Science, Technologies, Innovations №4(12) 2019, 53-59 p

 PDF

http://doi.org/10.35668/2520-6524-2019-4-07

Balanchuk I.S. — Senior Researcher of Ukrainian Institute for Scientific, Technical Expertise and Information (UkrISTEI), 180, Antonovicha Str., Kyiv, Ukraine, 03680; +38 (044) 521-09-81; balanchuk@uintei.kiev.ua; ORCID: 0000-0002-5179-7350

SOCIAL INNOVATION IN TRADITIONAL NORWAY: BACKGROUND AND FEATURES

Abstract. When we hear someone say “Norway”, in the imagination immediately emerges pictures of the ideal world: fairytale houses, bright green grass, picturesque nature, incredible fjords and wealthy and happy people. All in all, the above is the case in traditional Norway. This northwestern kingdom is perhaps the only state of its kind in which economic and political reforms are perfectly combined with social change and the evolutionary stages of civil society, giving what we now call the “ideal of socialism” model. However, it is quite obvious that the path to such a model was quite difficult; the Norwegians received their “ideal” state, through a total restructuring of their own consciousness, the creation of a unique system of upbringing of the younger generation, the belief in the common future of every Norwegian, which is both unique for each and for all. It is harder for a person who is not accustomed to hearing such postulates and, moreover, to live by following them, to grasp the whole content of these ideas. However, to make it easier to understand, there is only one fact: the gap between the very rich and the very poor in Norway is the lowest in the world. However, in Norway there is no such thing as “very poor”. Like the “very rich” by the way. Every Norwegian lives in the community, following the ten so-called “Yanté laws”, according to which “you, as an individual, do not exist; there is only a collective organism”. And as in every normal healthy organism, all the components cooperate together for the sake of further health of that organism. Amazingly? Yes. Radically? Yes. But does it work? Yes. Following this logic, the Norwegians have built a practically ideal place where all migrants and the needy want to live. Norway has become a kind of “Eldorado” for residents of third and, what to hide, second world countries. The author suggests in this study to familiarize with the main components of Norwegian “ideal socialism”, the preconditions that prompted the government to move in one way or another, as well as to list some of the most significant socially oriented innovative projects in Norway.

Key words: Norway, social innovation, Yanté law, renewable energy, fisheries.

REFERENCES

  1. Gross domestic product (GDP). OECD Data. Retrie­ved from: https://data.oecd.org/gdp/gross­domestic­product­gdp.htm
  2. Human Development Indices and Indicators. 2018 Statistical Update. UNPD Data. Retrieved from: http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2018_human_development_statistical_update.pdf; https://doi.org/10.18356/9a42b856-en
  3. Hydropower. Statkraft. Retrieved from: https://www.statkraft.com/energy­sources/hydropower/
  4. Switzerland — Electric power consumption (kWh per capita). Trading Economics Data. Retrieved from: https://tradingeconomics.com/switzerland/electric­power­consumption­kwh­per­capita­wb­data.html
  5. Portal vneshneekonomicheskoy informatsii [Foreign Economic Information Portal]. Retrieved from: http://www.ved.gov.ru/
  6. The government’s revenues. Norwegian Petroleum. Retrieved from: https://www.norskpetroleum.no/en/economy/governments­revenues/
  7. The Norwegian aquaculture analysis 2017. EY Data. Retrieved from: https://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EY_­_The_Norwegian_Aquaculture_Analysis_2017/$FILE/EY­Norwegian­Aquaculture­Analysis­2017.pdf
  8. Om Miljødirektoratet [About the Environment Directorate]. Miljødirektoratet. Retrieved from: http://www.miljodirektoratet.no/no/Om­Miljodirektoratet/Norwegian­Environment­Agency/
  9. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index. The Economist Infographics Data. Retrieved from: https://infographics.economist.com/2018/DemocracyIndex/
  10. Hva vil du bruke året ditt på? [What do you want to spend your year on?]. Folkehøgskole. Retrieved from: https://www.folkehogskole.no/
  11. 8 neozhidannyih faktov o vospitanii v Norvegii [8 unexpected facts about education in Norway]. Kolobok.ua. Retrieved from: https://kolobok.ua/semya/vospitanieЗакон%20Янте:%208%20неожиданных%20фактов%20о%20воспитании%20в%20Норвегии.html
  12. Unemployment. Country Economy Data. Retrieved from: https://countryeconomy.com/unemployment
  13. Price level index for final household consumption expenditure (HFCE) 2018, Eurostat. Statistics Explained. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics­explained/index.php?title=File:Price_level_index_for_final_houshold_consumption_expenditure_(HFCE)_2018,_(EU­28%3D100).png#filelinks; https://doi.org/10.1787/eco_surveys-che-2017-graph52-en
  14. The Global Innovation Index 2017. WIPO Data. Retrieved from: https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo_pub_gii_2017.pdf
  15. The Global Innovation Index 2018. WIPO Data. Retrieved from: https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo_pub_gii_2018.pdf
  16. Exploring Social Innovation in Norway: A Workshop on Mapping Innovation Ecosystems. Berkman Klein Center. Retrieved from: https://medium.com/berkman­klein­center/exploring­social­innovation­in­norway­a­workshop­on­mapping­innovation­ecosystems­c82bcc1b58a6
  17. SoCentral. Retrieved from: https://www.socentral.no/
  18. Eplestang. Retrieved from: http://epleslang.com/
  19. Oslo Kooperativ. Retrieved from: http://kooperativet.no/
  20. Open Food Network. Retrieved from: https://openfoodnetwork.org/
  21. BUA. Retrieved from: https://www.bua.io/
  22. Abildsø skolegård [School yard “Abildsø”]. Retrieved from: http://www.skolegaard.org/
  23. Pøbelprosjektet AS [Project “Pøbel”]. Retrieved from: http://pobelprosjektet.no/
  24. Forsker­Fabrikken [Researcher’s factory]. Retrieved from: https://www.forskerfabrikken.no/
  25. Bergen Impact Hub. Retrieved from: https://bergen.impacthub.net/
  26. Baerkraftige liv pâ landâs [Sustainable life on land]. Retrieved from: https://www.barekraftigeliv.no/
  27. Urban Sjofront. Retrieved from: http://urbansjofront.no/.