EUSTORY Academies in 2007
31 August - 6 September in Tromsø / Norway
"Beyond the Northern Polar Circle - Daily Life, Living Conditions and a Region in Change"
In cooperation with: HIFO The Norwegian History Teachers' Association, Oslo
Personal Impressions
Photo: Körber Foundation
I think the whole week was really great. The programme was completely full and pretty interesting. I was very surprised that we made such good company. I was a bit afraid of it because we did not know each other but we became quite good friends I guess. The most interesting and also a bit surprising (in some cases) was the environmental topic. I knew quite a lot about these problems but I found out some information which was unknown for me till these lectures. Especially the lecture in the Polar Institute gave me a lot of useful information and showed me some new points of view of the global warming and its effects. I also liked the Al Gore film “An Inconvenient Truth”. From my point of view he taught the people about the huge problems in quite an interesting and understandable way. To be true I took a lot from the whole week, from the lectures and also from the people of our group and I am trying to pass it on my friends and schoolmates now.
Kristyna Klimesova, Czech Republic
Photo: Körber Foundation
When I look back now on the time I spent in Northern Norway I must
say that it was the most impressive trip I ever did. I think
this really was a unique experience. Because when I would have
travelled to Northern Norway on my own I would never have met these
wonderful people and never have learned so much about this region
and its peoples’ opinon. I think now I can understand why
they are so keen on having the Olympics there. Maybe I would
like to be regarded from the whole world as well when I would be living
in a region which is very likely to be forgotten or cut off
from weather maps. But now I know that Northern Norway really
is a region that should not be hidden or forgotten. It is a
region that can teach others about optimism, environmentalism and show
its impressing landscape to the whole world. Maybe by asking
people to protect this they can convince them to live more
environmentally friendly. This trip also has effects on my
life now, because I want this region to survive like it is as long as
possible. I am afraid what global warming and pollution could
destroy there, so I try to live as environmental-friendly as
possible. I already asked my mother not to buy water that comes
all the way from France to Germany.
So you could say this trip
changed my life in a way. I would never have dreamed about
such an impressing experience before. Thank you very much again for
giving me the chance to see Northern Norway from this
perspective.
Giordana Dunkhorst, Germany
Photo: Körber Foundation
I have never met before so many new people in such a short time and got so much information. The landscape impressed me immensely. The attidude of the young people of the Environmental Youth Organization surprised me: being principally against everything and regarding militant protest as something self-evident is for me difficult to comprehend.
After having taken part in the German History Competition and in this EUSTORY academy I am more convinced than ever: „Only if one exposes oneself to the own history it is possible to understand the present and can develop the future. "
Lara Ditrich, Germany
Photo: Körber Foundation
It was really important for me to get to know two completely different opinions about the Olympic games in Tromsø 2018. Together with the Ukraine Poland willorganize the rather big sport event EURO 2012, so that all the information was very useful for me. On the one hand hosting olympic games has a lot of advantages: it gives work to plenty people, the country will change towards earning a lot of money and will become more popular in the rest of the world. All changes like new infrastructure, building sport facilities etc. can develop the region. On the other hand hosting big sport events is connected with environmental changes. It can be dangerous for animals and nature and it can also change the regiom in a irreversible way. During the meetings with Tromsø Olympic Organizing Comittee and the activist opposing the Olympic Games, I tried to understand all their arguments and will transpose them into Polish reality.
Janek Hlebowicz, Poland
Photo: Jan Hlebowicz
This trip meant a lot to me, because I had the most wonderful time in Norway! Honestly, I didn't know much about this region and Northern Europe, and this trip helped me to learn more about its culture, nature, flora and fauna as well as its living conditions. We had a chance to see what real nature looks like. Certainly, the most important topic for me was the environment. I learned a lot about pollution and protection of the environment (especially thanks to the lecture in the Polar Institute), and of course our visit to Polaria was a wonderful experience for me, mostly because I love animals, and I'm really concerned about their survival on this planet. And ours’ as human beings, too.
Jelena Milijic, Serbia
