Dealing with conflict in youth work, Utoya, Norsko
- Lada Matyášová
- před 6 dny
- Minut čtení: 5
During the week of November 17–21, 2025, a seminar entitled Dealing with Conflict in Youth Work was held on the Norwegian island of Utoya. Educators and youth workers from all over Europe gathered for the event.
Utoya island story
The island of Utoya is indelibly marked by the infamous terrorist attack of July 22, 2011. Twenty-three-year-old Norwegian extremist Anders Behring Breivik committed mass murder there, killing sixty-nine young people at a summer camp organized by the Norwegian political party. Twenty-three-year-old Norwegian extremist Anders Behring Breivik committed mass murder of sixty-nine young people at a summer camp organized by the Norwegian political party Law and Justice (AUF). Breivik first detonated a bomb in the center of Oslo with the aim of destroying the parliament building, which served as a diversion, and then headed to the island of Utøya. There, he shot and wounded dozens of young people aged 14 to 18 before being arrested by a local police unit less than two hours later. The attack was motivated by both right-wing extremism and opposition to migration and the rising tide of multiculturalism in Norway. Breivik was sentenced to 21 years in prison, the longest possible prison sentence (with the possibility of extension). The island was paralyzed for the next four years, but then the summer camp organizers, the victims' families, and the interested public decided to resume activities and ensure that the message of peace, connecting people, and preventing extremism would continue to flourish and have its centre here. Today, there is an educational centre, an exhibition about the incident and what preceded and followed it (it is possible to visit by appointment), and, of course, a symbolic memorial to the victims of the attack.
We were introduced to this story on the very first day of the seminar, and it stayed with us throughout our stay here. It is not easy to know that there are exact places where someone breathed their last breath, and how much hatred it took to mass murder so many innocent people. But this made us all the more motivated to get to work, knowing that conflict prevention and sensitive conflict resolution can greatly prevent such incidents. And not only such extreme ones, but also much smaller ones, on a national or personal scale.
True stories
After a brief introduction and getting acquainted, we got down to work. Everyone was asked to bring a story of a conflict they had experienced or been involved in to some extent. We shared these stories in groups of three and tried to listen really carefully and without interrupting (who can still do that today?). Then we explored the feelings, needs, behaviour patterns, and solutions that were present and effective in that situation.
We then compared these with three models of conflict theory. The ABC model works with the premise of attitude (how a person feels), behaviour (how they express themselves outwardly), and contradiction (the systematic level, such as position of power, recognition, etc.). All three levels must be addressed in order to resolve the conflict. This can be achieved in five possible ways, but they do not carry the same weight for both sides of the conflict. These are competition, accommodation, avoidance, compromise, and cooperation.
It is important to keep in mind that there are various sources of conflict, ranging from a lack of data, through relationships and values, to structure (inequality, position of power, etc.) and interests (needs, time, money, etc.). Conflict itself as a concept can also influence how we perceive it and how we try to resolve it.
Abigail story and further
We also discussed the well-known story of Abigail, who tried to cross a flooded river to reach her beloved, but faced many difficulties along the way, and tried to decide which of the characters acted the worst. This led us to another theory about conflicts, namely that conflicts are like icebergs. Only the tip is visible, but what is important is what is not visible at first glance. Therefore, according to the concept of personification of terms, we should take into account respect, trust, community, courage, discomfort, and disagreement in ourselves and our counterparts. Because disagreeing with someone can also be a valuable and final conclusion to a conflict. We can all have different opinions that we disagree on, while still respecting and valuing each other.
In other words, we can metaphorically imagine conflicts as problematic trees. The roots are structural or systemic origins, the trunk is personal attitude, and the crown is the visible problem. However, everything can also be understood from the other side, where the roots are the culture of something, the trunk is attitudes, behaviour, and belief in something, and the crown is the opportunities, activities, and practices that can arise from it. When is it sometimes necessary to look at a problem not only from the other person's perspective, but also conceptually, and ask: what should change to make the problem work better or be completely resolved?
Youth work is a living system
Every person functions based on the PIN model, i.e., position, interest, and need. Position is our current state, our requirement (I want to have the window closed). Interest is our motivation and the reason behind our position (I am cold). Need is a fundamental requirement that we need to have fulfilled (I cannot stand such cold weather). And a mediator should be someone who helps both sides understand all these layers, including the deepest ones, which we may not even be aware of or consciously have in mind.
We each tried to create our own small ecosystem of youth work using a model made of cups, to better imagine the relationships and sources of conflict that exist here. Thanks to the great clarity and feedback from others, it was a great help in realizing our own situation and the interconnectedness of all elements.
There was also time for integrating knowledge, practicing it, and having a little fun. We had fun not only around the evening campfires, but also thanks to the stand-up comedy of one of the participants and spontaneous swimming in the icy sea on a sunny afternoon; even though there was snow everywhere.
The training was short and intensive, but applying and integrating the knowledge I gained will take a long time. I am grateful to the Belgian National Agency for organizing the event, to all three trainers, Joakim, Zamran, and Sněžana, for their professional guidance, and to the Erasmus+ program for its support.
