The Tromsø-Gaza Twin City Cooperation

For several years now, The Tromsø-Gaza Twin City Cooperation has held a significant role in the twin city agreement between Tromsø and Gaza. It provides an exceptional platform for young people to develop their creative skills in a global and intercultural setting. This initiative allows youth from both Tromsø and Gaza to connect and collaborate on cultural projects, including performances, films, music, and texts. It is a wonderful opportunity to explore different cultures, gain valuable experience, and establish long-lasting connections with like-minded individuals.

ABOUT THE GAZA TROMSØ TWIN CITY COOPERATION

Organizations and individuals in Norway such as the Palestine Committee and Krafftak for Gaza, as well as doctors and nurses, have had a long history of friendship and solidarity with Gaza.  

 In 2001, Tromsø established a twin-city relationship with Gaza City, which led to the creation of the Tromsø Gaza Twin City Cooperation at Tvibit. The project aims to facilitate closer relationships between young people from both cities. With over half of Gaza's 2.5 million population being under 18, many are enthusiastic about making friends from around the world and sharing their daily lives in Gaza. In Tromsø, the youth have shown great commitment to the friendship between the two cities.

Starting in 2009, Tvibit and Kulta received funding for three years from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Department for Peace and Reconciliation), Troms Fylkeskommune, and Tromsø municipality to enhance their youth project, which involved collaborating with partners in Gaza and Tromsø. This project proved to be a huge success and was granted approval for another four years in 2012.  

The Tamer Institute for Community Education, with offices in Gaza and Ramallah (West Bank), has been a permanent partner of this project since its inception in 2009 and continues to work with the project till date. Through video calls, video conferencing, social media, films, and cultural visits to Gaza and Tromsø, we have developed a strong bond and see great mutual benefits from this collaboration. The youth in Gaza get exposure to the outside world and develop their creative abilities in close collaboration with other young people. Similarly, the youth in Tromsø learn that their peers in Gaza have similar dreams, ambitions, and interests as themselves. Furthermore, they gain insights into new methods and approaches that add a new dimension to their work with films, texts, theater, and performing arts

Over the years, despite the distance, practical and political obstacles, several cultural projects, joint workshops, and activities have been carried out between youth in Gaza and Tromsø. Some of the notable partners of the Tromsø Gaza Twin City Cooperation include Kulta, Rådstua, Kulturskolen, NUFF, and the Tamer Institute in Gaza.

The Mayor of Gaza visiting Tromsø

In May 2022, Dr. Yehya Sarraj, the Mayor of Gaza, was officially invited to visit Tromsø city. This invitation came as a part of an initiative to strengthen the relationship between Gaza and Tromsø and to participate in the Gaza Days activities arranged by Tvibit. During the visit, a new Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Tromsø Municipality and the Municipality of Gaza. The signing took place between Gunnar Wilhelmsen, the Mayor of Tromsø, and Yahya R. Sarraj, the Mayor of Gaza.

“Friendship Forever”  

“Considering the mutual interest in the pursuit of the ideas of peace, solidarity, and friendship between peoples, and determined, in a wide sense, to contribute to the reinforcement of the links of fraternity between the Palestinian people and the Norwegian people, they decide to sign this twinning agreement, by accepting the responsibility to cooperate in every action, that once accomplished, consign the promotion of the welfare of our citizens and tend to the development of our relations.” 

The Mayor of Gaza visiting Tvibit

activities (2023)

• FLOW: MUSIC, MEDIA & MOVEMENT

In collaboration with the Creative Technology Unit at Tvibit, and invited two Palestinian guest artists, Julmud and Haykal, to join us as artists-in-residence at Tvibit. With their prolific work in hip-hop and electronica, they have been making musical waves both in Palestine and abroad. During their stay, they participated in a workshop on A.I. music and a panel discussion on its consequences, among other interesting perspectives.

Some of the most fascinating cultural works are produced by artists who had to learn to adapt around restrictions and identity - translating to a new flow in music, media, and movement that resonates on a global stage. In the meantime, the world of music production is being disrupted with generative A.I. creating a potentially terrifying culture of copying in its wake. The potential for creativity seems overwhelming, a tsunami of possibilities, but that is what this series of events will attempt to address.

• GAZA FILM GROUP

• Eyes of Children Exhibition

The exhibition brings together the children of a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon in one photography course helping them to capture the daily life of the refugee camp from their perspective using the camera as the main tool to express their feelings.

A group of Norwegian activists traveled to the Rashedie Refugee camp in Lebanon with a unique initiative to teach photography to the children living there. The goal was to help the children capture the daily life of the refugee camp from their own perspective using the camera as a tool to express their feelings. The exhibition showcases the work of these children, offering a glimpse into their intimate stories and lives. Through their photographs, we can gain a better understanding of the situation of the refugee camp and the challenges faced by the children growing up in such a difficult environment.

This photo project aims to give the youth in the Palestinian refugee camp Rashedieh in south Lebanon the opportunity to showcase their life through their own eyes. Each project involves around 25-50 children aged between 8 and 16 years. It commenced in 2009 and has been held annually, except for the years affected by Covid. The children are free to pick their favorite photo to exhibit in the camp and several locations in Norway.

The exhibition features photos taken by the children of Rashedieh, a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. It is curated by Mohamed Jabaly and Ingvild Sausjord and is a collaboration between PALKOM Tromsø, the Eyes of Children initiative, and Tvibit.

• Celebrating Friendship (Seminar + Bazaar)

Exploring the Twin City Friendship Project and the long relationship to Gaza, and how solidarity work became an act of resistance against the blockade imposed on the city and its people over the last 16 years. Finding new methods of working by linking culture and art and learning from each other by involving artists, musicians, culture activists, and filmmakers to draw the lines of this solidarity work.

How can we learn from the past and how to improve the future?

This seminar will explore this history with Tromsø and solidarity work over the project history, what has been done over the years, and how we could move forward despite the challenges.

• Untold Palestine: Hope & Life Stories! (Exhibition)

Untold Palestine Exhibition is a portrait, and description of the dreams, hopes, aspirations, and victories that Palestinians live for, and for a better future.

In this exhibition, you will not see the checkpoints, the occupation soldiers, or the confrontations. You are only going to see the daily life stories and tales of the victories of the Palestinians who survived the occupation. And that's what we want to highlight.

These portraits are a few moments taken by Palestinian male and female photographers who may not meet in reality as a result of the borders, checkpoints, and the political reality, that deprived them of their natural rights.

But they decided to meet in one room to convey the stories of the people of Palestine from Gaza to Haifa to Jerusalem, the diaspora, and the refugee camps.

This exhibition is curated by filmmaker and artist Mohamed Jabaly, in collaboration with the Untold Palestine initiative and the Gaza Project (Tvibit).

Previous years

• Interactive installation and performance, “Recycle me”, 2017  

The exhibition and performance are based on the participants’ reflections on the topic: “Can you recycle people?” The exhibition featured many ‘stations’, including live sessions with youth in Gaza, and a performance by Tromsø youth.

• Theatre play, “I am Hiding”, 2016  

Writing for a stage project, based on many meetings online between the youth in both cities and building the content together, ended up with a beautiful theater performance. 

• Concert, “It is not too late to dream”, 2015

  Musical Concert by SKUG, the cultural school theatre department, and the cultural schools’ music students, and artworks from Gaza Youth.

• Performance, “Voices from Palestine”, 2014  

  Writing for a stage project, based on online meetings between youth in Tromsø and in Gaza, resulted in a theater performance. 

Project leader