The first round of this project took place in the spring of 2023 and hosted one human rights defender from Pakistan and one from Azerbaijan.
The first participants of the programme got an insight into the city hall and met the mayor of Oslo, Marianne Borgen.
The human rights defenders were invited to the Summer Festival of Fagforbundet Ung on the island of Utøya where they learned about the history of the island and came in contact with young people from the Norwegian union movement.
One of the first participants of the project, Naghma Iqtidar, was part of the Nobel Peace Talks together with the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor, Executive Director of the NHRF Ingeborg Moa (left), Special advisor Sandra Petersen and Vice Mayor for Culture and Sport in Oslo Omar Samy Gamal (right).
The participants travelled to Bergen, where the Rafto Foundation organised an enriching programme for them.
Find more information about the project here: Oslo Breathing Space City.