Oskar Hellesø-Knutsen from Lillestrøm Upper Secondary School came in first place in the Holberg School Programme 2023 with the research project ‘Unity After a Disaster’.
Oskar Hellesø-Knutsen from Lillestrøm Upper Secondary School came in first place in the Holberg School Programme 2023 with the research project ‘Unity After a Disaster – An Investigation of Unity in Gjerdrum After the 2020 Landslide’.
Hellesø-Knutsen refers to theories on crisis situations and how individuals, families and societies are affected by traumatic events. Social conditions and unity may improve after a disaster has occurred, but many who are severely affected experience a worsening of social support and conditions over time. Hellesø-Knutsen highlights that previous research mostly is concerned with the causes of the landslide and emergency planning, and not with how the landslide has affected the local community over time.
The School Programme
The Holberg School Programme is an annual research competition for students in Norwegian upper secondary schools i the humanities, social sciences law and theology. Each year, around 1,000 students from 20 selected schools participate in the competition.
The Holberg School Programme Jury selects three research projects that are awarded prizes of NOK 30,000, NOK 20,000 and NOK 10,000 respectively.
The finalists are announced in mid May, and the award ceremony is held during the Holberg Week in early June each year.