The visit will take place from 3-7 June 2024 and will include a three-day stay at the Utøya Learning Centre and a workshop with UTC educators on countering radicalisation and their experiences with remembrance.

Teams of two people are invited to participate, representing the organisation concerned (or the organisation and its main partner in the activities to which the trip relates, e.g. a local institution).

During the workshop, participants will learn about the working methods and experiences of those involved in the UTC, but will also work with them on the challenges they face in their work, e.g. discussing the difficulties they face or planning activities together.

On the application form for the visit, please describe specific challenges/actions/action plans related to counter-radicalisation, dialogue, and local memory or remembrance that you deal with in your organisations. In the first instance, we will invite those who have an idea of specific issues they would like to work on.

 On 22 July 2011, a Norwegian right-wing extremist killed 69 people on the island of Utøya, most of them young people at a summer youth camp run by the Norwegian Labour Party. The terrorist believed that people from different cultural backgrounds could not coexist in society and spread a conspiracy theory that Europe was slowly being taken over by the Arab world.

Since 2016, the Utøya Learning Centre has been operating on the site – the island’s infrastructure has been redeveloped as a centre for remembrance and education, in an effort to balance the need for remembrance with the need for new life, learning and commitment to a more inclusive, democratic society. Today, Utøya is a testament to why values such as tolerance, equality and diversity cannot be taken for granted, but must be promoted and practised in everyday life.

Logistics:

• The organisers of the visit will cover all costs related to transport, accommodation and meals during the visit (as well as travel and possible accommodation at the place from where the flight to Oslo will take place).
• The working language of the visit will be English. However, a translation into Polish will be available (via headphones) on site – please request this on the application form.
• In Utøya we will share cabins in the area where the tragic events of 2011 took place. (two people per room). These cabins are not locked. If you do not consent to this condition, you will not be able to participate in the visit, as we will not be able to provide accommodation elsewhere.

How to apply:

If you would like to participate in the visit, please complete the application form here by 15 April and we will inform you of your eligibility by 19 April 2024.

Please apply in teams of two people: two people from each organisation or one person from one organisation and one person representing its main partner in the activities to which the visit relates.

One application (completed form) should list both people representing the organisation (or the organisation and its partner).

NOTE: Completion of the form does not guarantee eligibility for the visit. If there are more applications than places available, the organisers will select the organisations on the basis of the information provided on the application form, giving priority to the diversity of the issues they deal with.

The study visit is jointly organised by the Active Citizens Fund – National Fund and the Active Citizens Fund – Regional programmes.