Northern Parliament

The Northern Parliament is a popular movement that promotes and discusses socio-political issues related to Northern Norway and the High North, such as ownership of natural resources, centralization, democracy, capitalism and populism.[1] The Northern Parliament submitted a list for the 2017 parliamentary election and is led by Amund Sjølie Sveen.[2]

History

The first Nordtinget took place in 2014 as part of the Arctic Arts Festival, with then-Minister of Culture Thorild Widvey as the opening speaker.[3] The project was initially a one-off event to mark the constitutional anniversary and the festival's 50th anniversary. The event sparked a great deal of debate, both because of the critical coverage of Statoil as a sponsoring partner for cultural life in Northern Norway, and because of the coverage of Kjell Inge Røkke and the government's fisheries policy.[4] Former Minister of Fisheries for the Conservative Party and then-County Governor of Troms, Svein Ludvigsen, was one of those who clearly expressed his dissatisfaction with the project in the media.[5] However, the project was also defended by several others, including theatre director Nina Wester.[6] Nordlys was one of the newspapers that described the project as important.[7][8]

Nordting has been led by Amund Sjølie Sveen since the beginning. Other important contributors have included Erik Stifjell and Liv Hanne Haugen.[9]

Public assemblies

Since 2014, the Northern Parliament has organized public assemblies in a number of locations and in collaboration with a number of institutions and organizers, including in Harstad in collaboration with the Arctic Arts Festival, Kirkenes in collaboration with the company The Girls on the Bridge, Tromsø in collaboration with Hålogaland Teater, Honningsvåg in collaboration with the North Cape Film Festival, and Træna as part of the Traena Music Festival.

From 2019, the Northern Parliament has gradually focused its activities more on the pan-Arctic area, and has visited Reykjavík and Akureyri as part of the Arctic Circle, Rovaniemi (2019) as part of the Arctic Arts Summit, and Anchorage, Alaska (2019) in collaboration with the Anchorage Museum. A total of 49 From 2019, Nordting has gradually focused its activities more on the pan-Arctic area, and has visited Reykjavík and Akureyri as part of the Arctic Circle, Rovaniemi (2019) as part of the Arctic Arts Summit, and Anchorage, Alaska ( 2019) in collaboration with the Anchorage Museum. A total of 49 Northern Parliaments had been held by the end of 2019.[10]

The social restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic from 13 March 2020 also affected the Northern Parliament's ability to hold public meetings. As of 1 January 2022, a total of 60 public meetings had been held since its inception in 2014, the most recent in Nuuk, Greenland /Kalaallit Nunat.[11]

Parliamentary Elections

Northern Parliament submitted a list in Troms for the 2017 Norwegian parliamentary election.[12] Amund Sjølie Sveen, who was at the top of the list, received 58 votes.[13]

Controversies

In 2019, the project sparked debate when Sveen and the Northern Parliament opened the Arctic Arts Festival, and ended the event by serving vodka to the audience. Afterwards, the municipal doctor in Harstad reported both Sveen and the festival to the police for illegal serving.[14][15][16]

During the same period, the Northern Parliament announced that they would carry out a "rich safari" in Harstad.[17] However, the project was cancelled after a strong request from the Festival's director.[18]

In the fall of 2020, the Northern Parliament opened a new light installation in Longyearbyen on Svalbard.[19] The installation, which was 4x4 meters in size, displayed the words "MAKE THE NORTH GREAT AGAIN!".[20] The artwork was presented in collaboration with the Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum and led to great debate locally and nationally.[21] The installation has since been shown in Nuuk (GL), in the Nordic House on the Faroe Islands[22] and in Kirkenes as part of the Barents Spektacle.[23]

In 2021 and 2022, the Nordting marked the anniversaries of several historical events during the Alta controversy (1979–1982). On 14 January 2021, the Northern Parliament held a memorial service on the 40th anniversary of the police operation at the site known as Nullpunktet.[24] On 20 March 2022, the Nordting marked the 40th anniversary of the Sami activists, including Niillas Somby, placing explosive charges at a bridge in Øvre Stilla in Alta in 1982. The bridge has later become colloquially known as Sombybrua in Alta. The Northern Parliament erected road signs both at the bridge and at Nullpunktet, which led to renewed debate about whether both the name and the signage should be made official.[25][26][27]

Projects

The Northern Parliament is also behind Pan-ArcticVision, a "Eurovision for the Arctic",[28] with participating musicians from all over the circumpolar north; Alaska, northern Canada, Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), Iceland, the Faroe Islands, northern Norway, northern Sweden, northern Finland and northern Russia. The international musical mustering has been held annually since 2023.[29]

References

  1. ^ Gerhardsen, Anki. "Stedet mellom aksjon og fanatisme – ArtScene Trondheim" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  2. ^ "Amund Sjølie Sveen - Nordting". Nordting (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 2019-12-26. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  3. ^ Olsen, Lars Richard (2014-04-28). "Denne ministeren kommer til festspillene". ht.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 2019-12-26. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  4. ^ Orgdot. "Ytringsfrihet og hattevalg". Scenekunst.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 2014-09-29. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  5. ^ "Festspillene". ht.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  6. ^ Hanssen, Hege Iren (2014-06-25). "Teatersjef kritiserer politikere". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  7. ^ "Kunsten å holde kjeft". Nordnorsk Debatt (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 2019-12-26. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  8. ^ Jangås, Lasse (2014-06-22). "Vedtok nordnorsk selvstyre". Nordlys (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  9. ^ "Om Nordting". Nordting (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  10. ^ "NORDTING - Nordting". Nordting (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 2019-12-26. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  11. ^ "NORDTING - folkeforsamlinger - Nordting". Nordting (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  12. ^ Lægland, Tom Benjaminsen,Martin (2017-03-31). "– Alle nordlendinger har en separatist i magen". itromso.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2025-09-21.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ kommentar, Ove Mellingen (2017-09-13). "Siv Jensen: Jeg er litt lei meg for det i ettertid, for jeg liker jo Jens Stoltenberg veldig godt". Telemarksavisa (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  14. ^ Andreas Isachsen 97578300 – ais@ht.no (2019-07-05). "Blir anmeldt for vodkastunt". ht.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 2019-12-26. Retrieved 2025-09-22.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Til kommuneoverlegen i Harstad: Bekreftelse på åpning av vodkaflasker". Nordnorsk Debatt (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 2019-12-26. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  16. ^ (HT), Andreas Isachsen (2019-11-27). "Spritserveringsaken under Festspillene henlagt: – Politiet har prioritert riktig". itromso.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  17. ^ Ytreberg, Rune (2019-06-26). "Kunstner viser frem skattelister på torget og arrangerer riking-safari i Harstad". DN.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  18. ^ Fundingsrud, Jonas (2019-06-28). "(+) Ville arrangere safari rundt til de rikes hus - nå er ideen skrinlagt". Nordlys (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  19. ^ "MAKE THE NORTH GREAT AGAIN! | Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum". www.nnkm.no. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  20. ^ "mnga - Nordting". Nordting (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 2022-02-02. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  21. ^ Malmo, Vilde Kristine (2020-12-06). "«Donald Trump»-skilt provoserer innbyggerne i Longyearbyen". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  22. ^ "Sjúrður Skaale avloysir Jenis av Rana til Norðurting". dagur.fo (in Faroese). Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  23. ^ "Holder Ukraina-avstemning med norske og russiske elever". Vårt Land (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2025-01-20. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  24. ^ Johansen, Geir (2021-01-22). "Markerte 40 år siden Stilla-aksjonen". Ságat (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  25. ^ Hansen, Lill Vivian (2022-04-05). "(+) «Stuntskiltet» Sombybrua og Nullpunktet". altaposten.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  26. ^ Hansen, Lill Vivian (2022-04-07). "(+) Veieier: – En god idé, men skiltene må ned". altaposten.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  27. ^ Ságat (2022-04-05). "Leder: Alta-aksjonen og skilting". Ságat (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  28. ^ "Pan-Arctic Vision". Pan-Arctic Vision. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  29. ^ "Byr på arktisk musikk og kritikk, politikk og paljetter, glitter og reinhorn!". www.highnorthnews.com (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-22.
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