We were so happy to feature Ka Man who presented the project titled, The Oslo Desk, at our event on November 26th!  Read more about the project below:

Project Description

The Oslo Desk is a project that will change the way people consume digital news and open up a public space for migrant and international voices. TOD provides analysis and solution(s) for the problems that migrants or internationals in Norway are facing. In addition to constructive journalism, otherwise known as solution-oriented journalism, TOD seeks to elevate issues from a domestic to an international level, and change public perception of migrants with an objective of achieving a more harmonic society. One way is to build a more connected community by providing better access to information. Navigating the Norwegian system as a foreigner is not easy; finding the right and affordable Norwegian course, figuring out which is the best banks to go to as a foreigner, finding emergency food banks when you have nothing at all, are all relevant and actual problems migrants face on a daily basis. We will provide that information. English, as the primary language is used at TOD, as it is still a lingua franca among immigrants. It is for those who want to find better coverage on all the debates and going-ons in Oslo. Also, TOD strives to bridge the gap between Norwegian and English reporting. We will use visual storytelling through videos, podcasts, gamification, animation and VR. At the heart of these instruments is a wish to empower those who read our content, by providing language services, analysis and consequent policy-solutions to complex issues. In a dynamic environment, we will always strive to utilize the latest technology to continue our existence and relevance in the media landscape and society. We are a group of journalists, active citizens and highly skilled immigrants who wish to engage with investigative and constructive journalism: Ka Man Mak (UK/Hong Kong), Rita Anson (Spain), Liew Ceng Teng (Malaysia), Øyvind Kleiv (Norway), Adry Calderon (Colombia), and David Barratt-Due (Norway/South Korea)

Why does this idea matter to you?

Because I wanted to succeed where I had failed. I was a blogger, a writer back then, 4 years ago. This was when this girl found me but also through word-of-mouth as I was pondering to become a journalist. She was my first case. It was about a foreign girl who got stalked for over a year. I couldn’t get her story published in the mainstream media in Norway. As naive and arrogant as I was back then, I made a promise that I couldn’t keep. But despite the failure of that, she thanked me for saving her life. From then on, I saw the meaning of becoming a journalist and fought to become one in this country as a foreigner. Paving my own way, running stories I wanted written but as I learned the craft, I didn’t like how I was reported the cases. I didn’t feel that I was changing the lives that I was interviewing. I wanted to change that. I wanted to create change through the privileges that journalism can offer. I wanted journalism to be more solution oriented and constructive. I wanted to utilise the knowledge gained to make an impact by talking to key players who can improve the lives of many. And last but not least, I want to continue to work as a journalist by creating my own space to write in English.

How will you idea make Oslo a better place?

Two-folds. First, by providing accessible information for a more inclusive and integrated society. Secondly, by adopting solution-oriented journalism practices to provide solutions to challenges and holding key players accountable to improving lives.

How will you use the micro-grant funding to realize your concept?

The money will help pay towards the web-based platform we are trying to build, such as the web domain and programming; and to our content contributors who are using multimedia tools (videos, photography, graphic designing, etc.) to help us publish the cases and to bring our vision alive. To be more concrete, here is a list of items in our budget that the micro-grant could cover: – Web hosting and domain (WordPress) – Contribute to the web designer – Buying music rights or soundtracks to videos – Adobe softwares e.g. photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator – Subscriptions to newspapers for our investigations.

 

How do you contact the project?  Visit them at the following links: