NSYS 2012
The Nordic Somali Youth Summit was held on March 19th in Oslo, Norway. Being the first of its kind, the Summit was an initiative of Leadership Foundation under the NORSOMbro project.
Planning for the Summit began in early November 2011 and was aided by a world café dialog session in Oslo with several Somali organizations and several discussions with key stakeholders in Norway, Sweden and the UK.
Ronan Farrow of the State Department was also consulted in the process and gave key feedback on ensuring concrete deliverables in the Summit and follow-up activities.
Execution of the Summit was in collaboration with the American Embassy in Oslo and a Somali Youth group, Somali National Youth Community, as its main contributors.
The major aims of the Summit were to:
1) Mobilize and promote youth engagement and action.
2) Engage and enhance development of individual champions for the Somali youth cause within the Nordic countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.
The Nordic Somali Youth Summit attracted a total of 104 youths from Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark.
Eighty two percent (82%) of the participants were from Norway with 18% from Sweden, Finland and Denmark.
The Summit had a total of 23 observers. These were mainly NORSOMbro partners, sponsors and other stakeholders who share the same vision of improving the environment of Somali youths in the Nordics.
We also had a total of 13 speakers and facilitators from different professional backgrounds and origins.
A draft of the Charter for Change was created. This draft outlined a set of goals for the Nordic Somali youth cause, as well as a follow up agenda to the summit. The Charter for Change will be presented to officials at the 2013 Nordic Somali Youth Summit.
Participants
The summit was divided into two sections. The first half was from 09.00-13.00 which included a registration period, introduction, musical performance, presentation and inspiring speeches from role models, a short film on positive Somali stories from Oslo and a lunch featuring local Somali cuisine.
The second half ran from 13.00-17.00. This section included six workshops running approximately 90 minutes each.The workshops that were delivered were the following:
-Community Organizing as a Tool to Bridge Differences
-How to Influence the Influential- The Art of the Elevator Pitch
-Workshop on Public Speaking
-A Roundtable with Somali Mentors
-Making Your Event Visible
-Dialogue for Change
During this half, we also had a session solely focused on drafting the Charter for Change. Two representatives from each country were appointed to draft the Charter in collaboration with several facilitators. We concluded the summit with a plenary session with a presentation of the draft Charter for Change.
Program
The Art Project
In addition to the above outcomes, an art project was on exhibit showcasing the work of Lise Wulff.
Lise Wulff, a Norwegian artist twho works with land art, sculptures and paintings created the art project. . She explores various techniques, such as the use of chemical photographic paper, glass, stone, wool, bamboo canes, and chicken wire. She thought that the mosaic art pieces would create a lasting impression of the Nordic Somali Youth Summit.
She felt that the use of a mosaic pattern is symbolic. If you take away one of the pieces, you will clearly see that something is missing. This symbolizes that every person belongs and is equally important
There were two significant art pieces i.e. The Charter for Change Word Mosaic and the Minds for Change Mosaic.
The Minds for Change Mosaic had close up photos of the youth’s faces. The youth had to send their photos beforehand for them to be showcased at the summit.
The Charter for Change Word Mosaic had the youth’s words written in the small color fields. The youth came up with these words prior to the summit. From a distance, you see the colorful mosaic and CHARTER FOR CHANGE. Up close, you see the words that are relevant and important for the youth, related to the Charter for Change.
Many youth who attended the summit admitted that networking with their fellow Somali youth who live in the other Nordic countries was the most beneficial aspect of the 2012 Summit. This was a fulfillment to the summit organizers.
Among our guests, we hosted important dignitaries who included The Crown Prince of Norway and the US ambassador to Norway. These high profile attendants helped expand the publicity of the summit, as it increased media attention.
Every Nordic country we had planned for had delegates in attendance. The future of the summit is promising with such international attendance The youth who attended the summit are motivated and ready to take the next big step!