“Being tolerant is and should be hard”

In 2011, at just 26 years old, Jørgen Watne Frydnes took on one of the most challenging tasks in Norway: the transformation of the island of Utøya, after a right-wing terrorist shot and killed 69 people there on 22 July. Most of the victims were participants in a summer camp of the Norwegian labour party’s youth organization. How can a place be both – a place of mourning and a place for young people trying to change the world for the better?

In his keynote at the EUSTORY Annual Network meeting in mid-March, he provided insights how the concept for the future of the island was developed. For several years, Frydnes travelled around Norway, talking both to survivors and relatives. By the time the first summer camp after the attack took place in 2015, Utøya had been developed into both a memorial site and a learning center that focuses on democracy education and the prevention of extremism.

Today, Frydnes is Secretary General of the Norwegian PEN Centre. In 2024, he was also appointed chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Since then, he has been responsible for selecting the next Nobel Peace Prize winner. About his work for more dialogue and understanding, he says:

In an interview during the EUSTORY Annual Network Meeting, Frydnes underscored how these convictions guide him in his work.

‘Beyond Bias: Teaching History in Polarised Times’ was the title of this year’s annual meeting of the EUSTORY network, that brought together representatives of more than 20 European history competitions.

The conference participants had the opportunity to visit Utøya and see the educational work of the Learning Center for themselves.

The Norwegian responses and strategies for dealing with the terrorist attacks of 2011 were the starting point for the EUSTORY competition organisers to reflect on and further develop their own projects. In the following days, they discussed different approaches to dealing meaningfully with polarisation, radicalisation and developments that endanger democracy in their own countries.

The local host of the conference was the Foundation Fritt Ord, which is particularly committed to freedom of the press. For several years, it has supported the Norwegian history competition.