Venue: 308E, Paramaz Avedisian Building
Address: Baghramyan Ave., 40, Yerevan, 0019
At the American Armenian University Mr. Eidsvåg will focus more on the legacy of Nansen as carried out at the Nansen Academy. He will focus on the origins of the Academy, the pedagogical philosophy and particularly the development of the dialogue work.
About the speaker: Inge Eidsvåg holds Cand.Phil. degree in History. Mr. Eidsvåg has been connected to the Nansen Academy since 1978. As the headmaster from 1986-98, he shaped the current Academy and its strong focus on dialogue. Mr. Eidsvåg initiated the project “Democracy, Human Rights and Peaceful Conflict Resolution” in 1995, which would later evolve into the Nansen Dialogue Project and ultimately the Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue. Mr.Eidsvåg is the author of 13 books. He is one of Norway’s highest recognized lecturers, giving close to 100 lectures a year. He has also been the most popular lecturer used by the Norwegian Broadcasting. His books focus on the role of the teacher in society. He has also several times been invited to serve on nationwide commissions to develop recommendations for how to improve the Norwegian society, particularly on issues relating to education, values, racism, discrimination and anti-Semitism.
Guests: Steinar Bryn, Senior Advisor, Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue
Steinar Bryn holds an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Minnesota. He has been both a student, teacher, researcher and Acting Headmaster at the Nansen Academy. Since 1996 he has worked with the development of the Nansen Dialogue Network in the Western Balkans which today consists of 10 dialogue centers. He is responsible for the planning and implementation of inter-ethnic dialogue seminars in Lillehammer and the Western Balkans. Mr. Bryn was in Washington DC this spring and received an award of recognition and gratitude on behalf of Fridtjof Nansen. The award was given at the National Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Centennial on May 9th in Washington D.C .
Mr.Bryn lectures extensively around Europe and the United States and is highly recognized as a strong contributor to international peacebuilding. He has, together with the Nansen network, been nominated to the Nobel Peace Prize the last 6 years. He has facilitated more than 300 dialogue seminars. He has received numerous awards for his work in the most war-torn areas of Europe since WWII.