Why am I going to Norway?
“Why Norway” is a question posed by my friends at home and curious Norwegians abroad. It’s a little challenging to explain it in a single breath, so I figured it was worth breaking down into three parts.
Benjamin Franklin
In chronological order, my interest in the Nordic countries generally, and Norway specifically, began with my academic interest in undergrad. As a student of political science with a focus on American government and politics, I grew increasingly frustrated with the state of affairs in the United States. The more I learned about the American system of government, its state of politics, and the long arc of struggle around social issues, the more I began asking the question: “Why is it this way?”
As a Benjamin Franklin Scholar at NC State University — studying materials engineering and political science — I got to explore this question further. I grew curious about innovation and efficiency in government, and for my senior capstone paper, I explored innovative policies in the Nordic countries.
Through the capstone process, I learned that the Nordic countries dominate the globe in nearly every measure that we should care about: happiness, opportunity, well-being. The quality of life for these countries ranks among the best in the world, as determined by the Social Progress Index which scores:
- Basic Human Needs
- Foundations of Wellbeing
- Opportunity
The 2019 rankings, determined by the non-profit Social Progress Imperative, placed all five of the Nordic countries in the top tier of the world. Norway ranked first in the world; the U.S. sits at #26. I thought: maybe we have something to learn from the Norwegians.¹
Society: Trust and Happiness
During my time as a fellow at the Institute for Emerging Issues, we were tackling “reconnection” in the state of North Carolina. There exists a growing sentiment in the state that people are more disconnected than they once were — from community, job opportunity, health and well-being. The first installment of a six forum series was Reconnect to Community which focused on why people don’t talk to their neighbors anymore, why people don’t volunteer as often or attend church service, why people find it hard to communicate across lines of difference. While preparing for the forum, I couldn’t help but notice that there are some places, some people, some communities who are thriving. One of which is Norway.
Norway is a rockstar country when it comes to people and society. Here are some quick facts:
- The World Happiness Report ranks Norway 3rd in the world, with its Nordic cousins Finland and Denmark taking spots 1 and 2, respectively.² ³
- Norway scores very low on the Corruption Perception Index, an assessment of a country’s corruption. Norway was ranked 7th in the world for least corrupt countries, its Scandinavian cousins all ranked in the top 10. The United States ranked 22nd.⁴
- Norway is a global leader when it comes to interpersonal trust. Political scientist Bo Rothstein argues that low levels of corruption result in high trust in institutions which causes high interpersonal trust. That could explain why most Norwegians agree with the phrase “Most people can be trusted.”⁵
Responses to Trust
Most people can be trusted.⁶
Share of adults. Question: “Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted or that you need to be very careful in dealing with people?”
AmeriCorps
While serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA at the Institute for Emerging Issues, I piloted Text Talk Future — a college and career exploration program for high school students. The goal was simple: get students thinking earlier about their future. All students in North Carolina are expected to create a “4 year plan” with their career counselor. That plan determines the trajectory of a student’s high school classes, and ultimately sets them up for one of many post-secondary school paths: 4 year university, community college, or vocational training.
While piloting the program, I began looking into “best practices” around preparing high schoolers for their career. By accident, I came across Norway’s system of education. The Norwegian system is distinctly different than America’s at the high school level. Norwegian students decide between two tracks: vocational or general studies.
The vocational track involves 2 years of study and 2 years of apprenticeship. By the end, students should be ready for employment in their field. The other track — general studies — involves 3 years of study that prepare students for university.
In short, I thought the Norwegian system was smart. In high school, students get the education necessary for their future. Learning about the Norwegian education system sparked my interest, and I wanted to learn more. I began exploring ways that I could experience their system first-hand.
Originally published Sept. 2020. PaulRobertNolan.medium.com is not an official site of the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State. The views expressed on this site are entirely those of Paul R. Nolan III and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State, or any of its partner organizations.
Some references:
- “2019 Social Progress Index.” Social Progress Imperative. https://www.socialprogress.org
- Hetter, K. (2019, March 26). This is the world’s happiest country in 2019. CNN. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-happiest-countries-united-nations-2019/index.html
- Helliwell, J. F., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. D. (2019). World Happiness Report 2019, 24. https://s3.amazonaws.com/happiness-report/2019/WHR19.pdf
- Most Corrupt Countries Population. (2019–10–07). Retrieved from http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/most-corrupt-countries
- Kvittingen, I. (2017, April 10). Why do the Nordics trust one another? Science Norway. Retrieved from https://sciencenorway.no/forskningno-norway-social-relations/why-do-the-nordics-trust-one-another/1444626
- Kenworthy, L. (2017, September). Trust. The Good Society. Retrieved from https://lanekenworthy.net/trust/
