Aquatic Ecology Centre

About Fredskorpset

Fredskorpset arranges reciprocal exchanges of personnel between organisations in Norway and developing countries. Their objective is to contribute to lasting improvements in economic, social and political conditions in the world.
When people from different countries meet and get to know each other, this gives rise to knowledge, understanding and empathy… and the world gets smaller. That is why they will give ordinary people the possibility to work for longer periods in a foreign country.
 The exchange occurs in a partnership between two or more organisations or companies, with support from Fredskorpset. The aim is to promote the mutual exchange of knowledge, experiences and skills. This goes both ways: the organisation or company both sends and receives participants.

ESD
“Exchange for Sustainable Development” (ESD) is the exchange programme for young people (aged 25-35 or above 50) wanting to live and work in another country for 12-17 months. Each year, six to eight participants travel from Norway to work with one of our partners in the South, and a similar number comes from our South partners to work in Norway.
Three Norwegian organisations are responsible for the program (the Development Fund, Noragric and Bioforsk), and for organising the exchange with their South partners in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nepal, Malawi and Uganda.  The funding comes from the FK-program.

Primary aim of the project
“To work towards sustainable development for the poor and marginalised communities in the South. The ESD believes that by exposing young professionals in Norway and in the South to new work skills this will strengthen the institutions that they represent”.

Anticipated results
Through improving cultural and professional understanding by exchanging human resources between North and South, ESD anticipates that the programme will:

1. contribute to increased understanding and solidarity between farmers in the North and South
2. contribute to spin-offs in terms of other collaborations, ways of communication as well as projects between partners
3. give participants both important formal and informal (including cultural) experience
4. be part of the new drive to increase support to a sustainable agricultural sector in development policies

Participant’s activities:

From Norway to Nepal

1. Teaching assistant for undergraduate courses
2. Assist with undergraduate and M.Sc. level course programmes
3. Assist in curriculum revision and development
4. Other aid and support to professors in the department of media and communication and the department of environmental science and engineering and It-department

From Nepal to Norway:

1. Strengthening study programmes focusing on environmentalstudies at UMB/Noragric through teaching and supervision and organizing seminars.
2. Preparing teaching material and student seminars.
3. Strengthen research capacity, both personal and institutional, through participation in ongoing research and the developement of new ideas.