The topic for this term’s Global Concern was migration, a particularly pertinent focus given the reality of our world today. The events of the day were largely organized by students and consisted of informative, engaging workshops and a plenary session on International Humanitarian Law, given by Espen Persønn Flagstad, Legal Advisor to the Red Cross on IHL. Students and teachers from Nordahl Grieg VG joined us for the day, enjoying a reunion with Student Council friends and participating fully in workshops and other happenings.
Workshops were led by students and visitors. Youth from a local reception centre for asylum seekers contributed to the story-telling sessions, sharing migration stories alongside our students, some of whom elaborated on their own stories. A music therapist who works with the Fylkeskommune, Jorunn Bakke Nydal, shared her own journey of working with asylum seekers, refugees and the local Norwegian community through the International Choir she started and other projects. Students and staff were deeply moved by an exercise in empathy in one workshop, while the Marshall Plan, the current EU situation, and right-wing movements in Europe were discussed at length in others. There were cooking sessions in the Høegh, considering the migration of food, and creative juices flowed in the Art Room, where students collaborated on a picture book for children of asylum seekers, introducing them to Norwegian ways with drawings and text in both Norwegian and English.
After lunch a plenary presentation on the history of migration filled in some gaps, offering a “big picture” view of where we are today. The focus on migration throughout the day included different perspectives, aiming to provide a broader and more complete view of what migration actually is.
