ICORN’s new board members: Dominika Kasprowicz and Marianne Borgen
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Dominika Kasprowicz, representing Krakow ICORN City of Refuge, and Marianne Borgen, representing Oslo ICORN City of Refuge are the two new members of the ICORN Board. They were elected by the ICORN General Assembly on 30 May 2024 and will serve for the next four years.
Marianne Borgen, a well-known politician with a background in sociology, served as the Mayor of Oslo from 2015 to 2023, representing the Socialist Left Party (SV). Prior to her mayoral role, Borgen held various political positions in Oslo and the region, beginning her formal political career in 1995. Between 1997 and 2011, she also worked in senior management positions for the international organisation Save the Children. Oslo, which has been an ICORN City of Refuge since 2007, has hosted 10 writers, artists, and journalists to date.
Upon her election to the ICORN Board, Borgen expressed:
I am proud to be an ICORN board member. As a former Mayor, sociologist and a grandmother, I see the importance of strong NGOs fighting for freedom of expression of art and culture. Freedom of speech is the fundament in an open democracy. We need to work closely together to promote artistic freedom and ensure the safety and protection of more artists, journalists, and writers. I look forward cooperating with the other board members, to further develop and strengthen ICORN in the coming years.
Dominika Kasprowicz has been the Director of the Villa Decius Association in Krakow since 2016. She is also a professor at Jagiellonian University where she began working the same year. As a political scientist with academic experience in both Poland and other European Countries, Kasprowicz aims to enhance ICORN’s holistic approach to offering residencies to writers, artists, and journalists at risk. Krakow, which joined ICORN in 2011, has since hosted 12 writers, artists, and journalists in ICORN residencies, through the Villa Decius Association.
Borgen and Kasprowicz join the existing ICORN Board members, which include Chair Annika Strömberg (Uppsala), Deputy Chair Sabine Gimbrère (Amsterdam), Henry Reese (Pittsburgh), and Adi Blum (Bern).
