The ISFiT-23 presidential election

We are following the election LIVE from Storsalen!

Tonight Studentersamfundet will elect the president of ISFiT-23. The two candidates are Åse Håtveit and Melchior Blum, of whom you can read more about here.

(9.01) A winner as been declared! Read more here.

(8.43) The digital voting is now open.

(8.40) Closing statements

The candidates has delivered their closing statements.

(8.31) Last question

In the last question for tonight, the candidates are asked to present their themes again - as a rhyme.

(8.05 pm) No break

With the acceptance of Storsalen, the planed break is canceled and the election continues.

(7.54 pm) The speakers list is now closed

(7.44 pm)

Question from Mathilde Enkerud, president of ISFiT-21:

What is most important to consider when leading a board, and what are the major challenges in leading a board?

Håtveit: I want different kind of people, with different backgrounds and different sets of knowledge. Figuring out how to work in a board the best way we can, can be challenging. It will be a challenge to collect people from different backgrounds, but will be worth it.

Blum: The board must share my enthusiasm. I would like for them to be motivated, and it is truly important that they arent afraid to disagree with me. It would be a waste to lose good ideas because they are afraid to disagree or discuss the theme.

(7.40 pm)

Question from Ida Utmo: What kind of leader are you?

Håtveit: I would like to say that I am a positive leader, and that I like to have control. At the same time, I want to be approachable. I might not know all the answers, but maybe I know someone who knows! I would also like to inspire people, and let them know they are doing a great job. Helping people do their best is important to me as a person and as a leader.

Blum: I perceive myself as a approachable guy. I'd rather be loved than feared. I'm responsible mannered, and keen on making things work. As a leader I want to inspire, exude some competence. I would want to be responsible and inspiring.

(7.35 pm) The second round of questions for the candidates begins

(7.20 pm) Summary of first round of questions

Among the questions from the first round of questions were the candidates dreams and expectations for the festival, and how they intend to make ISFiT-23 a more climate friendly. The issue of having fewer voulenteers with experience from a non-digital festival was also adressed, as well as several questions regarding the organisational side of the festival.

(7.11 pm) Break

(6.50 pm)

Question from Nina Salvesen:

ISFiT is in many ways a highly political festival. Do you have any political goals for ISFiT-23?

Blum: Whith my theme 'Utopis' there is an underlying politcal assumption. At the same time, However, I do not think my theme has a clear political direction, rather I would like the voulenteers to explore their own Utopias. That beeing said, there are some politcal assumptions I assume you all share and there will be political aspects within the theme.

Håtveit: Taking a politcal stance is not my goeal with this theme. Rather, I want to talk about how we are getting more diverged, and discussing politcal polarization - that is what I want to do, not taking a political stance.

(6.41 pm) Answering time extendent

The two candidates are currently answering questions from the audience. A request to extend the candidates answering time from one minute to one minute thirty seconds was approved by Storsalen.

(6.28 pm) Introductions

Åse Håtveit want to create a festival with the theme ‘Polarization’, which she explains is one of the biggest challenges we face today.

— We are more polarized than we have ever been, how does this affect us? Do we need polarization? This may be the most prominent challenge we face today, and I believe Isfit is the right platform, Håtveit says.

Melchior Blum brings the theme ‘Imagine Utopia’ to the election, and wants to create an international dialog about our common future.

— In the past we used to imagine perfect worlds, utopias we could strive for, today we lack the courage. I think we need to dare to imagine perfect worlds again, instead of accepting the here and now. I want us to create an international dialog.