The Lillehammer Dialogue City conference will take place from June 19th – 23, 2018. It is arranged by The Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue and the Inland Norway University for Applied Sciences.
This conference will gather both Norwegian and international peace workers. Among the subjects covered in the talks are how dialogue can assist in creating lasting peace, and at the same time prevent future conflicts and war.
This year marks the Centenary of the end of World War I, and Lillehammer Dialogue City will explore how many of today’s conflicts can be resolved through taking yesterdays lessons to heart.
As part of this work, we would like to get in touch with descendants of the Norwegian sailors who died during World War 1.
“Did you descend from one of the 2000 Norwegian sailors who died during WWI, or from one of the sailors who survived? If so we would like you to get in touch” says Alfredo Zamudio, director of The Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue at Lillehammer.
«We know a lot about the causes of WWI, but very little about the Norwegian casualties. We can learn a lot from exploring how this war could have been avoided. We are gathering peace workers in an effort to understand the past, and to prevent future wars” says Zamudio.
Memorial Service
In addition to the peace and dialogue talks and events we are also arranging a memorial for the Norwegian victims. One of these victims was August Dahlberg. He died on January 7, 1918, as his ship, the D/S Egda, was sunk by a German torpedo outside of Cardiff.
«We sincerely hope that many of the descendants of the Norwegian sailors who died during the war, or descendants of survivors, will get in touch with us. Please contact us if you are related to any of the sailors, or if you have stories or pictures you would like to share with us. All of the stories and pictures we are able to collect will be preserved for posterity, and transferred to The Sailors’ Memorial Hall in Stavern”, says Alfredo Zamudio, director of The Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue at Lillehammer.
Get in touch with The Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue at dialogbyen@peace.no
Read more about the conference on www.lillehammerdialoguecity.org
The Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue at Lillehammer would like to encourage the use of dialogue in establishing trust, inclusion and diversity, and are issuing an invitation to the peace conference Lillehammer dialogue city, June 19th – 23rd 2018.Lillehammer Dialogue City will gather people from all over the world, working for peace and reconciliation. The conference wishes to offer a substantial contribution towards reconciliation, inclusion and democracy. 2018 marks the Centenary of the end of World War I. The lessons to be gathered from this war are essential to finding a way forward, globally as well as on a smaller scale.Lillehammer Dialogue City offers an arena for talks on inclusive dialogue, reconciliation of divided communities, forced displacement and the challenges posed by migration. There will be talks on sustainable development goal 16, on inclusive institutions, and UN resolutions nos. 1325 and 2250 which deals with women and youth in peace and security.The Nansen and dialogue was established in 1995, and has gathered extensive experience on dialogue work in Norway as well as internationally. This conference is supported by Lillehammer Municipality, the Inland Norway University for Applied Sciences, Oppland County Council, the Norwegian Shipowners Association, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and the BMW Foundation.
Millions of people lost their lives during WW1, amongst them 2000 Norwegian sailors. Several hundred Norwegian ships were torpedoed and sunk during the war, even though Norway was a neutral country, and most of the Norwegian sailors who died drowned as their ships were torpedoed. An estimated half of the Norwegian merchant fleet was sunk during these four years.One of the ships that were lost was D/S Egda. D/S Egda was torpedoed and sunk on the coast of England, with a crew of 25. All men but one was rescued, the 34 year old August Dahlberg from Bergen who drowned as he fell overboard.(…) «Det var klart veir. Ca. Klokken 10.30 formiddag den 7de januar sang utkikken paa poopen ut: ”Torpedo om styrbord”. Umiddelbart efter fandt en eksplosion sted agterut. Deponenten sprang straks ind i bestiklugaren for at hente en mappe indeholdende mandskapspapirerne. Da han efter ca. 10 sekunders forløp atter kom ut paa broen, ligger hele agterskipet under vand. Agtermasten med bommer falt ned. Deponenten antar, at torpedoen har truffet om styrbord mellem nr. 3 og 4 luke. Alle mand løp straks til baatene. Disse blev laaret, men da ”Egda” fremdeles hadde stor fart, skar motorlivbaaten sig ut fra skibet med den følge, at føreren og flere mand av besætningen maatte kaste sig i vandet. De blev alle straks etterpaa tat opp av livbaatene med undtagelse av stuert August Dahlberg av Bergen, der sandsynligvis er druknet.» (…)
Follow this link to read more about how the ship sunk (Norwegian only) : LINK
Painting of DS Egda: LINK