FactArt - The Society Observes

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. This invasion has enormous consequences for health and health systems. This event took place at the same time as the health systems in Europe are struggling to rebalance services and finances after the Covid-19 pandemic (Leon et.al., 2022). In addition, the physical and psychological problems experienced by millions of refugees and internally displaced persons are significant.

Since the invasion began, over 40,000 Ukrainian refugees have settled in Norway (Regjeringen.no, 2023) and in the last week alone between 100-200 asylum applications per day from Ukraine have been registered (UDI, 2023). The UDI has established a separate scheme for Ukrainian citizens who apply for asylum in the country, and the Ministry of Education launched work forces at several universities to receive students and university personnel.

FactArt started as a response to what we have to come up with in terms of the integration of, among other things, Ukrainian students into Norwegian universities. Through interdisciplinary collaboration with performing arts, psychology and technology, we will further develop NETFacts, and the method developed by researchers from the University of Konstanz in collaboration with researchers in the DR Congo, to also include performing arts.

Through individual therapy (NET), which can mitigate trauma in refugees, the narrative that is used to design a psychoeducational intervention based on storytelling is collected. This is then examined through performing arts with the aim of discussing trauma, violence and conflicts on a societal level. This stage artistic expression should not be art therapy, but an independent artistic expression at a high international level. It will not be playback theatre, psychodrama or forum theatre, but a new interdisciplinary stage art form based on the artistic research we do.

The project is financed by Kristiania University College