10 Norwegian cities get together to strengthen local democracy

Categories: City stories, News
Udgivet: 31 Aug - 2022

Nordic Safe Cities gathered our 10 Norwegian member cities to a conference in Oslo, where we discussed and shaped new ideas on how to strengthen local democracy and at the same time counter extremism, hate and polarization.

On a late June evening a man shot and killed to people outside a bar in Oslo. In that very second Norway was once again struck with the all too familiar feeling of feeling unsafe in their own country, in their own community. Several terror attacks have during the past decade provoked that feeling.

But the feeling of being unsafe must not become permanent in the Norwegian cities and society. The safety must return.

Out of that ambition Nordic Safe Cities gathered it’s ten Norwegian member cities to a conference outside of Oslo. The purpose was to reinforce the cities initiatives to strengthen local democracy and at the same time counter polarization, hate and extremism.

– Too many people don’t feel they belong to a community. That heightens the risk of getting attracted to extreme ideologies which in some cases can offer that sense of belonging to a community, says Lotte Fast Carlsen, deputy director at Nordic Safe Cities.

– One of our goals with the conference was to become even better at reaching those people who have the potential to end up in such extremist communities, and instead show them a pathway into the many local democracies and communities which you can find all over Norway.

The Norwegian values must be defended

All of the Norwegian cities that participate at the conference were not only members of Nordic Safe Cities, they are also part of the Trygg by Norge initiative.

The Trygg by Norge initiative was established by Nordic Safe Cites and Gjensidigestiftelsen in 2020. Since then the cities have formed and established ten local projects which aim to ensure safe local communities. The projects are run by the municipalities and volunteer organizations.

– Our democracy needs to be reinforced because the Norwegian society has to be able to withstand the pressure from extremism, hate and polarization. With our support to the Trygg by Norge-initiative we wish to defend the democratic values that has formed the cohesion in our country for so long, says Ingrid Tollånes, leader of Society and Gifts at Gjensidigestiftelsen.

Beyond representatives from the ten Norwegian cities the conference was also attended by five representatives of the Norwegian government, plus more than 20 experts within the field of counter extremism.