Trondheim celebrates 20 years as an ICORN City of Refuge
Between 17th and 19th October, Trondheim celebrated its 20th anniversary as an ICORN City of Refuge. The public programme featured writers, artists, and journalists in the network and those resident in Trondheim, as well as the annual Norwegian ICORN Network Meeting on 17th and 18th October.
The city marked two decades of commitment to freedom of expression, democratic values, and international solidarity through engaging arrangements open to Trondheim’s public. Organised by Trondheim Public Library,The Literature House in Trondheim, the Norwegian Writers’ Centre, and Trondheim City’s Cultural and Refugee Department, the celebrations began on the evening of 18th October with a screening of ‘Behind the Mask’ at Cinemateket.The documentary follows Uyghur linguist, writer, and activist Abduweli Ayup on his difficult, but important journey to meet a former prison guard at a Chinese internment camp. A conversation between Ayup and the film’s director Håvard Bustnes followed the screening.
The anniversary celebrations continued on Saturday 19thOctober with a rich programme at Trondheim Public Library. The day began with an arts workshop for children, led by Iranian poet, writer, and illustrator Marjan Poursharifi, Trondheim’s most recent ICORN resident. In additionally,children enjoyed a reading of Karius and Baktus in Tigrinya and Norwegian by Eritrean journalist Dessale Berekhet, former ICORN resident in Bø/Midt-Telemark, and Ammal Ahmed Haj Mohamed from Norwegian PEN.
Under the title ‘There is No God Here, writer,journalist, and activist Reza Sharifi Boukani, former ICORN resident in Oslo,and Aref Naderi from the Dialogue Centre discussed the situation of Kurdish people in Iran. Boukani spoke of his own experiences of arbitrary imprisonment as a result of his literary, journalistic, and activist work.
Another session explored the challenges literatures faces under dictatorship and extremism. Writes Wesam Almadani from Gaza, Ammar Tassaei from Iran, and Montaser Abdel Mawgoud from Egypt, all former ICORN residents in Norwegian cities, shared their perspectives. Simultaneously,writer, journalist, and human rights activist Günel Mövlud led family-friendly writing working designed to inspire imagination and creativity.
The evening programme opened with a speech by Trond Åm, Trondheim’s city councillor for culture, leisure, and sports. The Azzjenter group, initiated by Günel Mövlud, served Azerbaijani food while the band Shams performed their music. Writers and artists, including Marjan Poursharifi, Montaser Abdel Mawgood, and Ammar Tassaei, gave readings, accompanied by Afghan musician Hamid Sakhizada.
The final event, ‘A Tough Road to a New Language’, featured Musa Mutaev, Trondheim’s first ICORN resident and award-winning Chechen writer in conversation with journalist Sverre M. Nyrønning. They reflected on Mutaev’s 20 years in Norway and its impact on his literary career.
The Norwegian ICORN Network Meeting in Trondheim
As part of the anniversary celebrations, Trondheim hosted the 2024 Norwegian ICORN Network Meeting, organised in collaboration between Trondheim City of Refuge and Norwegian PEN. The meeting, hosted in Trondheim Public Library, brought together more than 80 participants, including writers, artists, and journalists in the ICORN network, City of Refuge representatives and partners.
Trondheim’s Mayor Kent Ranum officially opened the meeting with a speech, emphasising the city’s commitment to free expression.Following the opening, there were best practice presentations, including Günel Mövlud’s Azzjenter initiative, Haugesund’s Mangfoldsfest (Diversity Festival),and opportunities at the Nansen Humanistic Academy. Norwegian PEN and the ICORN Secretariat provided updates on the network’s coordination. The day concluded with a dinner and open mic performances at Trøndelag Theatre where writers shared their work. The performances included readings by Hussain Al-Dahir, Xebat Rasouli, Amani AboShabana, Wesam Almadani, Wahab Michael Sbhatu, and a stand-up comedy act by Ali Dorani, among others.
Day two of the Norwegian ICORN Network Meeting began with a plenary session on well-being, facilitated by an expert psychologist. Five parallel sessions followed, including a session for writers on communicating literature to children, led by the Norwegian Writers’ Centre and a workshop on bilingual literary works with journalist Asieh Amini. Journalists in the network visited Trondheim’s Adresseavisen for a Q&A with chief editor Kristi Husby. ICORN coordinators attended a knowledge and experience-sharing workshop while others explored Trondheim. The meeting concluded with a lunch prepared by Azzjenter.
