When I was fresh out of college, I found myself in the position of Director of Marketing and Advertising for a small locally owned bank in MN. Each Monday evening, I met with the president of the bank, a very generous and kind man named Jack. One Monday evening, Jack informed me that he wanted me to go to a Chamber of Commerce Meeting the next day. In my mind I wondered, What is a Chamber of Commerce? I did not dare ask such a question and show my ignorance to basic business, so instead I said, “OK, what time should I be there?” The next day, I arrived at the Chamber of Commerce meeting expecting to find a large gathering of people. Instead I found a group of 7 established business people and politicians: a state senator, 2 mayors, a couple of bank presidents, owners of area companies, and me, Kim Ebert, 22 year old Liberal Studies Major, whose only previous business experience was an Intro. to Economics course in college. As I was wishing I had researched the role of a Chamber of Commerce, the meeting was called to order. The first agenda item? Welcome new direcor, Kim Ebert. I was on the on the Board of Directors for the area Chamber of Commerce still not knowing what exactly a Chamber of Commerce was.
The same feelings of tickled confusion and amazement, and the question, “How did I get here?!!” that I experienced at my first Chamber of Commerce meeting, visited me today at the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights. We arrived at the Olso Center expecting a one hour tour and history of the organization. Instead, we found ourselves in the beautiful executive office of Kjell Magne Bondevik, the founder and leader of the Oslo Center in a meeting with 3 high powered Norwegian politicians and diplomats.
As we sat together drinking tea and hot cocoa, Mr. Bondevik inquired about my award of the Greater Tacoma Peace Prize. Actually, he first assumed that it was Niko who had won the award, and Niko graciously corrected him. He turned his attention to me and I enthusiastically told him about my work creating a peace program at Bryant and Sam’s work with the Disco Party for Peace. Mr. Bondevik went on to share that the Oslo Center is an independent foundation that was established to combine their political alliances and expertise to create opportunities to affect human rights issues around the world, to protect sacred sites, which are most often one of the first targets of war and to promote interreligious and intercultural dialogue. Mr Bondevik explained that he was the past Prime Minister of Norway, in fact, I later discovered that he served as Prime Minister of Norway from 1997 to 2000, and from 2001 to 2005, making him Norway`s longest serving non-Socialist Prime Minister since World War II. He explained that Einar Steensnaes has a long career in Norwegian politics, he was the church and education minister from 1989-90 and the oil and energy minister from 2001-2004. And Since 2005 he has been a member of UNESCO, Paris and that John Bjørnebye is a well respected Norwegian Diplomat who served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was the Norwegian ambassador to Belgium from 2001 to 2005.
After an hour, our meeting concluded and John Bjørnebye generously escorted us to the Vigeland Sculpture Park. We walked through the snow filled park with John enjoying his wise and gentle spirit and the tickled voice inside kept echoing, how did I get here?