Visit from Thuringia

Thuringia was represented by Stephan Sippel and Jürgen Senff from the Staatskanzlei in Erfurt. They came well prepared and had several ideas for cooperation activities, in particular within education, culture, forestry, tourism/winter sports and climate.

The contact between Oppland and Thuringia was first initiated by the international committee in Oppland County Council. The idea rose partly because of the many links that already exist between Oppland and Thuringia, links that could be strengthened and further developed through a regional cooperation agreement. The friendship agreement between Lillehammer and Oberhof is one example, educational cooperation another. Vargstad upper secondary school already cooperates with a school in Thuringia and has sent several groups of students to Oberhof to contribute to the restoration of the Lillehammer House. Oppland county library participates in a Grundtvig project with a project coordinator from Thuringia. Germany is among Norway’s most important partner countries, and this should be reflected also on a regional level.

During the visit it became clear that both Thuringia and Oppland are interested in developing this cooperation, and in the next few weeks a draft agreement will be prepared.