Young People and the European Dimension in a Norwegian Context. Migration and National Critical Events as Challenges to Citizenship Education

Abstract

The article discusses the ‘European dimension’ in a Norwegian context with focus on the relevance for young people in particular. Against a backdrop of literature discussing Norwegian majority self-understanding in relation to Europe, the article discusses some examples that are relevant for addressing the overall theme, namely recent work-migration to Norway and the terrorist attacks of 22. July 2011. As different as they may be, both these cases are raising urgent issues related to socio-cultural diversity, inclusion and resilience and it is suggested that this may be addressed more in citizenship education.