In her award Speech, Karina Kaiblinger of the ECo-C said that the director of Lapp Hat “listened to all people and gave room to every individual feeling and opinion. She chose the dialectic way”, something which is both particularly important and particularly unusual in today’s media discourse.

But what a “Lapp Hat”? It is a politically incorrect term designating “Sami Hats”, the hats worn by the native populations of Norway. Used unwittingly by the director during a radio broadcast, it unleashed a deluge of accusations of racism against her; although herself not a racist, the director thus came to the realisation that racial conflict between ethnic Samis and Norwegians was a simmering pot; by making that 52-minute documentary, she decided to give these ethnic groups that which she did not have: the opportunity to express themselves honestly, and beyond political correctness, on a highly controversial topic.

Those who come from other European countries tend not to think of Norway as a country torn to shreds by racism or factionalism; discrimination in Europe is most documented through cases of xenophobia and nationalism, with indigenous community issues left for other continents. And yet, this documentary shows that an issue does exist, and in all cases where humans are separated by boundaries of culture or custom, a voice must be given where people can express themselves without judgement. This is what Lapp Hat does, and this is why it was awarded the Euromedia Award on Education and Ethics. As said during the laudation speech, “It stands for a discourse which is not characterised by opportunistic interests but by an ethical approach”.
Find more information on the Erasmus EuroMedia Award 2011 under: http://www.euromediaawards.eu/
and impressions of the documentary by Guro Saniola Bjerk under: http://www.cutv.ws/play/4686/Lapp-Hat