This autumn, Nordic Forum for Social Responsibility in Journalism will launch itself through a series of open online Forum Talks. These one-hour events will take place via Zoom, and the links will be available on this page (see below). You are welcome to join all or some of them!

In each Forum Talk, there will be a short introduction by a member of the Forum where they bring us greetings from Finland, Sweden and Denmark, give an example of a problem they have faced in trying to advance social responsibility in their work and provide examples of projects or methods. This is followed by collegial discussion.

The aim of the talk series is to map what kinds of needs there are within the Nordic journalism community for such a forum. The result will be an online seminar in January 2021.

Schedule of the Forum Talks:

(1) September: Dialogic Turn?
Thu 17.9.2020 at 18:30 (Swe, Den) / 19:30 (Fin)
Introduction by Mikko Hautakangas, Finland
Zoom link: https://tuni.zoom.us/j/67711031830?pwd=SzU5Tk1nSktNalJNRGFLY0ZUVEdSQT09 (Meeting ID: 677 1103 1830; Passcode: 511131)

Finland and ”the Dialogic Turn”? Experiences from and Expectations for Concialiatory Journalism

In recent years, the increased tensions in public discussion and between social actors have raised a great deal of concern also in Finland. In response, a variety of different actors – e.g. NGO’s, think tanks, research projects and even governmental bodies – have emphasized the need to develop and promote dialogic methods and participatory practices that would facilitate civic participation and mitigate social polarisation. In the field of Finnish journalism, the Conciliatory Journalism research project and the Association for Conciliatory Journalists have been motors for discussing the role of journalism in times of increasing polarisation. In this introduction you will hear what we have learned, and what seems to be brewing for conciliatory journalism as part of the more general ”dialogic turn”.

(2) October: One Stockholm?
Thu 15.10.2020 at 18:30 (Swe, Den) / 19:30 (Fin)
Introduction by Petter Beckman, Sweden
Zoom link: https://tuni.zoom.us/j/65963054496?pwd=V3FlWGozbUQySGFiVDJjdlR4Y3RKdz09  (Meeting ID: 659 6305 4496, Passcode: 969308)

One Stockholm? How we used a portable subway seat to build bridges in a divided city

Stockholm has over the last decades become one of the most socially and ethnically segregated capitals in Europe, which along with the growing media fragmentation makes it increasingly difficult to uphold ideals of dialogue, social cohesion and a shared public space within the city. In the autumn of 2019 the project #EttSthlm (OneStockholm) took up the challenge. Embedded in the freely distributed newspaper chain DirektPress (800 000 copies/week), the project has sought to explore new ways to inspire public conversations across social and ethnical borders. One early experiment included a portable subway seat, which was used to arrange spontaneous talks between strangers on controversial subjects. Petter Beckman, project leader and editor, describes the learnings, successes and pitfalls of the first year of the project, and places this in the context of other similar, previous and ongoing attempts in the Swedish media landscape.

(3) November: Inclusion and diversity 
Thu 19.11.2020 at 18:30 (Swe, Den) / 19:30 (Fin)
Introduction by Lotte Rosdahl, Denmark
Zoom link: TBA