Project leader Gro Kvanvig from Kristiansand and Maja Fleck-Baustian from the organization Youth for Diversity Agder are among the many looking forward to Democracy Week 2.–8. May.
Democracy Week takes place in Kristiansand annually and consists of events, meetings, seminars and workshops within art and culture, teaching, education, research and communication. The aim of Democracy Week is to make Kristiansand a center for debate and development to strengthen human rights, freedom of expression and democracy.
– The common denominator for all the events is that they support the main purpose – i.e. to strengthen democracy, human rights and freedom of expression, says project manager from Kristiansand municipality, Gro Kvanvig.
Gro Kvanvig
One of the events that has a young profile is the KRS European Youth Forum, which is being held for the first time in Kristiansand, 4-5. May 2024. The conference is a platform created for young people, by young people, and addresses important topics within human rights and democracy in Europe.
Maja Fleck-Baustian is responsible for the event. She is very much looking forward to the event, which is already fully booked. There will be over 60 participants between the ages of 15-29 from approx. 20 nationalities present.
– I hope to get important and good conversations out of the forum. We will create an action document based on the input from those who participate. This document will be handed over to the decision-makers attending the European conference on Monday 6 May.
She emphasizes that the event is just the start of an exciting collaboration on youth participation, and has high expectations for the results of the further collaboration of this network of young people.
– The goal is for youth participation to be on the agenda in all political cooperation and development work, she states.
Maja Fleck-Baustian
Here you can read more about the event itself:
KRS European Youth Forum – Day 1 | Democracy week (kristiansander.no).
Kristiansand municipality, in collaboration with the Council of Europe, KS and a local partnership, is behind the main program for Democracy Week. The main program has an international format, and the number of events increases from year to year.
Here you can see all events in Democracy Week.
The European Conference
On Monday 6 May, the European Conference on Democracy and Human Rights in Europe will be held for the fifth consecutive year. This is the biggest event in Democracy Week. The main theme this year is: How can we maintain and defend democracy and human rights in Europe?
– This year’s conference is particularly topical and addresses, among other things, the topic of “how to defend fundamental human rights in a time of war and crises”, explains project manager in Kristiansand municipality, Gro Kvanvig.
Russia’s warfare against Ukraine characterizes the entire situation in Europe. One of the topics at the conference will be the Council of Europe’s newly established war damage register for Ukraine in The Hague.
The situation in the Middle East and the war in Gaza will also be a topic, in a conversation between NRK reporter Sidsel Wold and UN special coordinator for the peace process in the Middle East, Tor Wennesland.
Another topic is the launch of the new European regulations from the EU and the Council of Europe for artificial intelligence and human rights.
In the evening, everyone meets in a separate evening event at Kilden. In this part of the European conference, the 75th anniversary of the Council of Europe will be marked, with an introduction by Storting representative Ingjerd Schou, who is the leader of Norway’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Exile artist Lusine Djanjan from the Pussy Riot movement and Norwegian artist Magdi Omar Ytreeide Abdelmagui also take part in the evening programme.
In this news item, you can read more about the European conference.
Here you will find the entire program.
Contacts for the media
Project manager and head of the secretariat, Kristiansand municipality
Mobile: (+47) 98 44 86 39
E-mail: [email protected]
Program manager and former ambassador Torbjørn Frøysnes
Mobile: (+47) 90 70 92 90
Email: [email protected]
Kristin Wallem Timenes, communications advisor, Kristiansand municipality Mobile: (+47) 95 04 21 17
E-mail: [email protected]
Stein Christian Salvesen, senior adviser ARCHIVE peace and human rights centre
Mobile: (+47) 90 07 64 90
E-mail: [email protected]
