{"id":1501,"date":"2012-11-30T01:21:30","date_gmt":"2012-11-30T01:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/?p=1501"},"modified":"2014-08-22T18:39:13","modified_gmt":"2014-08-22T18:39:13","slug":"a-radiator-for-norway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/a-radiator-for-norway\/","title":{"rendered":"A Radiator for Norway"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many Norwegians, it is\u00a0viktig \u00e5 hjelpe andre<\/strong>\u00a0[VEEktee aw YELpeh ANN-dreh] (important to help others). Norway is one of the world\u2019s richest countries, and a lot of people feel they should share a bit of this\u00a0rikdom\u00a0<\/strong>(wealth) with\u00a0fattige land<\/strong>\u00a0(poor countries). Organizations like\u00a0R\u00f8de kors\u00a0<\/strong>(Red Cross),\u00a0Redd barna<\/strong>\u00a0(Save the Children) and\u00a0Kirkens n\u00f8dhjelp<\/strong>\u00a0(The Church\u2019s Humanitarian Aid) do an awful lot of good work. The older Norwegian schoolchildren also participate in\u00a0Operasjon dagsverk\u00a0<\/strong>(\u201dMission: A Day\u2019s Work\u201d) each year. That is a day where you do some work for free \u2013 like cleaning or selling\u00a0kaker<\/strong>\u00a0(cakes) at the market place. Your salary is then given to\u00a0en god sak<\/strong>\u00a0(a worthy cause).<\/p>\n

Norwegians also like to help\u00a0hverandre<\/strong>\u00a0(each other). There is a really nice tradition called\u00a0dugnad<\/strong>\u00a0[DOOG-nad]. That basically means that a group of people get together to help each other. It could be teachers and parents joining forces to paint a school, for example.<\/p>\n

Norway\u2019s\u00a0naboer<\/strong>\u00a0(neighbours) sometimes accuse the Norwegians of being self-righteous. The Norwegians, of course, can then accuse their neighbours of being jealous of their \u201dhelping spirit\u201d! \ud83d\ude09 Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norwegian PM in the 1980\u2019ies and 1990\u2019ies, famously said:\u00a0Det er typisk norsk \u00e5 v\u00e6re god.<\/strong>\u00a0(Being good is typically Norwegian.) I guess her saying it was rather typically Norwegian! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s get to the story\u2026 If you haven\u2019t seen it yet, there is a Norwegian mock-campaign currently sweeping the internet:<\/p>\n

Radi-aid \u2013 Africa for Norway<\/h2>\n

Fed ud with<\/p>\n

    \n
  • the typical Norwegian tradition of always being the helper<\/li>\n
  • the typical ideas many Norwegians (and Westerners) have about Africa,<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    SAIH \u2013 \u201dThe Norwegian Students\u2019 and Academics\u2019 International Assistance Fund\u201d \u2013 has turned the traditional aid campaigns upside-down.<\/p>\n

    Instead of Norwegians helping poor Africans, it is now Africans who are encouraged to help the freezing Norwegians \u2013 by donating radiators!<\/p>\n

    A great way of challenging people\u2019s preconceived ideas, don\u2019t you think?<\/p>\n

    Check it out on http:\/\/www.africafornorway.no\/<\/a><\/p>\n