Program committee

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.