Once again, it was time for The Law Student Committee (JSU) to present the Student Inclusion Award at the Faculty of Law. The award was to be given to an individual or organization that had been a driving force for diversity, inclusion, and non-discrimination among the faculty's students.
About the award
- The award was presented by the JSU on Monday, May 27, 2024.
- All students at the faculty were eligible to sumbit their nominations.
- A jury consisting of Bjørn Erik Thon (The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud), Thea Toft, Patrick Løkken, and Odd Syse from the JSU, chose a winner based on the nominations.
Danielle Draumås, leader of the JSU, had the pleasure of announcing that this year's award went to the Law Students’ Fosen Initiative (Norwegian: Jusstudentenes Fosenopprop).
Started a petition campaign
In 2021, a ruling by the Supreme Court ascertained that a human rights violation had occurred on Fosen in Trøndelag, where two wind farms were constructed in the grazing areas of the Fosen Reindeer Herding District, where two siidas carry out reindeer herding.
When the government, two years after the verdict in the autumn of 2023, had still not halted the violation or proposed reparative measures, law students in Oslo decided to take action. They started a petition campaign for law students to be delivered to the government. The Law Students' Fosen Initiative is active on social media and quickly gained support from various legal associations, law students, and law professors who contributed with videos to the Fosen Initiative's Facebook and Instagram.
When the petition was delivered in October 2023, they had collected 808 signatures.
The initiative thanks for the engagement around the issue
During the award ceremony on May 27, the leader of the Law Students’ Fosen Initiative, Sunniva D. Matre, accepted the award on behalf of the group and all law students who had signed the petition:
– We would like to thank those who have nominated us. We would like to thank the JSU and the university for this acknowledgment. We also want to thank the 13 student associations that have endorsed the petition, all law students who have signed it, and everyone who has submitted and contributed with videos, both among professors and others here at the faculty, and for everyone else who has engaged in the issue, said Matre.
She also wished to thank the Sami activists for the work they had done and the support they had shown to the Law Students' Fosen Initiative.
– In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, the siidas and Sami activists have had to put their lives on hold to make sure the government followed up on the ruling. It shouldn't be like this in a rule-of-law state, and we are incredibly happy that law students want to protect it, she added.
JSU hopes the award will inspire others
This is the second time that the JSU is involved in awarding the Student Inclusion Award. With this award, they aim to give special attention to groups or individuals who have taken an extra initiative to promote diversity and inclusion, and to inspire others to do the same.
– You have helped to create awareness around the state's lack of follow-up of the Fosen ruling, and awareness around the human rights violations that followed the ruling. You have been involved in educational work, you have put structural problems on the agenda, and thereby also helped to put pressure on the state. In addition, you have shown other students that it's possible to get involved, said Draumås during the award ceremony.
– We don't just have to be passive recipients of knowledge, but we can be active contributors in democratic processes and help to uphold human rights. Thank you so much for the work you have done on behalf of the student body. I hope you will take this as an encouragement to continue your good work, she concluded.