Dr. Arne Fjørtoft (born 28 March 1937) is a
Norwegian politician, journalist, author, organizational leader, communication specialist and social business inventor.
Personal life
Fjørtoft was born on 28 March 1937 in
Sauda. He is the son of Karl Johan Fjørtoft and Thea Lillehammer. He married the well-known channel host
Ragnhild Sælthun in 1971, daughter of politician
Ambjørg Sælthun
Ambjørg Sælthun, née Ødelien (27 July 1922 – 2 January 2012) was a Norwegian politician for the Centre Party.
She was born in Ål. She was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Sogn og Fjordane in 1973, and was re-elected on two occ ...
.
Career
He successfully served as reporter and news anchorman in
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation
NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...
’s radio and television networks from 1964 to 1985. As a reporter on international issues he focused on human rights and
sustainable development
Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...
. In between he initiated several development projects, among them the first Norwegian Youth–based international project in 1967, Cey-Nor Development Foundation, working in disadvantaged fishing communities in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.
Fjørtoft was elected chair of Venstre, the
Green-Liberal Party of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
(the country's oldest party) in 1986. He served till 1990. During this period, Venstre became Norway's first party with a clear target for reduction of climate gases in the lead for a global campaign to reduce the danger of
global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
. Other parties did not follow and an historic chance was lost.
Also he initiated the first national television network in
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
and several community radio networks. In 1992 he initiated
Radio Democratic Voice of Burma in cooperation with Burmese opposition leaders. This short wave radio network played a significant role in the process for democracy in
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
.
Worldview International Foundation
In 1979, he initiated the Worldview International Foundation together with the then
Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka (4 February 1978–1989),Dr Ananda Tissa De Alvis and Dr.
A.C.S. Hameed, in the use of new media for public education on sustainable development.
Worldview has worked in 26 developing countries with 620 completed projects in various issues: communication, health, agriculture and food security, environment, education, democracy and human rights. Worldview has worked in close cooperation with
UN Agencies
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizin ...
and other international and national partners. The largest grass root project in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
created 2 million home gardens during 8 years and substantially reduced child blindness and child malnutrition.
Worldview's project Young Asia Television was launched in 1995 at the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, in support of human rights and sustainable development and has trained 2,600 communication professionals and 12,000 grass root communicators from 42 countries.
Other initiatives
In the field of socially responsible business, Fjørtoft has initiated Paradise Farm for promotion of organic agriculture and specialization on healthy products, Pure Nature for value addition to fruit producers, 'Worldview Impact for tree planting and mitigation of
greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs and Emission (electromagnetic radiation), emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse ...
es, Worldview Myanmar Royal Orchid to rescue endangered orchids and promote
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
, Nypa Nectar to create livelihood among disadvantaged communities in coastal areas by using Nypa palm sap as healthy sweetener to the market instead of harmful refined sugar. In 2012, Fjortoft initiated a national research project on restoration of
mangrove forests in Myanmar, Worldview International Foundation in cooperation with
Pathein University
Pathein (, ; mnw, ဖာသီ, ), formerly called Bassein, is the largest city and the capital of the Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar (Burma). It is located 190 km (120 mi) west of Yangon within Pathein Township on the bank of the Pathe ...
and
Myeik University
Myeik University ( my, မြိတ် တက္ကသိုလ်; formerly Myeik College and Myeik Degree College) is a university in Myeik, Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA convent ...
as a result of which
Thor Heyerdahl Climate Park Thor Heyerdahl Climate Park is an 1,800-acre climate park located in Ayeyarwady Region of Myanmar. The park is situated at the delta region of Irrawaddy River at the edge of the Bay of Bengal. The park was named after the Norwegian adventurer and ...
was founded. A new project on Adaptation to Climate Change is at the starting point.
Awards
He was awarded the
Order of the White Elephant by the
King of Thailand for contribution to development in tribal areas and drug reduction campaigns, the Gagarin Medal for brave initiatives and sustained efforts on achievements, Venstre's Environment Prize, and the NGU's Youth Prize.
Bibliography
Fjørtoft has written several books, numerous articles and speeches on international development and environment. Some of them are:
*''Spelet om Bangladesh'', Stavanger 1972.
*''Alarm 1974. Rapport frå Afrika, Asia og Latin-Amerika'', 1974.
*''Befolkningsbomben. Overbefolkning, krig og fred'' (
Jahn Otto Johansen
Jahn Otto Johansen (3 May 1934 – 1 January 2018) was a Norwegian journalist, newspaper editor, foreign correspondent and non-fiction writer.
He worked for the newspaper '' Morgenposten'' from 1956 to 1966, for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corp ...
og
Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography.
Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000&nb ...
), 1985.
*''Afrikas barn. Katastrofeåret 1985'', 1985.
*Selvbiografien ''Rapport frå paradis : ein idé om fred og utvikling'' med forord av EUs visepresident Margot Wallström og etterord av Jørn-Kr. Jørgensen (Commentum Forlag). 2007.
References
External links
Cey-Nor Development FoundationWorldview International FoundationYoung Asia TelevisionParadise FarmWorldview Impact
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fjortoft, Arne
1937 births
Living people
People from Sauda
Norwegian journalists
NRK people
Liberal Party (Norway) politicians