A group of six An-Najah students recently concluded their participation in a student exchange program at Gern Institute for Folktale Studies in the Norwegian city of Stavanger.

The student delegations, who came from different faculties, were accompanied by Mr. Khaled Mufleh, Acting Director of Public Relations and Engineer Naseer Arafat.

During their time there, the students made a number of presentations to introduce their Norwegian peers to the cultural, political, and psychological conditions in Palestine. One presentation was “My village” by Abdelhameed Ahmad which talked about the illegal settlements and the suffering of the people in Palestinian villages. Another was on the Israeli army assaults on the city of Nablus by Sally Khammash, a third that introduced the Palestinian folklore, traditional clothing and customs was by Heba Amad. Muhannad Banoura talked about the Christian holy places in Palestine.

In Turn, the Norwegian students introduced the Palestinian delegation to life in Norway, Norwegian customs and traditions, and the local music.

In the closing ceremony, the Palestinian students had a number of performances such as a group performance of a song called “Freedom is coming”, in addition to solo performances and a Dabkeh performance.

The students also performed the Palestinian National Anthem in Norwegian with Director of Gern Institute playing the music.

The ceremony was followed by a traditional Palestinian dinner.

The delegation also did some field visits to the University of Stavanger and the Norwegian Petroleum Museum..

Mr. Khaled Mufleh stated that such visits contribute to strengthening Palestinian- Norwegian relations and enable students in Norway to know more about the Palestinian cause. He also said that it was an important experience for the Palestinian students, giving them the chance to get to know other cultures, and embrace cultural differences, and reinforce appreciation for their own country and culture.