Therefore, the municipality will give the girls a separate offer. The new meeting place for young people will be created in what is currently a sad car park outside the Triaden shopping center in the center of Lørenskog. No plans are ready, but this is an example of what the space could look like. Illustration of the outdoor area in Lørenskog today – and how it could be. Illustration from Lørenskog municipality According to the original plans, this should already be a green area. Therefore, the municipality has now decided that the space must be converted. Anita Heli, landscape engineer in Lørenskog municipality, shows off the car park which is centrally located in the municipality. Photo: Hallgeir Aunan / news – This is a car park that we are going to change into something very nice, says Anita Heli, landscape engineer in Lørenskog municipality. She is the prime mover for the project. 16-year-old Julie Andresen Wågenes heads the youth council in the municipality. She thinks the project is very exciting. She is a girl and can speak up. Julie Andresen Wågenes heads the youth council in Lørenskog. Photo: Hallgeir Aunan / news – What do you want? – It is much. For example, a place where you can charge your phone. I know many people would have used it then. It would also be cool to have lots of benches and green areas so you can sit and chat together. The case creates commitment. – Skakkjört municipality. The best thing to do is to move out of the municipality, writes one of those who comment on the matter on Facebook. 16-year-olds Julie and Herman discuss what the new meeting place in Lørenskog could be like. Photo: Hallgeir Aunan / news Herman Aunan (16) is not allowed to speak. He thinks it’s fine, but doesn’t know if he wants to use the space that often. – How will a place be when the girls get to decide and not the boys? – Maybe more seats where the girls sit and have small talk and things like that – and talk about who they like and don’t like at school, he says. Participation The municipality is asking for input from girls between the ages of 12 and 20. They have posted this video on Facebook to get input. – The space is the future for us young people in Lørenskog, says Julie in the municipality’s Facebook campaign. Several cheer for the project, but the critics are clear. – To be completely honest, Lørenskog municipality should issue an apology to the boys, because we are talking about children. Here, Lørenskog municipality is simply discriminating against boys, writes another on Facebook. – Why are only girls allowed to decide? – Many of the outdoor facilities we have today are used to a significantly greater extent by boys than by girls. The girls often sit on the sidelines, says landscape engineer Heli. It is this bias that the municipality will do something about. Anita Heli, landscape engineer Lørenskog municipality Photo: Hallgeir Aunan / news – We want to give the girls ownership of their own areas so that they are not just spectators. – Are the boys excluded? – The boys are not excluded. They are most welcome to use the space too, says Heli. A Swedish survey shows that among the age group 13 to 19, 80% of boys and 20% of girls used planned facilities for spontaneous sports. “The skewed focus and lack of provision for girls can lead to both inactivity and exclusion”, writes Tverga, the resource center for self-organized sports and physical activity in Norway, on its website. Some girls want heat lamps and a ceiling. In this way, the area can e.g. stay if these girls get to decide. Photo: Lørenskog municipality A place with colors – What do the girls want? – The girls want a meeting place that invites them to be social, that looks good, that has colors and plants. There must be a place with seating, a roof and a heat lamp. Some want a stage, others want a nice background they can post on social media, says Heli. The project receives support from one of those who have worked the longest with outdoor areas for children and young people in Norway, Kine Halvorsen Thoren. She is professor emerita at the Department of Landscape Architecture at the Norwegian University of the Environment and Life Sciences. Kine Halvorsen Thoren, professor emerita, Norwegian University of the Environment and Life Sciences Photo: Hallgeir Aunan / news – Girls prefer facilities where there are not necessarily so many competitions. They are not so interested in large ballparks or skateparks, she says. – What happens to the girls in such places? – In the worst case they are not there at all, in the best case they sit as spectators and watch. She is concerned with the financial aspect. – We spend quite a lot of money in Norway on facilities that satisfy the boys’ needs. It is absolutely fantastic that Lørenskog puts the spotlight on the girls who are very excluded and hears what they want. It is a very good idea, she says. Julie thinks it’s time to think about the girls. – There are already an awful lot of cool things that the guys have. They have basketball courts, football pits and skate parks. Herman thinks it will be a meeting place with little physical activity. Herman Austad (16) is not sure if he will use the place. Photo: Hallgeir Aunan / news – Do you want to come here? – I do not know. It depends a bit. There are football pitches that I can go to. Julie, for her part, is sure that where girls go, boys also go.
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