Board, administration and committees

Director of The Federation of European Publishers since 2004, based in Brussels. Bergman holds a Master in Medieval History, and has served on the board of Europeana.eu, EU’s digital portal for common European cultural heritage, as well as for the European Internet Forum.

Managing director, The Norwegian Festival of Literature. Member of the Board of Norwegian Literature Abroad (NORLA), ANNO Museums in Hedmark, the Sigrid Undset Society, Lillehammer UNESCO City of Literature, Lillehammer Literature House, Gunnar Bjerkes Kulturfond and member of the Adjudication Committee for the Bjørnson Prize. Head of network of Norwegian Literature Festivals. Former head of information in The Norwegian Book Club. Master of Literature (UiO).

Background in international relations and international law. She has studied and worked with human rights issues in several countries, but has in the last years been working in civil society organizations in Norway like NOAS, FIVAS and the Norwegian Council for Africa. She has been especially involved in the work with corporate social responsibility. She currently works as an advisor at Safemuse – Safe Havens for Artists, and is the leader of the human rights organization FIVAS.

Editorial Director for non-fiction at Verlagsgruppe Droemer Knaur. Chairs the Foundation of Freedom of Expression in the German publishers’ and booksellers’ association (Börsenverein).

Felicia Anthonio is #KeepItOn Campaign Manager at Access Now, a global campaign of over 300 organizations that fights against internet shutdowns. She has authored and co-authored several publications on internet shutdowns featured on Access Now, Yale University, CIPESA and Bloomsbury Collections websites. Felicia hosted The Kill Switch podcast and was featured on The Shutdown documentary by BBC World Service. Felicia is an Advisory Council member of the US-based Open Technology Fund’s (OTF) and a board member of the World Expression Forum (WEXFO), in Norway. Before joining Access Now, Felicia worked as Programme Associate, press freedom and free speech advocate, at the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) where she coordinated the African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX). She is a member of the African Digital Rights Network and a 2019 Fellow of the African Internet Governance School (AfriSIG). She holds a Master’s Degree in Lettres, Langues et Affaires Internationales from l’ Université d’Orléans, France and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in French and Psychology from the University of Ghana.

CEO at Norwegian Publishers Association. Former Minister of Culture and Equality, Minister of Education and Integration and Deputy Prime Minister in Norway. Parliamentary leader and parliamentary representative in 2001-2021 for Venstre (The Liberal Party). Former Vice Mayor and City Councelor in Oslo.

Head of Center for International Justice at The Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Oslo. Chair of the Board of the Norwegian Non-Fiction Writers’ and Translators’ Association (NFFO). Member of the board of Truth Hounds (Ukraine). Freelance journalist and columnist. Writer of fiction and non-fiction. Received the Norwegian PENs Ossietzky Prize for defending freedom of expression (2004), and The Norwegian Critics’ Prize for Non-Fiction for En norsk tragedie/A Norwegian Tragedy; Anders Behring Breivik and the Massacre on Utøya (Gyldendal 2012; English edition, Polity 2013).

Film and theatre director educated at Beijing Film Academy and Central Academy of Drama (1998-2000), Promotion manager Virgin Records/EMI 2000-2002. Amanda nominated for the documentary film “Shiny Stars, Rusty Red” (2003) about freedom of expression in China.

Vice President of Norwegian Filmmakers’ Association 2005-2010, CEO FERA (Federation of European Film Directors) in Brussels 2009-2014. Founding partner and head of project for the independent Norwegian streaming service Nettkino in cooperation with Kulturmeglerne funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Creative Europe 2015-2020. President of Norwegian Filmmakers’ Association 2020-present

Fatemeh Ekhtesari is an Iranian poet, editor, human rights activist and midwife. She is part of the Iranian literary movement “Postmodern Ghazal”, seen as the most radical poetic movement in contemporary Iran, and has been chief editor of several literary magazines. Her poetry, fiction and non-fiction writing explore issues of sexuality, religion, and gender, and the struggle for women’s rights.

Film commissioner at The Danish Film Institute and national representative to Eurimages, The Council of Europe’s film fund. Previous Head of Programming at the Oslo House of Literature, Head of Communication at the International Ibsen Centennary Ibsen 2006, and Information and Marketing Manager in Arthaus – the Art film Foundation. Silje has served as President of the Films from the South Festival and Executive board member of the Norwegian Humanist Association, and is the current chair of The Bergman Estate on Fårö Foundation.

Senior Advisor at the Norwegian Publishers Association, specializing in educational policy, learning technology and the textbook industry, and literary exports. Holds a master's degree in African literature and culture, with graduate studies in law and political science. Formerly served as a project coordinator for Norway's most important literary prize Brageprisen and the Nordic Conference for Educational Publishers and EdTech. Currently a board member at the Norwegian vocational school for bookselling, a deputy board member of Norwegian Arts Abroad and a member of the council of The Norwegian Festival of Literature.

Head of Center for International Justice at The Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Oslo. Chair of the Board of the Norwegian Non-Fiction Writers’ and Translators’ Association (NFFO). Member of the board of Truth Hounds (Ukraine). Freelance journalist and columnist. Writer of fiction and non-fiction. Received the Norwegian PENs Ossietzky Prize for defending freedom of expression (2004), and The Norwegian Critics’ Prize for Non-Fiction for En norsk tragedie/A Norwegian Tragedy; Anders Behring Breivik and the Massacre on Utøya (Gyldendal 2012; English edition, Polity 2013).

Carlos Egaña (1995) is a New York–based Venezuelan writer. He recently earned his MFA in Creative Writing in Spanish at New York University. He has also taught courses on Gender Studies and Modern North American Fiction at Universidad Católica Andrés Bello. He has three books in Spanish in print: a novel titled Reggaeton (Ediciones Puntocero, 2022) and two poetry collections, hacer daño (Oscar Todtmann Editores, 2020) and Los Palos Grandes (dcir ediciones, 2017). And he has written about fine arts, Latin-American politics and pop culture for various Venezuelan and American publications. In his last year of college, Egaña was one of Venezuela’s main student leaders amidst the 2019 presidential crisis.

Danish lawyer, human rights advocate, and social commentator. He is the founder and director of Justitia, a Copenhagen-based think tank focusing on human rights, freedom of speech, and the rule of law.

Human rights lawyer and Executive Director of the Justice Call organization. His work has centered on building strong and sustainable democracies, promoting peace and stability, and protecting the rights and welfare of civilians.
Khaled has a BA in Law and a master’s in international law from Cairo University and an Executive Certificate in Public Leadership from Harvard University. As the organizing partner of the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY), Khaled has played a key role in fostering youth engagement in the development of inclusive and sustainable societies. Khaled has also served as a former Co-Chair of The United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development (UN IANYD).

Senior adviser in Diversity, Inclusion & Talent development with over 15 years of experience in creating a space for dialogue and experience exchange within the storytelling industries.

Sarah McLaughlin is Senior Scholar, Global Expression at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. She studies the relationship between authoritarian governments and global censorship. Her writings about free expression have been published in outlets including Foreign Policy, The Daily Beast, Newsweek, Artsy, and MSNBC. She is currently working on a book about transnational repression in higher education, Authoritarians in the Academy, due next year with Johns Hopkins University Press.

Adele Matheson Mestad is a Norwegian lawyer. She is the director of the Norwegian National Human Rights Institution, a position that the Storting appointed her to March 26, 2019. Previously, Matheson Mestad worked for ten years as a lawyer for the Government Attorney. She was a member of the Freedom of speech commission, and is a substitute member to The European Commission for Democracy through Law ( the Venice Commission).

Ewura Adams Karim is the co-founder and Executive Director of Maltiti Foundation, a non-profit that has made huge impact in the lives of women and girls living in deprived communities in Ghana by providing them with dignifying economic opportunities in the areas of agriculture, vocational skill development, education, health and nutrition. He’s also the Co-founder of Accra Food Bank, a development consultant, a board member of the Ghana Youth Awards, a 2023 Obama Africa Leader and a 2024 Mandela Washington Fellow.

Project leader at the Fritt Ord Foundation with background as teacher, lecturer and journalist. Involved in support and grants for students and in educational projects, such as initiatives reaching out to students and others with the aim of highlighting and debating topics on free speech and democracy. 

Kristenn is Managing Director at World Expression Forum AS, as well as a consultant, chair of the Freedom to Publish Committee in the International Publishers Association and chair of Norges Televisjon.

Reihane Taravati, born on March 21, 1991, in Mashhad, is an Iranian photographer, videographer, and women’s rights advocate. She is widely recognized for her role in the 2014 Iranian adaptation of Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” music video, titled “Iranians Are Happy.” This video, which aimed to spread joy and positivity, had significant repercussions for its creators. In April 2014, Taravati, along with other individuals involved in the production, was arrested in connection with the video’s release.