Connecting students in Norway and Timor-Leste

Kria dalan is a student organization run by young people in Norway and Timor-Leste, promoting sustainable development through knowledge exchange. The meaning of Kria dalan is “Creating Paths” and is derived from Tetum, the official language in Timor-Leste.

 We believe Kria dalan can make an impact through connecting students in Timor-Leste and Norway, providing a platform for cooperation and knowledge exchange. 

– Håkon Noren, co-founder of Kria dalan

The organization has its origins in the Student Peace Prize and ISFiT 2017 (the International Student Festival in Trondheim). The Peace Prize was awarded for the first time in 1999 to Antero Benedito da Silva in Timor-Leste for his work to promote the Timor-Leste independence vote from Indonesia. Timor-Leste consequentially gained independence in 2002 after a devastating civil war. Ruined infrastructure, and large migrations from the country have created lasting problems.

Developing skills through volunteer experience

Today Kria dalan has a board of volunteers both in Timor-Leste and Norway mainly focusing on projects increasing the skills and capacities of young people. The organization has implemented two seminars in Timor-Leste, both focusing on sustainable agriculture. The latest seminar, Sustainable Villages 2019, invited 30 students to solve problems in 5 villages and used methodology from Experts in Teamwork to facilitate the groups. Experts in Teamwork is a course for master students at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).