International Newsletter
No 1 | 2013
Photo: Bernt Hjørnevik, Øygarden kommune
The “West Norway Offi ce in Brussels” celebrated ten years of speaking on behalf of Western Norway in the “EU capital” Brussels, this June. Here is current director of the offi ce, Merete Mikkelsen with, from left, former director Gunnar Selvik, chair of the board and Chief Commissioner of Bergen, Monica Mæland and board member since the start and director of the Munch Museum, Stein Olav Henrichsen
Welcome to the international newsletter from Hordaland County Council, giving you a short introduction to the county’s international activities over the last 6 months. Although the list is not extensive, we nevertheless hope to give you an idea of the breadth of activities that takes place within our region. The next newsletter will be sent out before Christmas 2013.
This spring has again been an active one with many international projects, both big and small. We are very happy to see that so many schools, municipalities, political committees, administrative personnel and others have used the opportunity to go abroad for new knowl- edge and inspiration.
2013 has also turned out to be the year of anniversaries; We celebrate 30 years of coopera- tion with the Orkney Islands, 20 years with Kaunas, Cardiff and Lithuania and our Brussels offi ce is 10 years.
Hordaland County Council | International Section | P.O. Box 7900, 5020 Bergen, Norway Editor: Charlotte Lillefjære-Tertnæs | [email protected]
International newsletter | No 1/2013 1
11 Our Partner regions Basse-Normandie, France
Visit to Hordaland in May to further strengthen Continued cooperation between the schools the cooperation on education Bilateral links have been established between sev- The educational cooperation is one of the strong eral schools in Hordaland and Basse-Normandie. fields in the cooperation between Hordaland and Below are examples of the activities this spring: Basse-Normandie. It includes both the “Hordaland class in Normandie” and bilateral links between Voss gymnas had a visit from two schools in schools where the latter involves both the ex- Basse-Normandie, Lycée Alain Chartier and change of apprentices and groups within the gen- Collège Lycée Expérimental. 35 French pupils and eral studies visiting each other. four teachers spent a week in Norwegian host fami- lies, and besides experiencing family life they at- This March a visit was made to Hordaland with the tended school classes, visited Voss, Bergen and aim of further strengthening this cooperation. Rep- the fjords, and even tried skiing. The program for resentatives came from both the regional admin- this week in April was busy, and our guests really istration and the Academie de Caen as these two enjoyed their stay, especially thanks to the host institutions share the responsibility for the upper families’ great hospitality. More secondary education in Basse-Normandie. The timing of the visit was set to match the “Young En- trepreneurs” fair – and contest for Hordaland, that took place in Grieghallen on Monday the 18th of March. In addition to see how this event was orga- nized, the aim of the trip was to discuss how the cooperation, especially on vocational training, could be expanded. There was also a special meeting at Voss concerning the “Hordaland class”
The last person to participate in this visit was the director of the Lycée Professionnel Maritime et Aquacole in Cherbourg who wanted to explore the Students from Bayeux try out cross country skiing at possibilities for cooperation with maritime schools Voss (photo: Sverre Herre) in Hordaland Olsvikåsen videregående has cooperated with Lycée Salvador Allende in Herouville St. Clair since spring 2011 and this march it was 24 French pupils and 2 teachers that spent a week in Bergen. They participated in several classes and had excursions to places of interest (such as the science centre VilVite) before the week was ended with a Farewell Party that included entertainment, good food and dancing!
The group meets with apprentices from Knarvik vidaregåande at FRAMO Flatøy
International newsletter | No 1/2013 4
Sandsli videregående skole cooperates with Ly- An exchange year in Basse-Normandie cée Hotelier Rabelais in Herouville-St. Clair and By Jorid Skiple, coordinator, “Voss gymnas they use the European Leonardo da Vinci pro- This has been a great second year for Voss gym- gramme for regular exchanges. The exchange is nas and Hordaland County Council: The new ex- focused on food preparation and apprentices from change program where pupils spend a whole year both schools are placed in restaurants or hotel in France, in the region of Basse-Normandie is kitchens. This spring, two apprentices from Sandsli expanding! This year nine pupils have had the op- spent 3 weeks in Bayeux, working, one in restau- portunity to live in France, and with great success! rant Le Pommier and one in Hôtel Lion d’Or. The pupils are hosted in dormitories during the week and in host families in the weekends, a com- bination that allows them to experience both French school and family life. The French hospitali- ty has made our pupils feel very welcome. The schools are focused on the academic success and wellbeing of our pupils, and the host families have really opened their homes, so the pupils have been well integrated. This is a great opportunity to learn the French language, to get to know a new culture and getting your school year validated in your di- ploma. More
Bjørgvin videregående has a collaboration with Lycée Sivard de Beaulieu in Carentan. In January, 18 pupils and 2 teachers from Bjørgvin spent one week in Carentan and this May it was time to return the hospitality. The French pupils and teachers visited Bergen and Bjørgvin from May 24th to 31st. The pupils were staying with each other and at- tended each other’s classes – all to enhance the cultural exchange. During the week in Bergen it was time to see many of the sights in beautiful May weather. More
Students from Bjørgvin in front of the landmark Mont St. Michel in Normandie
International newsletter | No 1/2013 5
20th anniversary marked with signing of new agreement
In 1993, Hordaland County Council and the region- visited Hordaland in the period between 20th and al council of Basse-Normandie signed an Agree- 24th of May. The programme started off with a full- ment of Cooperation. This was based on the day visit to the Hardanger region and the village of shared history and the common features of the two Ulvik on Tuesday, where the focus, among other regions, but set out to create common projects things, was on the production of apple products, an within education, culture and economic develop- area where Normandy has long traditions). The ment. 20 years down the line, many exciting pro- official anniversary dinner was held on Tuesday jects have seen the light of day. evening. Wednesday was very much influenced by the official festival opening outdoors with the open- “Flagship projects” within both education and ing show being the modern opera “Marco Polo” in culture the evening. The Thursday was dedicated to paral- The partnership between our two regions is cur- lel, thematic programs within culture, education and rently seeing some important projects within the innovation respectively. fields of culture and education. Within culture the joint exhibition project “Meeting Point wood” is currently largest activity. In this pro- ject museums in both regions have come together to display the traditional and contemporary use of wood. The exhibition opened in Caen in November 2011 and will open in Hordaland within the next year. The other big project is the Nordic culture festival “Les Boréales” which takes place in Normandy every November and where several artists from Horda- land have taken part under the label “Made in Horda- land”. Within Education, the “Hordaland class in Norman- die” is the single biggest project. The number of pupils studying for one academic year in Normandy Annie Anne with Nils Lekve, owner of Hardanger Juice and has grown from four pupils at two schools in the Cider factory in Ulvik first year to 12 pupils at four schools in the third year, starting this fall. In addition to this there are New agreement signed almost ten schools engaged in bilateral projects, On Wednesday the 22nd of May, a new Agreement and this number is increasing every year. of Cooperation was signed by Vice President for International relations Annie Anne and County Effort to bring other partners in the regions Mayor Tom-Christer Nilsen, in the presence of the together French Ambassador to Norway, Jean-Marc Rives. In addition to the projects that the regions initiate This agreement envisions an active cooperation themselves, part of the effort is also to create new within the fields of a) economic development, re- links between different institutions and organisa- search and innovation, b)education and vocational tions in the two regions. This can be museums, training and c)culture and cultural heritage. Marine festivals and other cultural institutions. It can be and maritime questions will be a cross cutting incubators, innovation structures or private compa- theme. An action plan outlining the activities for nies. Or it can be schools, universities or research 2013-15 was signed already in November 2012. institutions. The regions’ role in this is to create the opportunities for similar actors to meet and to ex- plore possible collaborations.
20 years of collaboration celebrated Although the original agreement was signed in November 1993 the 20th anniversary celebrations were scheduled for May 2013 in order to coincide with the always spectacular opening of the Bergen International Festival. A delegation from Basse- Normandie, headed by Vice President for Interna- tional relations Annie Anne and Vice President for Culture and Cultural heritage Pascale Cauchy, International newsletter | No 1/2013 6
excellent programs in line with the themes specified Cardiff, in our application. Our expectations ahead of the project in Cardiff Wales was to become familiar with how they solved their regional assignments, to exchange ideas and expe- The Hordaland class in Cardiff riences related to problem solving, to gain insight and a greater understanding of a different work Hege Cruickshank By , Knarvik videregående culture, to be more confident in the use of English and to become more familiar with a partner region When the seventeen Norwegian students went that we had heard only positive things of. home for Christmas, it was for the first time for In Brussels, our goal was to get more knowledge of most of them since they arrived in Cardiff in Sep- the EU decision-making processes, the opportuni- tember. Christmas was a welcome break from ties to influence this and how EU policy affects our school life, but right after Christmas their first round daily lives. Further, we wanted to hear more about of exams waited - a challenging, but very useful how other Norwegian actors in Brussels work experience. (NHO, KS, the embassy etc…) On top of all their schoolwork, they have had the We feel incredibly lucky to have received scholar- study weekends in Norwegian. A tutor from home ships that enabled us to increase our competence comes over five times a year to give lessons in the in this way and we are certain that this will be use- Norwegian curriculum. The best part of these ful in our continued work. A special thanks to our weekends, no doubt, has been to meet with the host organisations for the effort that they put into other Norwegian students from the six different this and to our own organisation for giving us this Cardiff and Barry schools, as they rarely have had opportunity. a chance to meet for a chat. In May, they had an- other chance to see each other when the whole group went rafting in Cardiff Bay as Cardiff Council guests. At the Farewell Party in the splendid Mansion House the young Norwegians impressed all the guests with their excellent English skills and their beautiful Cardiff accents. Time has passed so quickly, the students said in their speech, but Car- diff will always be an important part of them. More
Anita Fjellheim together with Gill Murton, Committee & Members Services Manager in Cardiff County
Orkney Islands,
Scotland Study visit from Hordaland By Anita Fjellheim and Dianne Kilvær, Department of Organisation 30 years of cooperation, the 13th of June th On the 13 of June 1983, the Friendship agree- The motivation behind our project application to the ment between Hordaland County Council and Ork- Leonard da Vinci-programme was a wish for an ney Islands Council was signed during a plenary increased international competence within interna- session of the Hordaland County Council. th tional work, language and culture. Cardiff County The 30 anniversary will be marked by events on Council and the West Norway Office in Brussels the Orkneys, both in June and in relation to the th became our partner organisations and created Christmas events as the main event for the 25 anniversary was held in Bergen. International newsletter | No 1/2013 7
Kaunas, Thüringen, Lithuania Germany
Youth project on extremism Hordaland classes in Erfurt – in electro and Last year, Hordaland and Kaunas County Councils soon to be in general studies started a partnership around the theme Youth and By Liv Skipenes, Askøy videregående skole extremism in Europe. Partners from five different European countries (UK, Italy, Portugal, Lithuania The 5th group of electro pupils from Hordaland has and Norway) developed the project “European returned to Norway after about half a year in Ger- Youth Standing Against Extremism” (EYSAE). many. The nine pupils from Stord in the south to The project will bring together 50 young people for Lindås in the north returned with good results and a a three-day seminar in London on how to counter lot of experience and memories. They have been extremist and fascist ideologies among youth at the well taken care of by the teachers at school and by local and European level. The seminar will be the staff in the Internat 1, and their contact person based on comparative perspectives, shared expe- Lusia Ihle, who has been the link between all par- riences and will aim to find innovative ways to en- ties involved in the placement at Andreas Gordon courage young people in the fight against racism Schule. Teachers and the principal at Askøy vide- and xenophobia. regående have visited the pupils four times during This project has received EU funding through the their stay, and in the beginning of May, their exam Youth in Action program. In April, representatives was celebrated in the presence of leading politi- of the five partners carried out a planning meeting cians and the director of education in Erfurt, Dr. in London but the actual seminar will take place in Werner Ungewiss. July 2013.
Project “Active Society – safe community” To celebrate many years of cooperation, Kaunas City has invited their partner regions/towns to par- ticipate in the application for a project “Active Soci- The representatives from Askøy were also present ety – safe community” within the Citizen for Europe for a second reason, as Hordaland Fylkeskom- programme. mune has established contact with a gymnasium in The aim of the project is to share experience with Erfurt, Albert Schweitzer Gymnasium. This fall, for partners (NGOs, youth organisations, local gov- the first time, our county will send six pupils for a ernment, and police) on cooperation between so- year to a German gymnasium, where pupils from cial organisations and local authorities in the pre- studiespesialiserende - "general subjects with study vention of crime and creating safe living environ- competence", will attend classes on the level of the ment. The important aspect of the project is to Norwegian VG2. This class has already been es- show examples of inclusion of local communities in tablished, and will be organised and mentored by solving safety problems in their own dwelling dis- Askøy videregående skole just like the electro tricts. If the proposal is accepted, Hordaland will class. transfer good practice from the county’s Depart- ment of Education, Bergen municipality and the Next school year we will therefore have 15 pupils in NGO “Night Ravens”. The proposed project activity Erfurt, having an exciting school year and getting a is a 3-day event, a conference and practical work- very special, interesting and useful compe- shop in Kaunas in the autumn 2013. tence. We wish everybody good luck! More International newsletter | No 1/2013 8
Course in intercultural communication meaning that there is a collaboration both at the A delegation of 9 business leaders and entrepre- political and administrative level, as well as be- neurs from Thüringen visited Hordaland the first tween different institutions. The Committee for Cul- week of June. They participated in the European ture and Resources was in Edinburgh in April and Social Fund project: “International business com- there have been visits, in both direction between munication with English as an intermediary lan- personnel within the library and cultural heritage guage” organised by the Europa-Service-Büro and field. Scholarships from the Leonardo da Vinci pro- the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Süd- gramme have been important tools in establishing Thüringen. The main objectives were to strengthen this exchange. Within cultural heritage, cooperation English language skills, establish branch related is being built up, in particular towards Historic Scot- business contacts and gain international experi- land. The cooperation within outdoor activities, art ence. The companies represented different and cultural dissemination is being followed up. branches like mechanical processing and construc- tion, technology, equipment etc. International Sec- tion organised the programme in Hordaland for the group. In addition to information about Hordaland like business and economic development, Norwe- gian history, political and administrative manage- ment structure and regulations for trade and cus- toms, the group visited different institutions and companies in Bergen, Askøy, Osterøy and Øygar- den. These visits ranged from the large petroleum related industry to smaller manufacturers.
Five librarians to Edinburgh with Leonardo scholarships By Ágúst Magnússon, Hordaland County Library
This February, five librarians from Hordaland re- ceived scholarships from the European Leonardo da Vinci programme in order to spend one week in Edinburgh to study the city’s libraries more in detail. The five participants were Bente Bing Kleiva (Meland municipality), Siv Røyneland (Kvam mu- nicipality), Inger Dyrnesli (Voss municipality), Eldrid
The group receives information about the Department of Geo- N. Sørnes (Årstad upper secondary school) and physics at the university – up on the roof! Ágúst Magnússon from the County Library. During this week, we visited the main library in In summing up the week the participants expressed Edinburgh, five other libraries in the city and a mo- how their English skills had improved. They also bile library. In found it very interesting to learn more about Horda- addition to land’s strong industries as well as the smaller in- this, we had a dustries. Contacts for possible future cooperation very good had also been made. introduction to the library's Edinburgh, digital initia- tives, infor- Scotland mation about the program “Edinburgh Broad approach to cooperation within culture reads” (with By Anna Elisa Tryti, Director of Culture and Sports programs for all age groups) and the cooperation they have with social services in the community. Hordaland County Council’s Department of culture Edinburgh’s library app is the first of its kind in the and sports is currently building up a broad specter UK. We also visited their two new libraries at cooperation within culture, sports and outdoor ac- Drumbrae and Craigmillar. They are both a model tivities with Scotland, with a special emphasis on for the future library and local service delivery – the partner regions Edinburgh and the Orkney Is- with library, housing, health and community police lands. This is built up after the same model as for services all in one place. This means better effi- example the cooperation with Basse-Normandie, ciency for both the customers and the community. International newsletter | No 1/2013 9
21 Cooperation through international organisations
Conference of Peripheral North Sea and Maritime Regions Commission (NSC) (CPMR)
Hordaland is one of 156 member regions in CPMR. The North Sea Commission was founded in 1989 The CPMR works to secure a development across as a sub-commission to CPMR, in order to facilitate the European regions, regardless of their geo- and enhance partnerships between regions by the graphical location. More North Sea. The NSC has 36 member regions, 15 from Norway. More Maritime issues and cohesion policy continues to be among the core subjects for the CPMR. Involvement in the thematic groups The activities this spring has included a seminar on Following a decision in the Executive Committee in the reduction of sulphur emissions from ships in the Hordaland in March 2012, political and administra- Channel and the North Sea, organised in Dunkirk, tive representatives from Hordaland have been France in March. They have also been engaged in appointed to all the thematic working groups of the the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, formu- NSC. In addition to this, County Mayor Tom- lating and official opinion at the moment when the Christer Nilsen has been the vice president of the tripartite negotiations started in early March. Within organisation since June 2012. the framework of the European Maritime Day on 22 This spring, political and/or administrative repre- May 2013, CPMR and the City of Goteborg organ- sentatives from Hordaland have participated in ised a workshop called: «EU Regions: pathway to meetings in all the five thematic groups. One of boost maritime coastal tourism ». these meetings have been held in Hordaland as Cllr Helge André Njaastad who takes part in the In terms of the cohesion policy, the CPMR has Culture and Tourism group, but who is also the positioned themselves in relations to the negotia- Mayor of Austevoll, invited to group to Hordaland tions on the multi-annual financial framework 2014- for their winter meeting. The group had their meet- 2020. The CPMR, which is in very close contact ing both in the island municipality of Austevoll and with European Parliament, strongly supports revi- in Bergen, all in beautiful winter weather. sion points that would enable financial framework to remain truly European rather than return to the Member States. They have also tried to put special emphasis on the special situation of islands.
This September CPMR will celebrate its 40th anni- versary in Bretagne where it was once founded.
Introduction by Bergen’s commissioner for culture, Gunnar Bakke an the Norwegian Seafood Centre in Bergen
General Assembly “A better place to live” was the title of this year’s joint annual conference between the North Sea Region Programme and the North Sea Commis- sion. Fitting to the title, the conference was held on idyllic Tylösand beach outside of Halmstad in the Swedish region of Halland on 11th and 12th of June. Keeping the shoreline clean and free of pollution is important As the current programme period is coming to an for many regions were tourism in as important industry – such end, the focus was not only on learning from the as here in the Halland region in Sweden experience of existing projects, but also on discuss- ing the objectives of the programme to come.
International newsletter | No 1/2013 10
The Regional Council for Western Norway
The Regional Council for Western Norway is an organisation consisting of four County Councils on the west coast of Norway: Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland and Rogaland. The council consists of five politicians elected from each of the county councils. The leadership alternates between the member counties, and Sogn og Fjordane is heading the organisation in 2013. The focus areas The Annual Business Meeting of the North Sea th of the council are transport, business development, Commission was held on the 13 of June. The two culture and international affairs. Administrative main points on the agenda was the definition of the groups have been established for these topic are- terms of an action plan following up the objectives as. More of the strategy document “North Sea Region 2020”,
as well as following up the organisational survey The international working group that has been carried out this spring. As a result of This spring, the international group has had four the latter, two of the thematic groups are changing meetings (including one video conference) and has their names (and somewhat their focus); “Sustain- presented two cases to the council; coordination of able Development” will become “Energy and Cli- the international activities of the four member coun- mate Change” and “Innovation and Education” will ties and a proposal for a position paper regarding in become “Economic Development”. There were also particular the funding of the next programming pe- some changes to the organisational charter, but riod of the Interreg programme this raised minimal discussion, as they were tech- nical changes in order to bring the charter more in line with the rest of the CPMR.
3 Projects Interreg IV projects Interreg is the European programmes for interregional cooperation, partly financed by European Un- ion. Hordaland is eligible for participation in the following programs; Interreg IV B: The North Sea Region Program, Northern Periphery Program and the Baltic Sea Program and Interreg IV C; Interre- gional Cooperation A new activity in 2013 is an investigation of how Interreg IVB – different incentives or penalty regimes are used to assess the impact of a ship on the environment. North Sea Region Preliminary results will be presented and discussed Programme in September. A study of LNG as fuel for shipping has also result- ed in a report (in print – June 2013). Clean North Sea Shipping By Even Husby, project manager Two surveys related to emission factors for ships and fuel consumption of ships in harbours has In CNSS, several research activities are running in been conducted. The results will serve as input for parallel, heading for the forthcoming joint partner- updated harbour emission inventories for the big ship meeting in September 2013. The main focus is harbours in the on the development of scenarios for air emission, North Sea region. on incentive schemes and on technologies for re- A video providing duction of air emission. a general over- view of CNSS How Onshore Power Supply is utilised within the was ready in North Sea has been the focus of a survey during June and can be the spring of 2013 and the results are now being found at the incorporated into a report. A draft report will be website discussed at an expert meeting in August 2013. www.cnss.no. International newsletter | No 1/2013 11
Interreg ICV –
Craft International Interregional By Terje Inderhaug, project cooperation manager
Craft International is a continuation of the develop- ment work undertaken since 2008 by the Écono- musée Northern Europe project, joining partners from Norway, Sweden, Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Eco Regions Islands, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Canada. By Torill Monstad, project manager Hordaland County Council is the lead partner and the project administration is maintained by the De- partment of Culture and Sports. The Eco Regions project The Eco regions project supports eco-innovation The Craft International project is going from and green technologies, especially linked to small strength to strength in all the partner regions and medium enterprises (SMEs). The main pur- involved. pose of the project is to learn from good practices Our latest artisan member, Kittat in Nuuk, Green- in our partner regions, and stimulate SMEs to a land was launched on 29th of May. Kittat is one of greener production. There are in total 11 partners, the very few businesses anywhere that has the from various regions in countries like Finland, Ger- skills to sew an Innuit national costume with all the many, France, Sweden, Hungary, Italy, Malta and superb beading and needlework. Belgium, together with Hordaland. More
Site visits in the Eco Regions project The first half of 2013 has been the most active year in the Eco Regions project. The project started in the beginning of 2012, with the planning of transfer of knowledge. The actual site visits, where all the partners learn from each other have taken place during the first 6 months of this year. In March and April two delegations from Hordaland visited Thür- ingen to learn about the Energy Efficiency Network and Portaferm. In May three delegations from Sweden and Germany visited Hordaland to learn about our Climate Action Plan.
Our project steering group chairman Mr. Helge Andre Njaastad from Hordaland County Council at the official opening together with the vice-mayor of Nuuk, Mrs. Malene Lynge
The latest official opening of an Economusée in Hordaland was at Syse fruit and apple farm in Ulvik th on 15 of May. Groups from Sweden and Germany visiting Hordaland in March 1st of July Hillesvåg Wool spinnery in Lindås mu- nicipality will open for visitors for the summer sea- Energy Efficiency Network son, however, the official opening will be not be In March a small delegation from Hordaland partic- until the autumn. There are two more Econo- ipated in a site visit to Thüringen. The Energy Effi- musées to come in Norway before the end of 2013. ciency Network Thuringia supports enterprises in By now the Économusée North Atlantic Network reducing their energy consumption and their CO2 has 17 member artisans in Europe and a further 9 emissions. A network of 10-15 enterprises monitors in Quebec in Canada, and there are 13 more their energy consumption and gets support in de- Economusee to come during the autumn. The new tecting and improving their energy efficiency. Since project website and facebook page at the network activities include best-practice ex- www.economusee.eu speaks volumes about the change, various methods for improvement will be range of businesses and their expertise. Best of discussed and presented in the network. This pro- all, later this summer, the artisans will be offering ject is similar to a project that can be found in the their great quality products for sale over the project Climate Action Plan, and our newfound knowledge website. will be very useful when implementing our project. International newsletter | No 1/2013 12
Portaferm There is a clear operational approach to the pro- In April a delegation from Hordaland visited Thür- gram in regards to involving partners who will all be ingen to learn about the biogas project Portaferm. connected to individually described sub projects Farms have a very high energy and electricity de- within various fields. The delegations were very mand, which they presently cover by buying ener- impressed with the way HCC has managed to op- gy. But farms also produce organic waste with a erationalize big climate goals, into more managea- high energy potential. The Portaferm biogas plant ble projects and measures. And especially the way was developed for the conversion of the agricultural the politicians are active contributors to the work waste into energy, electricity and heat. The pro- duced electricity could either be fed in the grid or used decentralized for one or more households. The produced heat will mostly be used decentral- ized. The visit was very interesting, but even in Germany it is clear that biogas can be a challenge.
Climate Action Program The Climate Action Plan is Hordaland’s contribution to the Eco Regions project. In May three delegations from Jämtland, Sweden and Bamberg and Thüringen, Germany visited Hordaland to learn about our Climate Action Plan. One of the most important elements in the Climate Action Plan is that it involves private and public enterprises and organisations throughout the coun- Environmental adviser in Hordaland, Per Svae, gives an in- ty. truduction to the charging station for electric cars at Fjøsanger
4 Youth and internationalisation
Leonardo da Vinci Program
By Kirsten Ese, Leonardo da Vinci coordinator in Hordaland
Hordaland County Council is a regional contact point for the Leonardo da Vinci-programme. As one of five counties in Norway, Hordaland was certified in 2009 because of a high volume and good quality of Leonardo-projects over a number of years. Hordaland County Council is among the most ac- Students from Sandsli videregående on placement as chefs and tive users of the Leonardo da Vinci-programme in waiters at a hotel in Trim, Ireland (Photo: Sandsli vgs) Norway and was allotted more than NOK 3 million for 2013. This means that Hordaland is the second The target countries have been Lithuania, Germa- largest user of the programme in 2013. ny, Slovenia, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, UK, and the distribution of The main target groups are students and appren- trades varies from restaurants, electronics, social tices in vocational education and during the spring care, youth work, robotics, animal care and of 2013 about 100 students and apprentices from transport and logistics. More Hordaland had placements in European companies and institutions. Most of the students have place- ments of 3-4 weeks, and the apprentices for 4 – 13 weeks. By taking part in the programme, the partic- ipants gain new international competence and skills, both professional-, personal-, cultural-, and language skills. International newsletter | No 1/2013 13
«Approaching Delinquent Behaviour at Comenius School». - is a Comenius Regio project with the Dodecanese Regio Islands in Greece for the period 2012-2014. Horda- land County Council / Department of Education, Fyllingsdalen upper secondary school and the "Assessment for learning" School Leader Association represent Hordaland. By Maria S. Olsen, Bjørgvin videregående “Inter-generational approach to reduce func- The Comenius Regio partnership project "Assess- ment for learning" is coordinated by Hordaland tional illiteracy” County Council and the region of Murcia, Spain. By Marit Einen, International section The local partners are the University of Bergen and the University of Murcia, in addition to the two up- The closing conference of the Comeius Regio pro- per secondary schools Bjørgvin in Bergen and IES ject: “Inter-generational approach to reduce func- Jimenez de la Espada in Cartagena. tional illiteracy” took place on 4-7 June in Ormoz, Slovenia. In this project Kvinnherad municipality in From the 2nd to 6th of May, Spanish and Norwegian Hordaland and Ormoz have cooperated for two partners met at Voss to cooperate and exchange years in this cross sector project between health their experiences on Assessment for learning. The and education. The participants come from primary subjects the project group focus on are Mathemat- schools, health and care sector, public libraries and ics, Social Sciences, English and foreign lan- NGO’s. The main focus has been the transfer guages. of skills and competence from the older generation (such as local history and values and traditional From the Norwegian side Kari Smith from the Uni- handicrafts) to the young ones, and vice versa (with versity of Bergen talked about professional devel- modern skills and values). opment and Action Research in the classroom. Stig Solberg and Maria S. Olsen from Bjørgvin vgs showed their IPad experiment illustrating different types of feedback and Montserrat Løvås presented her action research project on oral skills and peer assessment.
The group worked on the further development of the website together with Svein Olav Norenes. The Spanish participants presented their classroom practices on the topic. Their results will be present- ed in September in Spain where they already no- tice an improvement on their pupils because of techniques they have acquired through the project. From the closing event in Ormoz
Both municipalities are reporting the project to be a great success, and that it has shown the im- portance of working across sectors and genera- tions. They hope that this good practice will influ- ence how the sectors develop their services and working methods in the future. Among the concrete results of the project are enhanced reading skills, young people more interested in the health and care sector (both in terms of work as volunteers and for future choice of careers), and not at least the obvious pleasure the two generations had of cooperating in different activities in the project.
There is now a strong will on both sides for further cooperation. Slovenia has prioritised the health sector within the EEA-Grant scheme and are now looking at this programme, in additions to others, as an opportunity for future cooperation. The group gathered at rural Voss for their workshop
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Youth in Grundtvig programme Action Program The Grundtvig programme focuses on adult educa- By Barbara Harterink, Youth in Action coordinator tion. It aims to provide adults with more ways to in Hordaland improve their knowledge and skills, facilitate their personal development and boost their employment YOUTH IN ACTION is the EU programme for prospects. It enables more people to undertake young people aged 13-30 and youth leaders. It learning experiences, notably in other European promotes mobility within and beyond the EU bor- countries, and it helps to tackle problems associat- ders, intercultural dialogue and non-formal learning ed with Europe’s ageing population. (“learning by doing”), and encourages the inclusion of all young people. A variety of activities can get STILL BEING ACTIVE - 50+ volunteer project EU support; like international youth exchanges, Hordaland and Galicia County Councils have co- youth democracy projects, local youth initiatives operated on the exchange of young volunteers for and seminars for youth workers. In addition, there several years, with the support of the EU-program is a possibility for all young people aged 18-30 to Youth in Action. Following up on this we started work and live in one of EU’s countries for one year, cooperating on a new age group: volunteers aged so-called European Voluntary Service (EVS), with 50 years or more. In 2012 we applied for EU- all expenses covered. More support through the programme for adult education GRUNDTVIG 50+. The project named "Still being Hordaland County Council has this spring carried active" received funding for 12 volunteers for four out two EVS projects in EU’s neighbour countries weeks, six each way Ukraine and Armenia. We have also continued In Hordaland, we established a partnership with the sending volunteers to the EU-countries Italy, Ger- Development Centre for nursing homes and home many, Northern Ireland and the Netherlands. care, and the Volunteer Centre at Møhlenpris. In May, we received six enthusiastic Spanish volun- The first volunteer to Ukraine teers, who worked at three different nursing homes, Alette Lie has been working as a volunteer at Cen- organising activities for the elderly. In the evenings, tre for European initiative in Ukraine. The project they attended Norwegian and English language was funded by the Youth in Action program. classes at the Volunteer Centre. They also partici- She taught school pupils about democracy and pated in senior dance courses and organised activi- how the different European countries are governed. ties for the European Neighbour Day. Alette felt it was a very rewarding job and it was All the people involved were very satisfied with the interesting to compare Norwegian and Ukrainian project. The volunteers brought a little bit of Gali- society, culture and daily life. “Now I know what it is cia/Spain into the nursing homes in Bergen, which like to inte- was positive for both the elderly and the employ- grate in a ees. The volunteers increased their language skills, new country learned about Norwegian health care and our re- and to work gion. with people with a dif- ferent cul- ture. I would like to rec- ommend European Voluntary Service to all young people,” says Alette. This is the first time Hordaland County Council has sendt young volunteers to EU’s neigh- Bergen’s commissioner for social services, Hilde Onar- bour countries Ukraine and Armenia. heim, together with volunteer Ana Isabel Prol Alvarez
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Active High Schools There is a high level of international activity at the upper secondary schools in Hordaland. This time we give you examples from two schools that have travelled very different distances for their projects: from internationalisation at home to projects in Africa.
Internationalisation at Home Langhaugen wins trip to Tanzania By Marit Mork, Bergen Handelsgymnasium By Merete Hofslett, teacher, Langhaugen vgs
Bergen Handelsgymnasium (BHG) has a long tradi- “The knowledge of fair distribution of wealth has tion of internationalisation and this year is no ex- become more important” (Minister of Development, ception. BHG is currently taking part in three Co- Heikki Holmås). menius projects which have given our students and NORAD, the Norwegian Agency for Development teachers a wonderful opportunity to travel, experi- Cooperation, wishes to increase the population’s ence different cultures across Europe, practice their competence level on development aid. The compe- intercultural communication skills, and cooperate in tition “National Championship in development aid enhancing their knowledge on common issues like 2012” was part of this effort, and class 2MM at ecology and sustainable development, using for Langhaugen upper secondary school was declared instance E-twinning as a meeting place. winners by a clear margin.
We also focus on internationalisation at home. Sep- The prize was a round trip in Tanzania (Arusha, th tember 26 , we celebrated the European Day of Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam) and the purpose was to Languages with invited lecturers, an international give the pupils an insight into development projects café and entertainment, such as Japanese and with a special focus on energy. One of the high- Chinese choir song. Our students celebrated Chi- lights was the conference in Dar es Salaam on 19th nese New Year, with singing, an arts and craft ex- of March 2013 titled “A Thematic Consultation on hibition and food. A traditional Chinese fan dance Energy”. The pupils gave speeches that had been was also presented at the Christmas show and prepared in close cooperation with Tanzanian some of our students entered the China Bridge youth. The class also got an opportunity to discuss Competition. with both the Minister of Development, Heikki Holmås and Minister of Education, Kristin Hal- For the first time our school participated in Europe- vorsen during two receptions at the Norwegian an Youth Parliament (EUP), a program where stu- embassy. dents meet to discuss central political topics and learn about political processes in a European The pupils themselves summed up their journey in framework. Four students were selected to repre- this way; “Africa is not at all like we in the Nordic sent Norway at the International Session in Munich. countries picture it, and nothing like what the media This has been a very interesting year and we hope is showing us. The expectations that we had to the the next one will be equally exciting. poor and dangerous Africa has totally changed. Tanzania is now the land with hopes for the future. I think that we now safely can say that we are all left with a wish to return to the most exciting conti- nent in the world. Thank you for this opportunity, Norad!”
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5 West Norway Office in Brussels
By West Norway Office gian and European actors in Brussels, including WNO. In March, the Committee for transport in This year the West Norway Office (WNO) in Brus- Hordaland County Council came to Brussels, and sels celebrates its 10-year anniversary. The office in April, the Regional Business forum in Hordaland has doubled the number of members since the visited the office. The members of the Forum are start. WNO’s members include county councils, key persons for the economic development in municipalities and other actors from the West Nor- Hordaland County – as they are leading important way region. Ten years after its creation, the office organisations in the region. It was a very inspiring continues to be a liaison between its members in visit with a lot of useful exchange between the par- West Norway and European actors in Brussels. An ticipants and the office. important task for the WNO is to provide infor- mation from the EU that is of particular interest to In March, Ms. Gudrun Mathisen who is head of the the members and to act as a contact point and Section for Climate and Natural resources in meeting place for regional cooperation in Europe. Hordaland County Council, spent one week in Other tasks are to increase the knowledge on EU- WNO on secondment. With WNO as the base for Norway relations with a special focus on program her work – she met with a number of Norwegian knowledge and to promote our region and mem- and European officials working within her specific bers as potential partners in EU projects. field of interest - and especially in the field of ener- gy. The first EU-Norway conference on energy was The 10-year anniversary of the West Norway Office also organised during her stay. was celebrated on 14th of June in Brussels. The Mayor of Hordaland County Council, Mr. Tom- WNO is already preparing for this year’s Open Christer Nilsen participated at the event alongside Days conference, which will take place in October other representatives of the WNO board, member 2013. West-Norway is part of the regional partner- organisations as well as a number of guests from ship “Smart partnerships for jobs and growth”, to- Brussels. The anniversary seminar focused on the gether with ten other European regional offices. past, present and future of the EU – both in terms Our joint Open Days seminars will focus on youth of national and regional interests. Hans Martens employment and transition and transformation in from the think tank EPC and Enrico Mayrhofer from industrial activity. the CPMR were the keynote speakers. During the anniversary reception the Norwegian Ambassador For more information, you can see our homepage to the EU Mr Atle Leikvoll, emphasized the im- and facebook page. portance of the regional offices in his speech and thanked for the excellent cooperation.
Director Merete Mikkelsen thanks present and former staff members during the anniversary in Brussels The European parliament (Photo: Anita Fjellheim/Dianne Kilvær, Dept. of Organisation)
Several groups from Hordaland have visited the office this spring. These visiting groups are exam- ples of the services WNO are providing to increase the knowledge about EU/EEA matters and its impli-
cations for the region. Our visitors have attended lectures on different themes by a variety of Norwe- International newsletter | No 1/2013 17
6 Other activities
Regional business council to Brussels Delegation to the Bocuse d’Or in Lyon By Arthur Arnesen, Department of Regional Devel- opment County Mayor Tom-Christer Nilsen was heading a large crowd from Western Norway when the re- On 14th and 15th of March, Regional Business Fo- gional gold hope, and the current European cham- rum (RNF) in Hordaland was in Brussels in order to pion, chef Ørjan Johannessen tried to win the culi- learn more about EU’s policies in areas that are of nary championship Bocuse d’Or in Lyon in January particular interest to our region, about ESA’s role 2013. and about how national and regional interest organ- Johannessen comes from the municipality of Aus- isations works towards the EU. tevoll in the southern part of Hordaland, where his family runs the guesthouse and restaurant Bekkjar- Apart from an internal meeting of the RNF, there vik Gjesgiveri, and the Council for Southern Horda- were introductions from the West Norway Office in land had organised for a big number of people to Brussels , the Norwegian municipalities organisa- be present for the championship. This included the tion’s (KS’) office in Brussels, NHO’s Brussels of- mayors of the five municipalities in the region; Fit- fice and ESA who all gave introductions to the way jar, Stord, Bømlo, Sveio and Austevoll. they work for Norwegian interests (whether they be national, regional/local or sectorial) towards the EU. Or in the case of ESA, to ensure that the EU regu- lation on the internal market is followed also in the EEA countries. On a more specific note, there were introductions to EFTA’s role and their work with entrepreneurship and the internal market, on EU’s energy policy and how it affects Statoil and the framework for the Norwegian energy policy and on EU’s coming programme for research and innova- tion – Horizon 2020. There was even time for a visit to the European parliament
The feedback from the participants was that the program, the content and the relevance for the From left: the mayors of Fitjar, Stord, Bømlo, the county group were all very good and that the level of com- mayor, Mayors of Austevoll and Sveio petence on the speakers was very high. Some of (Photo: Terje Inderhaug) them also pointed to the added-value that trips such as this contributes to cement a group such as During their stay in Lyon a traditional “Norwegian RNF as a partnership. breakfast” was hosted. This show cases Norwegian culinary traditions and gives Norwegian producers an opportunity to present their products to French restaurants and grocery stores.
Even with more than 1000 Norwegians present on the arena chef Johannessen did not manage to make it to the top 3 of the championship. He did, however, secure the prize for the best fish dish. More
Agreement signed on music coopera- tion with China The group gathered for introductions at the West Norway Office (Photo: WNO) On January 11th 2012, County Mayor Tom-Christer Nilsen and director of Concerts Norway (Rikskonsertene) Turid Birkeland signed an agree- ment committing the two institutions to cooperate in regards to their music projects with China.
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This agreement will allow musicians from China to ing number of foreign students learning the Chi- come to Hordaland and tour schools with traditional nese language – both in china and abroad. More Chinese music as part of the Cultural Rucksack programme. Four musicians from a culture school in Beijing has already been selected to tour our schools this coming fall and the hope is that this visit will be exchanged with musicians from Horda- land playing in China next year. This is not the first time that Hordaland County Council and Concerts Norway cooperate on China. Artists from our region have on several occasions been invited by Concerts Norway to be part of the Norwegian contribution to the Shanghai Interna- tional Arts Festival. More The group from Hordaland met with Deputy Director of Beijing Sports University, where they stayed during the visit (Photo: Per Morten Bordbotten)
Learning about light rail art from Nice By Tone S. Haugland, Dept. of Culture
The art project connected to the light rail in Nice is a model project in the European context. In the first construction phase of the light rail in Nice, 1 % of the construction cost was allocated to art. This has resulted in 13 works of art along the rail line. Relat- ed to this they have also published a wonderful book about the project, as well as worked out a dissemination programme that includes guided tours with the light rail every week. Director of Concerts Norway, Turid Birkeland and County Mayor Tom-Christer Nilsen signs the agreement The art committee for the Bergen Light Rail went to (Photo: Bjarte Brask Eriksen) Nice during the last week of April in order to learn more about this project. Dissemination, ownership Principals from Hordaland visits China and maintenance routines, in addition to the art works themselves, were the topics for the meetings Chinese language education is increasingly popular with the responsible for the project in Nice. in the Bergen area where Chinese is currently taught at primary schools, upper secondary schools The committee in Bergen is put together of repre- and at university level. Bergen is also the seat of sentatives from and with competence within the Norway’s only Confucius Institute. Both of these cultural sector, light rail construction, architecture, facts served as part of the background when prin- municipality and county council. The county’s De- cipals from Hordaland County Council, together partment of Culture and Sports acts as the secre- with principals from Møre og Romsdal County tariat for this project. Two new art works will be unveiled when the newest part of the light rail line Council and the city of Bergen went on a ten-day st study trip to China in April. The study trip was or- opens to the public on 21 of June. ganised after an invitation from Hanban the Chi- nese Ministry of Education’s department for educa- tion abroad and responsible for the Confucius Insti- tutes worldwide.
The delegation visited both Beijing and Dalian. The latter city is twinned with Bergen. The programme included visits to both high schools and universities and in Beijing, the group stayed at the prestigious Beijing Sports University, which has close connec- tions with the Confucius Institute in Bergen. During these visits, they experienced both regular teaching situations as well as classes where foreign stu- dents were taught Chinese. There is a clear ambi- The tramway in Nice passes in between the art work at tion from the Chinese authorities to see an increas- the place Massena International newsletter | No 1/2013 19
Transport and Communications Com- ans all fighting for the same limited space. The mittee to Brussels, Utrecht and Am- Norwegian delegation found the meeting with politi- cians and staff members in these cities very inter- sterdam esting, and the Dutch experience can easily be By Torill Klinker, Dept. of Communication transmitted to Norwegian conditions.
In March, a delegation, consisting of 14 members of the Transport and Communications committee and 10 staff members, spent four days in Brussels, Record high participation from Horda- Utrecht and Amsterdam. The delegation focused land at the Offshore Technology Con- on transport-related topics such as transport policy ference in Houston in the EU, planning for public transport, Park & Ride-systems and transport planning at different County Mayor Tom-Christer Nilsen headed the levels of government. annual delegation from the Bergen region to the world’s largest petroleum fair – Offshore Technolo- Financing the infrastructure, without using road-toll gy Days, OTC, in Houston from 4th to the 10th May. as in the Netherlands, was eagerly debated. So This year, a record of 78 people from Hordaland was the topic of restricted accessibility for private (compared to 60 last year) participated in this cars and deliveries. Further on, the delegation event, which was organised by Business Region questioned the linking of Norwegian and EU Bergen in close cooperation with the Chamber of transport-regulations related to environmental Commerce, HOG Energy and NCE Subsea. emissions, goods-regulations and road-toll amongst foreign drivers. On the programme for the delegation, were reoc- curring posts such as networking events, company The delegation also enjoyed a guided walk through visits and visits to the exhibition area. Another tradi- the Utrecht Central Station, with more than 350 000 tional event, the breakfast seminar, which this year daily passengers, as well as a lovely bicycle-tour was hosted by the Bergen and Stavanger regions around Amsterdam. together, saw a record high number of 300 partici- pants. The seminar was titled “An energy marked in radical change” and provided different perspectives on several energy resources.
This year the Norwegian crown prince and – princess were present at the conference. Although not at any of the events organised by the Bergen region, the Royal couple took part in events such as the annual dinner hosted by the American- Norwegian Chamber of Commerce. More
Representatives from Western Norway at the Norwegian stand at the OTC exhibition Chair of the Committee, Gunnar Bahus, tries out the city (Photo: Business Region Bergen) bikes in Amsterdam
Both Utrecht and Amsterdam have challenges with managing local transport consisting of private transport, public transport, bicyclists and pedestri- International newsletter | No 1/2013 20
Public health studies in Copenhagen Learning about analytical approaches and Malmø in Denmark By Aina Haugstad, Public health coordinator By Kathrin Jacobsen, head of Analysis and Docu- mentation unit “Partnership for public health” has been allocated five scholarships through the Leonardo da Vinci In June, the Analysis and Documentation unit from programme. From the 18th to 22nd of March, repre- Hordaland County Council visited national and sentatives from Hordaland County Council, togeth- regional institutions in Denmark to learn about ana- er with the municipalities of Askøy, Fjell and Kvam, lytical methods and tools related to common chal- as well as the Norwegian Trekking Association in lenges within regional development. Bergen, took part in a one week study trip to Co- At the Danish Business Authority, Department of penhagen and Malmø. Regional Politics in Silkeborg, the focus was on measuring the effects of projects financed by the The programme was compact and consisted mainly EU structural funds to strengthen regional devel- of dialogue meetings where public health was dis- opment and economic growth. cussed across country borders and organisational levels. There are many parallels between the Dan- The region of Southern Denmark was the primary ish and the Norwegian way of organising this field, stop of this visit. The head of the department for and that contributed to the learning outcome for Strategy and Analysis, told the delegation about the everyone involved. philosophy and the model for knowledge production in the department, developed through an extensive During the week, we met with the WHO Healty dialogue with the customers, primarily the munici- Cities project, research environments and a par- palities. Different methods and designs were dis- ticular Danish effort towards innovative activity cussed and how the results of these were taken facilities. We visited projects that had come out of into action. both public and private initiatives, as well as a larg- er project in cooperation between 9 municipalities, The last stop was the Danish Evaluation Institute in a bank and voluntary organisations. In Næstvedt Copenhagen, conducting evaluations of programs municipality, we visited a “Frisklivssentral” (central and activities in the school system. The main focus for healthy life) and had some valuable exchanges of the visit was the efforts to reduce drop-out in of experience concerning the administrative public upper secondary education and methods to devel- health work. op indicators that could explain and predict drop- out at an early stage. Due to the fact that we met with such a wide variety of actors, all the organisations that participated in All together, the visit has given a valuable insight this had a tremendous outcome from the visit and into analytical approaches to challenges within we had many different focuses in meeting with our regional development similar to those we face in hosts. We gained new knowledge and made new Hordaland. In addition, the contacts made will give contacts during the trip that we will definitively ben- us the opportunity to benefit from each other expe- efit from in the future. riences in the future as well.
Promoting a healthy life style, no matter what the weath- er is like! (Photo: Jarle Pedersen, Fjell municipality) Together with representatives from region Southern Denmark
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A hope to develop new projects be- Internationalisation of the local health tween Voss and Bled and care sectors In close cooperation with International Section, the Hordaland County Council encourages bilateral Centre for Development of Institutional and Home partnerships between municipalities in Hordaland Care Services in Hordaland has, for the last years, and the European regions that we work with. One used Leonardo da Vinci placements as a tool to of these partnerships is between Voss in Hordaland introduce new competence in this sector. The co- and Bled in Slovenia, which have already signed a operation with this centre has been very important “Letter of intent” concerning cooperation within the for the Hordaland’s strategy to support the health field of tourism, entrepreneurship and education. and care sectors in the municipalities to new com- After a rejected project application under Comenius petence through internationalisation. Regio programme in 2011, their goal is now to Examples of projects are representatives from send an application to a relevant EU programme or health and care institutions in Voss who have been the EEA Grant Scheme next year. in Denmark to learn how to keep the elderly active and use their own resources (Esbjerg model); At a meeting in Bled on 7th of June both the mayor nurses from Bergen learned new methods in pallia- of Bled, different school leaders (from kindergarten tive care (Liverpool care pathway) in Stockholm to upper secondary education) and the heads of and preventive and safety care in Denmark. The tourism and of international services in Bled admin- participating institutions report that these place- istration were present. The Regional Development ments reduce the time used for testing and the Agency of Gorenjska and International Section potential failure of new methods during their own from Hordaland County represented the supporting implementation period. intermediary institutions. A main challenge that was Aslaug Brænde, head of the centre in Hordaland discussed was how to enhance tourism as an inno- reports that the their strategy is to send at least two vative and exciting future career path. The discus- persons from each municipality to these practice sions in Bled brought up that a strong local focus, based placements to secure implementation of involving and targeting the local population (from good working practices at home. an early age), is an important factor for successful The instructors experience both methods and prac- development of the sector. The tourism sector and tices that can easily be implemented back home, how to develop the education and entrepreneurship and others that need some adjustments. An im- related to it, has been a focus area in the talks be- portant result is also new confidence and inspira- tween Bled and Voss. tion to innovative thinking in the sector.
Editing completed on 17th of June 2013
All photos and articles (including photos) are produced by the International section, Hordaland County Council – unless where otherwise is noted.
For more information, www.hordaland.no/internasjonalt International Section, P.O. Box 7900, 5020 Bergen, Norway www.hordaland.no June 2013