Mortensrud is a district in Norway’s capital of Oslo that, in recent years, has struggled with increased crime and a bad reputation. The majority of the people who live here are different groups of non-western immigrants. Now a good part of the district’s young people have wanted to do something about its reputation, so they invited Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit to visit this week to show off the district from another side.
Their Royal Highnesses the Crown Prince and Crown Princess met the volunteers involved in the local community. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess visited both “The House of Diversity” and Mortensrud activity centre, two popular meeting places for many of those who live in the area.
At The House of Diversity, district director Monica Nordmoen informed the royals about the district before general manager Iman Sayyah and board chairman Aziz Rehman spoke about the activities offered at the house. The House of Diversity is a meeting place with a strong focus on community and inclusion, which is open to everyone. In addition, cultural evenings, senior meetings and Norwegian and English lessons are arranged.
Every Thursday, there is a senior meeting at The House of Diversity. Older people from different backgrounds from the local area meet for a chat, and they cook and eat together. During the Crown Prince Couple’s visit, they told the royals, among other things, about how they shared important information about the corona pandemic through self-produced radio and video broadcasts in many different languages. They also spoke about the importance of being a meeting place for everyone, regardless of age, gender and background.
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess then travelled to the Mortensrud activity centre. Here they were received by the general manager who showed them around. Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were then given a tour of the café area, the game room and the disco.
In the disco, some of the girls who often visit the activity centre performed a dance they had choreographed themselves. After school, the centre is a popular meeting place for children and young people from 5th grade to 18 years.
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess sat down with young people who use the services and volunteers who work with children and young people in the district and learned about their experiences with the various services at Mortensrud.
