From HiØ's side, there was a review of CHANGE as a cross-faculty initiative as it looks so far and how one might envision the way forward, with a focus on the potential of collaboration with the practice field. The two doctoral candidates associated with the initiative also presented their projects and received feedback on them. In connection with lunch, there was a guided tour through parts of SimFredrikstad to look at the facilities that can be used for customized teaching, interdisciplinary collaboration, skills training, and simulation of various scenarios. This also included a visit to the newly established interactive simulation room (immersive room).
At Speakers' Corner, we heard, among other things, from Fredrik Wilhelmsen about how the Østfold Museums work on research-related cultural heritage projects, and the points of contact their work may have with CHANGE. For example, they want to recruit young people into one of their projects to use the museums as an informal learning environment. Gun Kleve from Halden Municipality talked about the area initiatives in Halden, especially the central area development project. Here, they have established a new school, a sports hall, and improvements to the residential environment. Children and young people are an important target group in this work. She further explained that much of the upcoming work will focus on the content of these initiatives. Elsie Brenne and Hege Aatangen from Østfold County Municipality spoke about efforts to combat exclusion in Østfold, which aim to contribute to a more committed collaboration to increase participation in work and education, especially for young people. They are in the process of mapping what is happening in the municipalities and which initiatives have shown a positive effect. They also talked about the importance of early intervention and how the Public Health Council (partnership for public health) connects politics and expertise. It was also highlighted how important parents and family are in preventing social exclusion, and that education on how to work effectively with families should be included in basic training.
The topics and discussions engaged both HiØ and external guests from the practical field, and there was no doubt that we want to continue the collaboration. The next step will be to connect the practical field and HiØ on individual projects; the dialogue is already underway, and further meetings are being arranged.