95 The contacts between the local church office in Hamarøy and the Russian counterpart went through the Norwegian KFUM-KFUK. Objectives. The objective was to contribute to strengthening local identity and integration between ethnic groups in Hamarøy and in neighbouring municipalities. The intervention. The intervention was a small one. A small group of Russian break dancers took part at the Hamarøy Night, impressed their peers and gave lessons in the art. They were assisted by local Russian young people. Result: The participation of the Russian virtuosi at the Hamarøy Night made local youth with a Russian background quite proud. Others got acquainted with aspects of Russian life usually undercommunicated, namely the “cool” and fun sides. Continuation of the project activities. The project was conceived as a one-time event, but it could be repeated. Discussion. The break-dance project in Hamarøy is an illustrative example of the small-scale, people-to-people projects that constitute a central element in the Barents Secretariat’s grant programme . With very small funding and little circumstantialities the project holder managed to arrange positive mutual experiences fostering an interest in the neighbour.
3.9
(Human Rights and) Multicultural Understanding in the Barents Region
Institutions involved and funding. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) is the coordinator of the project, and on the Norwegian side it collaborates with the municipality of Sør-Varanger and (later on) the municipality of Tromsø. On the Russian side the Severomorsk city authorities have been involved from the start. Later on (at the same time as the municipality of Tromsø) the city administration of Murmansk joined the collaboration. The number of partners has expanded, the project now involves a number of departments in the city and regional (oblast’) administrations. A later expansion includes journalists and the journalist association Barentspress. Indirectly, a number of NGOs and individuals, both
NIBR Report 2008:4
