The primary ever Kim Frieles memorial prize for the Help group on 25 June and Ukrainian Perception

– By awarding the prize to each a Norwegian and a global actor, we acknowledge that Norway can not flip a blind eye to the difficulties queer individuals face on the earth. On the similar time, we should not suppose that we’re heading in the right direction right here in Norway, says Tradition and Equality Minister Lubna Jaffery (Ap).

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) says that each award winners are doing vital work for queer rights, and he’s pleased that the Help Group 25 June and Perception are this yr’s award winners.

Honoring the foremost champion

Kim Friele’s memorial prize honors the reminiscence of one of the crucial influential champions of homosexual rights in Norway, who handed away in 2021.

The prize is to be awarded yearly to an individual or group that has actively labored to enhance the scenario for queers.

– Regardless of all of the progress we’ve got made, there’s nonetheless work to be finished. Kim Friele’s memorial prize is vital to spotlight that the combat for queer rights should proceed, says Jaffery.

The prize winners obtain a financial present of NOK 500,000 every.

Works for queer rights

The help group on 25 June was created after the terrorist assault in the course of the Pleasure celebrations in Oslo in 2022. The group receives the award for the help they’ve proven and their clear voice for many who have been affected.

– The help group has been involved with what it’s prefer to be queer and Muslim in Norway after the phobia and constructed a bridge between queer and Muslim communities, writes the jury.

Perception receives the award for its central function in selling queer rights in war-torn Ukraine. The group has contributed to Ukraine changing into a rustic the place the rights of the LGBT neighborhood are on the agenda.

In response to the jury, Perception has, amongst different issues, performed an vital function in abolishing sterilization and compelled psychiatric admission for trans individuals who need to change their authorized gender.

The jury for the award consists of jury chief Kristin Halvorsen, Guro Sibeko, Kjell Erik Ullman Øie and Knut Olav Åmås. The secretariat for the award is the Directorate for Kids, Youth and Households.