Co-Partner – Circular Ways
The green shift in Oslo often fails to address local social challenges that are already present or arise from unsatisfactory implementation strategies. These have been largely exclusionary and failed to democratically engage with marginal and culturally diverse groups.
Many of these people live in Grønland and Tøyen, two of the city’s most multicultural neighborhoods with significant social challenges, including drugs, violence, unemployment and the highest concentration of municipal social housing in Oslo.
Team Oslo wants to address this gap and build a bridge between the green movement in Oslo and vulnerable socially excluded groups. Their goal is to educate and share knowledge with people across all age groups and cultures about urban gardening, local and seasonal products, healthy and sustainable lifestyles, circular economy and reused materials.
“We want to create safe spaces where individuals from diverse cultural and economic background can meet, develop mutual respect, and generate intercultural dialogue to promote green and livable cities.”
Through the project, Team Oslo intends to create access to public resources and spaces, and so enable and empower citizens to develop their own projects and activities based on their own needs and ideas.
The team has conducted opinion poll surveys at different neighborhood community events in Grønland and Tøyen to find out needs and interests of citizens living in these neighborhoods. Using the information they’ve gathered from these surveys, they have organized two participatory events to build bridges between the green movement in Oslo and vulnerable socially excluded groups and create a strong multicultural network.
