Cultural and sport events for diversity

In other Norwegian cities, the Syttende Mai Norwegian National Day is devoted solely to the celebration of an invented 19th century ideal of Norwegian culture (such as the bunad regional folk costumes), but the city of Stavanger has taken the bold step of making it a celebration of all cultures. This has been embraced by the citizens and has also been copied by other cities. Nevertheless, Stavanger has had to negotiate some potentially controversial situations, such as the public uproar which initially met the decision of a Sri Lankan Muslim Fahmida Haniff in 2009 to wear a costume which combined the bunad with hijab.

The Central Library is seen and trusted by most people as the place in the city where anyone can come and meet others. Every week the Library has a Living Orientation Day, providing guidance and advice on how to build and maintain a Norwegian social network. Besides this all, the Library does not shy away from taking highly controversial topics on the discussion agenda. The impression is that with this, they have acquired more authority as an independent platform for discussion and formation of opinion, than would have happened in a so-called “neutral” position.

An interesting example of ordinary people taking the initiative in Stavanger is EatinCommon which helps people who would like to host dinner parties for strangers.

Moreover, the football club Brod has cultivated a very international profile, and also accepts people who cannot pay the membership fees.