(As said)

Dear friends, ladies and gentlemen,

We seem to be facing yet another wonderful day in what has been a truly wonderful Norwegian summer. You’re all familiar with the song that Luis Armstrong used to sing in his characteristic and powerful way: Oh, what a wonderful world. On days such as today it is easy to agree with him. And, I am sure that he would agree to this: On a day such as today, where you all are celebrating the first international advisory council meeting of the new Norwegian Peace Corps, or Fredskorpset, you are making an important contribution to that vision of a wonderful world. I want to thank you for inviting me to be part of this historic event. Because, it is always historic when people of good will gather with the explicit purpose of contributing to a better world. Because it is the only thing that works!

I especially want to welcome our partners from the South to our country. Your participation reflects one of the main principles of the new Fredskorpset: mutuality. It builds on the idea of partnerships and mutual exchange. We have recognized that we have something to learn from you. And you have something to learn from us. We have something to teach each other. This is a crucial realization both in connection with Fredskorpset and with Norwegian development policy in general.

The new Fredskorpset was established in 2000 and has already come a long way. This very gathering is a testimony to the fact that the new Fredskorpset is functioning according to intentions. The old maxim that "east is east and west is west" may still hold, but in the new Fredskorpset, and at our gathering here today, South and North have certainly met.

I am told that the participants present here today come from more than 50 countries and represent a broad variety of sectors: civic, public, and private.

This year Norway is celebrating the 50 ^th> anniversary of Norwegian development assistance. These have been 50 years marked by a sense of solidarity, a willingness to take risk and to learn - and by hope. A lot has been achieved, but we still have a long way to go.

There is still a big gap between rich and poor. One point two (1.2) billion people are still living in extreme poverty, around 14 000 people contract HIV every day and the poor countries still struggle in order to gain access to international markets. These are only a few examples. The important thing is that there are still too many people who are deprived of their fundamental economic, social and political rights. This is why Norway has put the fight against poverty at the top of our agenda for our development policies and assistance.

Poverty has many faces. To combat poverty we need a broad approach, and we need to work together. The participation of governments, international and national organizations and institutions, NGOs and the private sector is needed. Fredskorpset can play an important role as a facilitator of cooperation between NGOs, institutions and private sector enterprises. Through cooperation we can create agents of change, both in the North and in the South. Such agents of change are important actors in the promotion of economic, social and political rights.

In Norway discussions of a Fredskorps started as early as the 1950s. This was a result of the political and ideological currents of the time: with strains of non-violence, solidarity, humanism and Christian traditions.

The original Norwegian Fredskorps was founded in 1963; two years after President John F. Kennedy had established the Peace Corps in the USA.

Fredskorpset was first of all designed to contribute to the economic and technical progress of the developing countries, secondly it was to promote human contact and understanding across national boundaries, and thirdly Fredskorpset was to enable idealistic and strongly motivated young people to work for what they believed in. A total of more than 1500 Norwegians served in Fredskorpset in the period 1963-2000.

Most of the participants were agronomists, health workers and teachers. Many of them worked in rural areas in different countries such as Botswana, Costa Rica, Iran, Kenya, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Fredskorpset was a product of its time. The concept was influenced by the notion that we in the North had something to teach you in the South. The North too often defined what was needed and took the initiative for the necessary cooperation. There was not enough two-way communication.

Reports showed that Fredskorpset represented an effective form of technical assistance that had a great potential for reaching the needy. Friendships were made, and several of the participants maintained their interest in development and continued their work after returning to Norway.

During the 1980s and 1990s there was a growing awareness that cooperation and participation are the quintessential factors in an environment that makes change and development possible. The policy shifted to a greater focus on human rights, the need to strengthen the organizations, institutions and networks making up civil society and support for democratic processes.

One of the questions that was raised was how we in the North can assist partners and change agents in the South and help them to achieve their economic, social and political rights. The principle that development assistance should meet the needs of developing countries and not be donor driven was also developed further. At the same time globalism has made the world more interconnected. This has also had had an effect on our development policy. In order to create development we have learned that we have to work locally, nationally and internationally. Moreover, development is not only development assistance, but also private sector development and trade. Development is not only rural development, but also urban development. We also have to cooperate. We are dependent on entrepreneurs and actors for change both in the North and in the South.

The shift in development policy in general also affected the original Fredskorpset. The average age of the participants had risen, and it was no longer primarily for young people as envisaged in 1963.

In 1998 the Government decided to discontinue the Fredskorpset in its original form. A process to transform Fredskorpset was started. This process was concluded with the inauguration of the new Fredskorpset in 2000. Many people invested a remarkable effort of time and energy in this process. I want to thank each and every one of them for that.

Although much has changed since 1963, there is still a great need to fight poverty and seek to improve the economic, social and political conditions of the people of the world. This is reflected in the main objectives of the new Fredskorpset, which is to help to make permanent improvements in the economic, social and political conditions of the people of developing countries.

This may not at first glance seem to differ from other declarations on how to fight poverty or from the initial goals of the original Fredskorpset. But there are major differences.

The fact that a Norwegian soccer club and a Brazilian and Argentinean soccer club have concluded a reciprocal agreement on exchanging coaches, that a media company in Akershus is cooperating with a media company in Senegal, and that IT companies in the South and the North concluded agreements on cooperation and mutual exchange represents a major change – both in Fredskorpset and in Norwegian development assistance. Another example of how Fredskorpset works today is when professionals from the South, working with their partner in Norway, made a significant contribution to the planning and preparation of the exhibition: "Norwegian development assistance – 50 years".

I would now like to point out three things about the new Fredskorpset that clearly illustrate the difference between the new and the original version:

Firstly, the new Fredskorpset represents inclusiveness. The second difference is the idea of partnerships for development, and thirdly the establishment of South to South partnerships.

Firstly, the new Fredskorpset is more inclusive.

Whereas the original Fredskorpset focused on particular sectors, mainly in rural areas, the new Fredskorpset has a broader view. The new Fredskorpset involves partners from a wide range of different sectors. Examples of this so far are partners from such divergent sectors as IT, education, media and small-scale enterprises. This is important. The fight for development and a just world has to be fought simultaneously in many sectors of society.

Secondly, the vision underlying Fredskorpset is the transfer of competence and mutual cooperation to promote permanent improvements in economic, social and political conditions.

This is being operationalized in the partnerships for development, which is something new and important. As I have already mentioned, the original Fredskorpset was characterized by too much one-way communication. Norwegians travelled to other countries to work, often high up in the hierarchy at their workplace. This is changed with partnerships for development. Now the initiative for cooperation can be taken both in the North and in the South. Moreover the different partners can now meet and clearly define what both can achieve from the partnership. And there is mutual exchange. Through the new Fredskorpset young people in the South are given an opportunity to work with a partner in North, and a young person in the North is given the same opportunity. This is new. It is two-way communication. The fact that nearly half of the participants last year were from the South indicates that this two-way communication works.

When a person from a newspaper or a small enterprise in the south comes to Norway to work it is obvious that we have something to learn. Through the cooperation we in the north will gain new insight into our southern partners’ lives and preoccupations, and we are forced to reflect on our own lives. You as partners can help us to better understand the world so that we can together seek to contribute to a more just world.

The new Fredskorpset is not, and should not be, about exchange. It is not an exchange program. But exchange is an important means, as long as it remains true to the overarching objectives of Fredskorpset.

In 2001 Fredskorpset signed 42 partnership agreements with 51 countries in the South. This year the number will be even higher. The aim is that these partnerships will comprise a unique wide-ranging cooperation network made up of enterprises and institutions. Such a network will make it possible for people with comparable professional backgrounds, interests, know-how and experience to communicate on an equal footing. This will increase knowledge and awareness, which will in turn benefit the respective societies. We hope that this will create lasting contact and promote social, economic and political development in different fields such as education, governance and private enterprise.

Thirdly, Fredskorpset is more than North-South cooperation, it is also South-South cooperation. So far most of the partnership agreements have been North-South agreements. And we will continue to promote these agreements. But this year Fredskorpset has also started to take the initiative for partnerships between South-South actors. This is another thing that is new in Norwegian development assistance. We will follow the development of South-South cooperation within Fredskorpset closely. It is clear that the countries in the South have something to learn from each other.

Although the new Fredskorpset is still in the initial stages, in 2001 - 153 people participated in the field and valuable contacts and networks have been established. The Government will continue to follow your work closely, both because it is interesting and because it is so important.

Do you know that YOU can make a huge difference in the world? I will now tell you a story which brings across this point. Sometimes stories tell the truth better than facts and figures do.

[A small bird, two young boys and a wise old man]

We believe you have proven from day one that you can take on large and exciting challenges. That you can deliver. This is why the Government will continue and strengthen its support. This is why we would like to see Fredskorpset do more to allow the participation of young people. This can be achieved through setting up a separate youth programme under the administration of Fredskorpset. We will come back to this issue later this year.

When I see all of you gathered here today, and think of what Fredskorpset has already achieved since its establishment in 2000, I am very optimistic about the future. Fredskorpset is still young. Young in age. Though that is not true for everybody present here. However, what is truly important is to remain young at heart. I have a favourite singer and poet who has expressed that very well. He never participated in any Peace Corps as such but he surely inspired many who did. Listen to Bob Dylan in "Forever Young". This is to the new Fredskorpset.

May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,

May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young,

May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young.

I wish you success in your deliberations!