Biafra and the Nordic Media

The Nigerian Civil War, spanning from 1967 to 1970, garnered significant global attention, especially due to the media's portrayal of suffering children in the seceding region of Biafra and the subsequent humanitarian response. This booklet chronicles a seminar where journalists from Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, who reported from Biafra, shared their experiences and perspectives on the conflict and the humanitarian efforts aimed at alleviating the famine. The discussions captured in this document provide valuable insights into Nordic humanitarianism and its ethical dimensions, with relevance for contemporary global aid initiatives and the involvement of Nordic countries in international humanitarian cooperation. Norbert Götz is Professor at the Institute of Contemporary History at Södertörn University and head of the project “Civil Society without Boundaries: Nordic Humanitarianism Facing the Biafra Crisis”. Carl Marklund is an Associate Professor in Nordic Studies at the University of Helsinki and a researcher at the Institute for Contemporary History at Södertörn University.