EUSTORY History Camp in Oslo
On August 27, this year’s next EUSTORY History Camp starts in Oslo. It was organised in cooperation with the Norwegian Association of History Teachers and the Fritt Ord Foundation, a EUSTORY partner organisation in Norway which aims at strengthening pluralism and freedom of speech in Europe’s societies. For one week, 25 prize winners of 12 national history competitions will explore the topic of “National Constitutions and European Democracies in Times of Crisis”.
In 2014, Norway celebrates the 200th anniversary of its democratic constitution which laid the foundation for the country’s independence in 1814. Until today, the institutions and principles established back then form the basis for the state of Norway. The Norwegian constitution is renowned for its history of origin and still sets an example for democratic development in Europe. On the occasion of this anniversary that is commemorated widely with numerous events and publications in Oslo and beyond, the EUSTORY prize winners consider different aspects of democracies and pluralism in Europe throughout their programme.
What does democracy mean today? What shapes are Europe’s democracies in and which democratic values are personally important to young people? Those are some of the questions the participants will discuss with young Norwegian members of parliament from different factions. Thereby they will gain an insight into political reality in Norway today and discover how young adults can contribute to a democratic society in the 21st century.
Investigating the role of the media as the “Fourth Estate”, the young Europeans will talk to a journalist from Norway’s leading newspaper “Aftenposten” and to representatives of one of the biggest Norwegian publishing house. The participants can further enhance their knowledge about interaction of democracies and the media in the context of the “Europe@Debate” on September 1st, an event by FutureLab Europe about “The Role of the Social Media in the European Public Sphere”.
Beside the media and politics, the young adults will deal with civil society organisations and stakeholders which advocate the protection of fundamental rights or examine the causes of social conflicts on a national and international level. Thus, the young Europeans will meet with the general secretary of Amnesty International Norway and the ombudsman for equality and anti-discrimination. Furthermore, they will visit the Nobel Peace Institute and speak to the research director of the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs.
The History Camp participants will assemble their findings and experiences in daily blogposts about the seminar, as well as in reports and other contributions for a seminar magazine that will be published on the Young History Forum following the one-week programme in Oslo.