“You are always better off being yourself than trying to be someone else.”
Who are you, and what is your role at The European Wergeland Centre?
My name is Anders. I’m 44 years old and originally from Sandnes in the western part of Norway, but I’ve lived on the eastcoast for the past 15 years. Since December 2025, I’ve been working at The European Wergeland Centre as Senior Advisor and Project Manager for the Ukraine programme Education for Democracy: Strengthening Democratic Resilience in Ukraine and Moldova. In short, my role is to help strengthen opportunities for children, young people, and the adults around them to participate, make their voices heard, and experience a sense of belonging in schools, kindergartens, and their local communities.
What made you want to work at the Wergeland Centre?
The combination of Ukraine, education, and democracy! I previously spent many years working with integration in Norwegian municipalities. The Wergeland Centre gave me the opportunity to work internationally on issues I’ve cared deeply about for a long time: how education can empower children and young people by giving them greater freedom, influence, and confidence in their own opportunities.
What topics/questions are you most passionate about when it comes to democracy, education and human rights?
I’m passionate about justice and have always cared deeply about supporting those who are most vulnerable. At the same time, I’m interested in how human rights and democracy can be put into practice in everyday life, rather than existing only in laws, policy documents, and political decisions. Schools and kindergartens are perhaps the most important places that exist when it comes to practise these values in real life. This feels increasingly relevant in a time marked by uncertainty, growing polarisation, and declining trust in society.
What are people most often surprised to learn about you?
That I graduated from both lower and upper secondary school with poor marks for conduct and behaviour. Thankfully, I’ve improved since then, and these days I generally manage to behave myself at work.
What’s one book everyone should read?
I’d like to make a case for literature from Rogaland. Fred (Peace) by Arne Garborg was a book I thought would be heavy and outdated—but it turned out to be anything but. From more recent literature, I’d recommend Buzz Aldrin, What Happened to You in All the Confusion? by Johan Harstad. Both novels are existential in their own way, exploring humanity’s search for peace, purpose, and a place in the world, in close connection with the landscape and nature.
What advice would you give your younger self?
You are always better off being yourself than trying to be someone else.
