9
“Thinking Globally, Acting Locally” Mayor Marte Mjøs Persen
FEATURE
▲ Mayor Persen (center) at Bergen’s Pride Festival.
Marte Mjøs Persen is the Mayor of the City of Bergen in Norway and has been involved in human rights in one form or another throughout her career. Her special interests include immigration and integration policy, social justice and climate policies, and also cultural policy. At the World Human Rights Cities Forum (WHRCF), Mayor Persen was part of the team that presented on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights on the first day of the forum. She was kind enough to grant time for the following interview with the Gwangju News. — Ed.
Gwangju News (GN): Mayor Persen, thank you for providing time for this interview with the Gwangju News. To begin with, would you tell us a little about yourself and your background? Mayor Persen: Sure. I have been Mayor of the City of Bergen, Norway, since 2015 representing the Labour Party. I have also been a member of the City Council of Bergen since 2003. During my first term on the City Council, I was a member of the Committee for the Environment and Urban Development. I then moved on to be the deputy chair of the Finance Committee and chaired the Committee on Health and Social Affairs. I am especially interested in immigration and integration policy, social justice, and climate policies, as well as cultural policy.
GN: Can you tell us about your experiences on the City Council of Bergen and the Committee for the Environment and Urban Development and what these committees have been able to accomplish? Mayor Persen: I think my role as a local politician in quite a small city in a small country is to do what I can to make the city its best for people who are living in it and for people visiting the city. Our contributions can seem small in a global context, but I believe strongly that we need to do our best and that all contributions are important. In our city, we have been able to cut CO2 emissions and air pollution by building a light rail to transport people all over the city, amongst other things. I like to think of myself as thinking globally and acting locally.
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
GN: Please tell us how you became involved in human rights. Mayor Persen: I have been concerned with issues of human rights for as long as I can remember. Before I became a full-time politician, I worked in a humanist organization dedicated to human rights and other humanist questions.
GN: You mentioned that you are especially interested in policy regarding immigration and integration, social justice, climate, and culture. Could you tell us a little about your beliefs and works in any of these areas or in human rights in general? Mayor Persen: When I first started my life in politics, I was an activist and a student politician. I did it because I
November 2020
2020�11��(November).indd 9
10/28/2020 10:49:03 AM
