Featured with interview in WWF content advertising on Norwegian wolf debate

I am featured, as interviewed, in a content advertising text made by Filter Media for WWF Norway, titled "Ulvedebatten: Hvorfor er sinnene i kok?" (literally, "The wolf debate: Why are minds boiling?"). Available here.

Minding Animals NMBU established - first local branch of MAN

Minding Animals NMBU, at Norwegian University of Life Sciences, was established in a meeting held May 27th. This is the first local branch of Minding Animals Norway.

Minding Animals Norway joining anti-fur campaign

Minding Animals Norway is part of the campaign "Vi snur #ryggentilpels" [We turn our back to fur], which was launched yesterday. Minding Animals Norway promotes the field of Human-animal studies and does usually not take part in animal advocacy as such, but in this case we have made an exception.

See also my recent tweet with an exclusive photo of my back.

Chronicle on fish happiness linked to under NGO Aftenposten chronicle

On October 28th Siri Martinsen, head of the Norwegian NGO "NOAH - for animal rights" had a chronicle published in Aftenposten entitled "Ingen dyr skal måtte leve i bur" [No animal should have to live in cages]. One of the three links provided after the chronicle text online (under Les også, Read also) is to a chronicle written by Tore Kristiansen and me, "Fiskelykke?" [Luck in fishing/fish happiness?], here presented as "Levende fisk fårstrupe og mage skåret opp uten at de er bedøvet" ["Live fish gets throat and stomach cut open without being sedated".

Chronicle on petroleum research linked to by student NGO, tweeted about by environmental NGOs and research ethics committees

My chronicle  "Hva slags forskning er etisk forsvarlig?" [What kind(s) of research is ethically justifiable?], which was published earlier this week, was linked to by www.student.no, the webpage of Norsk studentorganisasjon [Norwegian student organization], in their "NSO i media" [NSO in the media] section. They included the full text, and the chronicle in facsimile (see here).

The publication of the chronicle was further tweeted about by half a dozen people, including representatives of the NGOs Concerned Scientists Norway and Framtiden i Våre Hender [The future in our hands], plus by the National Committies for Research Ethics in Norway.

HAS anthology sold by animal rights NGO

The Norwegian Human-Animal Studies anthology Hvem er villest i landet her? Råskap mot dyr og natur i antropocen, menneskets tidsalder [Who is wildest in this country here? Brutality towards animals and nature in the Anthropocene, the age of Man], for which I am one of three editors, is being sold by NOAH - for dyrs rettigheter (NOAH - for animal rights), a Norwegian animal rights NGO, in their webshop.

See also:
Norwegian HAS anthology recommended by animal protection NGO

Norwegian HAS anthology recommended by animal protection NGO

The Norwegian Human-Animal Studies anthology Hvem er villest i landet her? Råskap mot dyr og natur i antropocen, menneskets tidsalder [Who is wildest in this country here? Brutality towards animals and nature in the Anthropocene, the age of Man], for which I am one of three editors, is mentioned in newsletter no. 18, 2013 of the Norwegian animal welfare NGO Dyrevernalliansen (Norwegian Animal Protection Alliance). The book is mentioned as one of three recommended titled published this year. Dyrevernalliansen has some 5.000 members.

Not in new MA International board; to be in Academic Advisory Committee

Minding Animals International (MAI) is in the process of being reorganised as part of an incorporation process. MAI is now registered in the US, in Delaware, and will soon be registered as a non-profit entity. A new board has been appointed, replacing the former one where all national Minding Animals organisations were represented along with other board members - I thus served in the Board of Directors 2011-2013. I let Rod Bennison, the CEO of MAI, know that depending on what names were in the mix I might be a candidate for the new board. Today several appointments were made known to the old board, patrons etc., and the only position still to be filled in the new board is that of the Treasurer. It is therefor clear now that I will not be a member of the new board of MAI. On the other hand national MA organisations will from now on be represented in the Academic Advisory Committee (replacing the old Academic Advisory Committee). As the chair of MA Norway I will be joining that committee.

See also: 

Minding Animals International to incorporate in the US (December 2012)

Minding Animals International to incorporate in the US

The Board of Directors of Minding Animals International has decided that the organization will incorporate as an NGO in the United States. I voted for, as representative of Minding Animals Norway. There were 13 affirmative votes and 6 not voting among board members and patrons. 

The exact form/structure of the organization is still to be discussed. Minding Animals Norway is organized as a democratic membership organization (currently with 20+ paying members). A membership model is now being considered for the international body as well.

Update on the Oslo Minding Animals seminar "Shared Worlds"

Update on the Oslo Minding Animals seminar "Shared Worlds":

1) Confirmed participants in the roundtable on wolf/human relations: Runar Næss, Antonio Poleo, Ketil Skogen. Lynda Birke is among the confirmed participants in the roundtable on horse/human relations.

2) This weekend we sent our application to register Minding Animals Norway as an NGO, with me, Rune Ellefsen and Rhys Evans as (founding members and) board members. In the process we have agreed on a founding document with initial regulations (regulations are up for revision on the concluding open meeting at the end of the Shared Worlds seminar).

3) We have agreed to have books/flyers on display from Brill Academic Publishers, which publishes the journal Society and Animals and the book series ‘Human - Animals Studies’, and from Elli Radinger, editor of the German Wolf Magazin and author of several books on wolves.

4) The number of registered participants is increasing - to register, simply send your details to shared.worlds.oslo@gmail.com.

See also the latest notifications in Utopian Realism:
Poster series for the Shared Worlds seminar
Minding Animals Norway to be established
Fourth Oslo minding Animalsspeaker confirmed: Liv Emma Thorsen
"Shared Worlds" funded; third plenary speaker confirmed; NGO to be registered

"Arne i 100" founded as NGO

Yesterday, August 25th, "Arne i 100" [Arne, 100...] was founded in Oslo, Norway, as an association/society aiming to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of deep ecologist Arne Næss' (1912-2009) birth January 27th 2012 (in the University Aula, Oslo), and to help arrange "the Arne Næss year" 2012-2013. I took part via Skype. I was thus one of the seven co-founders of the NGO, along with Kit-Fai Næss and others. I was also included as a member of the board, along with 8 others (Kit-Fai Næss (head), Martin Lee Mueller, Reidar Goffeng, Inger Marie Mørner, Arne Johan Furseth, Carl Fredrik Normann, Ola Tellesbø and Anders Krosshavn Vik).

I had proposals/questions concerning up to 6 of the paragraphs of the regulations (vedtekter). At least half of these were followed up by making amendments to the original draft.

"Shared worlds" funded; third plenary speaker confirmed; NGO to be registered

The October 14-15 Oslo workshop/seminar "Shared worlds" (see also our Facebook page), arranged under the umbrella of Minding Animals, will receive funding (1.000 Euro) from the research grant "Dynamical zoosemiotics and animal representations", where I am involved as a researcher.

A third plenary speaker, Nelly Mäekivi from Estonia, who is also involved in that research grant, has been confirmed. Her talk is entitled "Misunderstandings in shared environments: The case of zoos".
We the organizers held a meeting Monday 18th. A little later we decided that we will register MAO as a NGO - though it remains to be seen whether we will arrange further activities under that name.