For us at the Samovar Theatre it is gratifying to see that the new white paper on Norway's Arctic policy has maintained a focus on residential attractiveness, value creation and sustainable societies in the north.
Photo: Jonas Sjøkvist Karlsbakk
Furthermore, it is a great inspiration that the young people point out the importance of understanding their own history and that this helps to build identity and belonging.
The northern areas have been described from the south. It is important that stories from the north are told by actors who live in the north and have their work and position in the north.
Through art, an understanding of the present and the future is created from different points of view. In societies where the focus is on art and culture, you will also have all the prerequisites to create a sense of well-being, identity and education.
Cross-border art and cultural co-operation have an important role as a socially critical voice in a people-to-people co-operation. In order to have sustainable societies, this is just as important as schools, jobs and other business development.