Next stop - Norway

Next destination of our Scandinavian part of journey was Norway. Starting early morning by bus we were going to Oslo. For some of us from Eastern Europe it was quite unusual to cross the countries border without any passport control and even any stop. Picked by Axel and Sturla at the bus station we had approached to the small and beautiful 100 years old castle right at the center of Oslo which is an Initiatives of Change house in Norway. We had a nice chance to see a little bit of Oslo going to Frogner park where a lot of unusual sculptures had been found. The first evening with Norwegian friends has been devoted to know-each-other-better games and we were having a lot of fun!

Opening our eyes next morning we found that we brought with us a sunny weather. This Sunday AfE team had an wonderful opportunity to take part at barbecue party . Amazing! People all ages from families involved in MRA/IofC came together playing games, talking, eating a hundred (or a little bit less) kinds of cakes.

At the evening we had an opportunity to meet two friends Leif Hovelsen and Jens J.Wilhelmsen who shared with us a pieces of their life’s stories. They have experienced a life full of adventures and personal struggles and gave us an inspired examples of challenges they faced.

Raising up next morning we went to the heart of Norway democracy – Norwegian Parliament. There we spent some time looking inside parliamentary house and also had an hour conversation with deputy leader of Christian Democratic Party Mr. Knut Arild Hareide, former minister of environment. On the meeting AfE team presented themselves and also Mr. Hareide shared his experience of making decisions to be involved in political life.

Next stop of our Oslo adventure was a Norwegian Foreign Policy Institute where we meet a three experts who work at the field of Eastern Europe studies providing Norwegian society an update analysis what happens in this very shaky part of Europe. Also we discussed the issue of objectivity in the field of analyse and expertise.

One of our hosts Gudrun introduced us with work she is doing – together we visited the Oslo City Mission where drug addicts and homeless people could receive a support in difficult life situations.

Following visit to the Central Jamaa Mosque in Oslo had been for some of us a first visit to such a place. Meeting with Imam gave us a piece of the intercultural picture of modern Norway.

In the evening in Open meeting in Oslo IofC house was a chance for AfE group to share challenges and hopes they face on their lives as well their societies face nowadays. A man from the Norwegian business community mentioned afterward that he has started to believe that eastern Europeans could give to the West a new spiritual impetus for growing.

On Tuesday “Action for Europe” team had a possibility to meet young Norwegians, one of our hosts - Camilla’s students at Assiden college in Drammen. “It’s a exiting and meantime a bit unknown moment when two important parts of my life meets each other –my students, my job I really feel a passion for and my IofC friends. They are studying arts and media and they are the ones as well who after some years will shape our worldviews through media!”

Camilas husband Axel welcomed us in an art-galery where he works and introduced with a bits and pieces of Norway art, but afterwards Camilla and Axel invited us into their house to celebrate Marielle’s birthday! We enjoyed a lot playing football, chatting, having strawberries, getting to know our hosts and their friends, having a discussions about what really matters to us as individuals and meantime as a part of society!

Wednesday Abi and Herman Qvam’s invited us to their home based near As town and offered wonderful national dish (don’t remember a name but sweet and using as a starter). Abi and Herman told a story how they have started to be involved at MRA\IofC receiving a big international delegations in their house what was quit challenged for them.

Then we went to the University of Environment and Bioscience and had a chance to look at the tractor which had been developed by Herman and few his colleges due to use it in development countries. The special thing about this tractor is that it could be constructed very easy even from used components and could use organic based fuel. “The seed of this idea was MRA meeting 25 years ago when I had a dinner together with people who were talking about positive change and I questioned myself “What can I do?””. Herman and his friends have worked on this initiative without any support of government, nevertheless this invention received a prize in World Bank’s competition Global Development Marketplace 2006.

Same evening together with Norwegian team we discussed a possible continuation of AfE project as well as different ways of European IofC community common development.

Next day we had a chance to participate on the weekly gathering of Oslo Initiatives of change community meeting where people usually shared their quite time insights and thoughts.

Ilze and Kostya