since au- bring schools from the whole of Norway together.

22 23 5 Communications

In the anniversary year communications work was stepped up and the department’s capacity was increased through the appointment of a full-time project worker. In 2016 our aim 7,400 was to raise the profile of the Rafto Prize in national and international media, and to create local and national engagement in people follow Rafto on the anniversary activities through profiling and increased social social media media activity.

Press work Proactive media relations and handling media coverage are a key Rafto 30 started with a part of communications work. In 2016 we prioritised the Rafto kick-off in Oslo and a speech from Prize, the anniversary activities and profiling of a new Executive Rafto 30 Rafto Prize Laureate José Ramos- Horta. Photo: Morten Hvaal Director. The Rafto Foundation has also fronted items on our In collaboration with Netlife Research we developed a special anni- Prize Laureates in national media, through statements, debate versary visual identity and logo that were used for marketing and articles and campaign work. The Executive Director has complet- printed materials. In the run-up to the anniversary gala we took a ed a media training course organised by the communications de- number of PR and marketing measures to sell tickets to businesses, partment. students and the general public in Bergen. This included distrib- Increased social media activities also received a high priority in uting e-mails and flyers, placing adverts on social media and in 2016, in order to highlight the Rafto Prize, the 30th anniversary and newspapers and a façade banner for the Grieg Hall. Rafto entered other events during the year. The extra input has paid dividends in into an agreement with regional newspaper Bergens Tidende’s loy- the form of more followers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. In alty programme, the BT card, to sell tickets for the gala. December 2016 we had a total of 7,200 followers, compared with 4,500 at the end of 2015. Productions We produced several films in 2016. In collaboration with Pandora Rafto.no Film AS we made a short introductory film about the Rafto Foun- In 2015 we launched a new website, and website statistics reveal a dation, which premièred at the Bergen Chamber of Commerce’s sharp increase in traffic and page visits, from 22,200 visits in 2014 Annual Conference, and has since been published on rafto.no and to 32,600 visits in 2016. The page discussing this year’s Rafto Prize YouTube and via social media. We also partnered with SMAU Film received 4,634 visits, compared with 962 for the equivalent page in to produce a series of mini portraits of this year’s Rafto Prize Lau- 2014 (Source: Google Analytics). On 1 September rafto.no’s educa- reate and all the Prize Laureates who were present in Bergen dur- tion pages were launched and the old education portal was closed ing the anniversary week in November. These videos were pub- down. While some education and projects pages require further lished in spring 2017. updating, we regard the new website to be fully implemented. The Rafto Foundation Fund commissioned an English version of the 2012 book Frykten får ikke vinne (Fear Shall Not Triumph), where

24 25 6 Operations

The Rafto Foundation is a not for profit foundation run by the Rafto House in Bergen. The Foundation’s object is, in the spirit of Professor Thorolf Rafto, to promote human rights, primarily intellectual, political and economic freedom. The work shall be performed on a humanistic basis without geographic de- marcation in order to promote human dignity. The Rafto Founda- tion’s work is extensively based on voluntary input. The Rafto Foundation’s most important task is the award of the Professor Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize – the Rafto Prize. The prize is awarded each year, whenever possible on the anniversary of Raf- to’s death on 4 November, and comprises a diploma and a cheque for USD 20,000. The actual prize award is paid out of the Rafto Foundation’s Prize Fund. The Rafto Prize has been awarded since 1987. In awarding the Rafto Prize, the Rafto Foundation shall set the agenda for and support those who are on the front line of the fight against oppression. Kygo became a Rafto Ambassador in 2016 and the Rafto Foundation coordinated work on the publication. The supported financing of new premises Values, main objectives and core activities book was published by John Grieg Forlag AS and launched in the for Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) The Rafto Foundation’s values are courage, respect and solidarity. and Prize Laureate Frank Mugisha. anniversary week in November. The books were sold and marketed Photo: KygoMusic Our main objectives are: during the event in the Grieg Hall, and on our own stand during the 1: The Rafto Foundation shall award the Rafto Prize to selected Rafto Conference. The Rafto Foundation purchased 100 books and human rights campaigners. around 90 copies were sold during Rafto Week. 2: The Rafto Foundation shall actively participate in the fight for human dignity by acting as a long-term partner and support for Partnership with Kygo the Rafto Prize Laureates in their work on human rights. The Rafto Foundation is partnering with Kygo. The international 3: The Rafto Foundation shall, by means of education and public EDM artist contributed financial support for the Rafto Founda- liaison, promote competence in and commitment to democracy, tion’s work, initially to help finance premises for Prize Laureate human dignity and human rights. Frank Mugisha’s organisation SMUG. In early summer Kygo was Our core activity is organised under three activities: announced in the media as the first Rafto Ambassador, and the 1: The Rafto Prize – selection and award announcement was covered by NRK. Under the partnership some 2: Follow-up of the Rafto Prizes of the profits from Kygo’s own festival, Cloud Nine at Koengen on 3: Education and public liaison on human rights and democracy. 20 August, were to be donated to the Rafto Foundation’s work. The Support functions are organised in three main areas: Rafto Foundation had its own stand at the festival, and enjoyed a communications, organisation and financing. high profile on the screens on the main stage before an audience of 23,000.

26 27 The Rafto Foundation Menneskerettighetenes plass 1 NO-5007 Bergen, Norway Rafto.no

@RaftoFoundation