Afghanistan is in a critical phase. Presidential elections will be held this coming April, and by the end of 2014 most of the international military forces will have left the country. Norway’s military engagement in Afghanistan has lasted for many years, and Norway has committed to a high level of civilian aid in the years ahead. This engagement, as well as the situation in Afghanistan, calls for public debate about the role of Norway, and about the challenges Afghanistan is facing now and in the future. This debate should involve many contributors, and Afghan contributors in particular.
The Afghanistan Week 2014 will be held 17 – 23 March. During this week the Afghanistan resources in Norway will be hard at work. The week will feature a large and varied programme of seminars, debates and cultural events, with contributions from researchers and NGOs that work with and within Afghanistan and related topics, Afghan cultural organizations, and a number of other actors.
The different events will take place in several places in Norway, and will address a broad audience.
The Norwegian Afghanistan Committee is the initiator and coordinator of the Afghanistan Week. Core contributors to the content of the week are the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI). The Nansen Centre for Peace and Dialogue, the Norwegian Refugee Council, FOKUS and Norwegian Church Aid are also contributing to the programme. The week has been made possible thanks to funding from the Freedom of Expression Foundation (Fritt Ord) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).
Watch out for the programme for the Afghanistan Week, which will soon be available at:
• Afghanistan.no
• PRIO.org
• CMI.no
