Framfylkingen is the children's and families' organisation of the

Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (, LO) is a national trade union center, decidedly the largest and probably the most influential umbrella organization of labour unions in Norway. The 21 national unions affiliated to the LO have almo ...

( (LO)), the activities of which include popular education and socialist education. Earlier it was closely associated also with the

Norwegian Labour Party The Labour Party (; , A or Ap; ), formerly The Norwegian Labour Party (, DNA), is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Norway, political party in Norway. It is positioned on the centre-left of the political spectru ...

. Framfylkingen is member of the

International Falcon Movement - Socialist Education International International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

as well as the association of labour children's movements in Nordic countries, ABN. It is involved in children's policy issues and focuses on adherence to the UN

Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of ch ...

. It also acts as an environmental as well as an

outdoorsman Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...

organisation which sees the importance of teaching children and adolescents about the intrinsic value of enjoying and caring about nature. Political issues which Framfylkingen works with include

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

child labour Child labour is the exploitation of children through any form of work that interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation w ...

cultural diversity Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to Monoculturalism, monoculture. It has a variety of meanings in different contexts, sometimes applying to cultural products like art works in museums or entertainment ...

and international

solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

. The name consists of two parts, ''fram'', meaning "forward", and ''fylking'' which is a term which denotes an organisation and which is commonly associated with the

labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

in Norway (e.g. the Workers' Youth League, – AUF).

History

Framfylkingen was founded in 1934 following a decision at the Labour Party congress the year before. The initiative was intended to provide an alternative to leisure activities which Christian and bourgeois organisations, such as the boy scouts, had to offer. The children were to experience cooperation instead of competition. The different chapters had an adult leader. Framfylkingen is a venue where the children can participate alone, although parents are also welcome to take part. It was the first children's organisation to introduce a member democracy where the children were included. In the 1933 charter it states "the aim of framfylkingen is to create a public socialist outdoor organisation with parallel chores, which coincide with the interests of young people. Dexterous deeds and socialist cultural work shall go hand in hand, and in addition it will participate in international peace work." In today's Norwegian society Framfylkingen is not associated with a political party. Its current status within the Confederation of Trade Unions came about in 1977. This means that it is an organisation for all the trade union movement as well as the

in Norway.

References

Sources

Paul Engstad Paul Øistein Engstad (13 October 1926 – 13 May 2012) was a Norwegian writer and politician for the Labour Party. He was born in Sauda. He was a journalist in the Labour-aligned newspaper ''Arbeiderbladet'', and held several positions in the La ...

''Fram i freidig, munter skare : Framfylkingen 50 år'' Framfylkingens venner : Tiden, 1984

External links

Official webpage
(in Norwegian) {{Authority control International Falcon Movement – Socialist Educational International Youth-led organizations Youth empowerment organizations Children's rights organizations Educational organisations based in Norway Child-related organisations in Norway Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions Youth organizations established in 1934 1934 establishments in Norway Organisations based in Oslo Trade unions established in 1934