Stefanus Alliance International
Stefanus Alliance International (SAI) is a Norwegian mission and human rights group based in Oslo. It defends freedom of belief and religion as described in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its motto is “Together for the persecuted.” The organization was founded in 1967 by Monrad Norderval, Anutza Moise, Vemund Skard, Else-Marie Skard and Gulbrand Øverbye. It was originally called Mission Behind the Iron Curtain (the Norwegian Mission to the East) and changed its name to Stefanus Alliance International on January 1, 2012.
SAI supports churches and individuals persecuted for their beliefs and advocates for religious rights. It has a history in media: it started a radio station in 1968, published the newspaper Ropet fra Øst in 1971 (renamed Magasinet Stefanus in 2012), and helped establish the Forum 18 news service in 2003. Since 2001, it has been a partner in the international Christian Solidarity Worldwide network.
Every two years, SAI awards the Stefanus Prize to people who contribute to freedom of religion or belief, across different faiths. Recent winners include Asma Jilani Jahangir (Pakistan), Mine Yildirim and Aykan Erdemir (Turkey), Wagma Feroz (Pakistan), and Aiman Umarova (Kazakhstan).
On April 3, 2018, SAI announced Ed Brown would become secretary-general on August 1, 2018, succeeding Hilde Skaar Vollebæk. Former secretaries-general include Lasse Trædal (1982–1989), John Victor Selle (1989–2002), Bjørn Wegge (2002–2013), Hans Aage Gravaas (2013–2017), and Hilde Skaar Vollebæk (2017–2018).
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:11 (CET).