Oslo Day 3 - Visit to the Nobel Peace Center.

After our visit to the Nobel Peace Institute, we walked down the street to the Nobel Peace Center.  It's right on the harbor next to the City Hall.  A very striking building.  They had coordinated our arrival with the release of a dove at noon that day.  We were publicly greeted by Kjersti Flogstad, the Director of the Center and then invited in for lunch and a tour. 

I liked the quote on the banner outside.

Kjersti Flogstad gives us a presentation of the work at the Center.  She noted that only 7% of the world's population lives in a liberal democracy right now.  Democracy is really under threat.  The center is emphasizing the power of dialogue to reach across divides.  They have produced a book on 8 principles of dialogue.  She noted that we all have influence. What we do matters.  We shouldn't take freedom for granted. 

This is a bad photo, but its an actual Nobel medal. It originally belonged to Christian Lous Lange, who was Norway's first Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He was awarded the prize in 1921 for his work with the Inter-Parliamentary Union

Alfred Nobel

We also got to hear from Inger Skjelsbaek from the University of Oslo and PRIO.  She provided history about Peace Congresses and the role of women in the history of the Nobel Peace Prize.

We could not have been more honored.