If democracy is to survive, young people must be involved in both the public debate and the political arena. This was an important point for former German Chancellor Willy Brandt, who received the Nobel Prize in the University of Oslo’s Aula hall in 1971.
Fifty years have passed since then. How resilient is democracy today? Ola Svenneby from the Young Conservatives and Astrid Villa Eide Hoem from the Workers’ Youth League (AUF) will take part in a discussion with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier. They will be joined by Anastassia Pletoukhina, a survivor of the terrorist attack in the German city of Halle, and Wiebke Şahin-Schwarzweller, Mayor of the German town of Zossen, who is active in the effort to combat hate speech.
Moderator: Cathrine Thorleifsson, researcher at the Center for Research on Extremism at the University of Oslo.
The doors open at 12:30, all guests must be in place no later than 13:30.
A waiting time must be expected at the entrance as a security check and identification check will be carried out.
Program:
12:30 Light refreshments will be served in the Aula foyer.
13:30 All guests must be in place
14:00 - 15:00:
Welcome by Rector Svein Stølen, University of Oslo
Opening remarks by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre
Opening remarks/reply by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Discussion between Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Ola Svenneby, Astrid Hoem, Anastassia Pletoukhina and Wiebke Şahin-Schwarzweller, moderated by Cathrine Thorleifsson.
Questions from the floor.
The event is open to the public and will be conducted in English. Members of the audience are requested to arrive well in advance of the start of the discussion.
About Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Frank was elected as Federal President of Germany in 2017. He has had a long political career, and has held the posts of German Foreign Minister (2005–2009, 2013–2017) and Vice Chancellor (2007–2009). He is a lawyer and has been a strong advocate of democracy and human rights during his presidency. President Steinmeier is paying an official visit to Norway on 4–5 November.