Norway’s “Folkehøgskole”: Coming of age in occasions of disaster | EUROtoday

European journal

As of: March 21, 2026 • 3:16 p.m

In Norway, many younger folks attend a particular kind of boarding faculty after leaving faculty. The focus there may be on neighborhood, private accountability and sensible expertise. For many, that is enticing, particularly within the present time of disaster.

How do you survive in -20 levels within the Norwegian forest? Only by means of heat, for instance at a campfire: discover small branches within the deep snow, reduce down lifeless timber, pile every little thing up and make it burn. Around 20 younger adults are studying this within the topic “Friluftsliv”, or “life in nature”. They go to the “Folkehøgskole”, or grownup training heart within the small city of Elverum in japanese Norway.

“Given the current world situation, it’s also good if young people know what they have to do in crisis situations. For example, if the power is out, this is a way to stay warm,” says instructor Kristian Finstad. He has been educating younger folks about life and survival in Norway’s nature for a few years.

But it is also about different values: teamwork, for instance. Because every of the younger adults takes on a special activity. Some reduce down timber, others reduce the meat and potatoes for lunch across the campfire.

Up to 10,000 younger folks per 12 months

“Everyone can see for themselves how he or she contributed to this success: What is my role in the group?” is how instructor Finstad explains the idea. Giving younger folks time to develop and discover out what they need: This performs an enormous function in Norway’s training system.

These grownup training facilities are situated all around the nation. But these don’t have anything to do with the German counterpart. Norway’s grownup training facilities are boarding colleges attended by 7,000 to 10,000 younger folks between the ages of 18 and mid-20 yearly after they graduate from faculty. There are not any extra exams or grades right here, simply practice-oriented classes.

Also Germans in Norway Community faculties

In addition to survival coaching within the forest, there may be plenty of singing, performing, snowboarding – or you may discover ways to carve your personal knife. Tidying up and cleansing can be a part of rising up. Everyone has to scrub their very own room twice per week.

For 19-year-old Aron, this combination is likely one of the the reason why he determined to spend a 12 months right here: “It’s not such a hard step into adult life, but rather a kind of step up to more independence.”

Dozens of younger folks from overseas additionally come to Norway’s grownup training facilities yearly, like 19-year-old Amelie from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The most vital factor that everybody learns right here is to develop their social abilities: “You’re so often together in a small space and you can’t really avoid each other. And that’s why it’s important that you strengthen your social skills.”

More concentrate on Crisis preparation

Promoting social cohesion was one of many foremost motives for founding grownup training facilities greater than 150 years in the past. That is why the Norwegian state continues to cowl a big a part of the prices to at the present time. In current years, nonetheless, the main focus has shifted a bit, says director Monica Bekkelien.

Because the world’s wars and crises have additionally affected younger folks in Norway: “Many young people are currently unsettled. Here they have the opportunity to exchange ideas with their peers and they get a structured everyday life. This gives them self-confidence, which makes them more robust for the future.”

That’s why preparation for crises ought to play a good higher function from the subsequent faculty 12 months. So that Norway’s younger adults can study even higher what it means to take accountability – for themselves and for the world round them.

You can see these and different reviews within the Europamagazin – on Sunday at 12.45 p.m. on Erste.