I kveld er gatene fylt av kjærlighet.
Vi har valgt å besvare grusomhet med nærhet.
Vi har valgt å møte hat med samhold.

Vi har valgt å vise hva vi står for.
Norge er et land i sorg. Vi tenker på alle som har lidd tap. Som savner.
På alle som gjorde en heroisk innsats for å redde liv og gjenopprette tryggheten vår. Og på lederne våre som har blitt satt på vanskelige prøver de siste dagene.
De som oppholdt seg på Utøya og i Regjeringskvartalet var mål for terroren, men den rammer oss alle.

Tydelig og forferdelig har vi sett hvor store konsekvenser enkeltmenneskers handlinger kan få.
Det viser samtidig at det betyr noe hvilke holdninger hver enkelt av oss har, hva vi velger å bygge livene våre på. Og hvordan vi velger å bruke det til beste for hverandre og samfunnet vi lever i.

Etter 22. juli kan vi aldri igjen tillate oss å tenke at våre meninger og holdninger er uten betydning. Vi må møte hver dag, rustet til kamp for det frie og åpne samfunnet vi er så glad i.

Kjære unge: Dere er vårt korrektiv, vårt mot og vårt håp. Det er dere som skal forme og bestemme hvilket Norge vi skal ha i årene framover. Hver og en av dere er umistelige. Men vi har mistet mange.

Det Norge vi vil ha skal ingen ta fra oss.
I kveld er gatene fylt av kjærlighet.
Vi står overfor et valg. Vi kan ikke gjøre det som skjedde ugjort.
Men vi kan velge hva dette skal gjøre med oss som samfunn og som enkeltmennesker.
Vi kan velge at ingen skal måtte stå alene
Vi kan velge å stå sammen.

Det er opp til hver enkelt av oss nå. Det er opp til deg og det er opp til meg.

Sammen har vi en jobb å gjøre. Det er en jobb som må gjøres rundt middagsbordet, i kantina, i organisasjonslivet, i det frivillige, av menn og av kvinner, i distriktene og i byen.
Vi vil ha et Norge hvor vi lever sammen i fellesskap med frihet til å mene og ytre oss, hvor vi ser forskjeller som muligheter, hvor friheten er sterkere enn frykten.

I kveld er gatene fylt av kjærlighet.

TRANSLATION

Tonight the streets are filled with love.
We have chosen to respond to cruelty by coming together.
We have chosen to meet hatred with unity.

We have chosen to show what we stand for.
Norway is a country in mourning. We think of all those who have suffered losses. And miss.
To all who made a heroic effort to save lives and restore our peace of mind. And our leaders who have been put through difficult trials in recent days.
Those who stayed on Utøya and the government ministry were targets of terror, but it affects us all.

Clear and terrible, we have seen how much impact an individual’s actions can have.
It also shows that it matters what attitudes each of us has, what we choose to build our lives on. And how we choose to use it best for each other and the community we live in.

After 22 July, we must never again allow ourselves to think that our views and opinions are irrelevant. We must face every day, prepared to fight for the free and open society we are so fond of

Dear young people: You are our compass, our courage and our hope. It is you who will shape and determine which Norway we will have in the years ahead. Each one of you is priceless. But we have lost many.

The Norway we will have no one shall take from us.
Tonight the streets are filled with love.
We face a choice. We can not undo what was done.
But we can choose what this will do to us as a society and as individuals.
We can choose that no one should have to stand alone
We can choose to stand together.

It is up to each one of us now. It is up to you and it’s up to me.

Together we have a job to do. It’s a job to be done around the dinner table in the cafeteria, in organizations, the volunteers, the men and women, in small towns and cities.
We will have a Norway where we live together in communion with the freedom to think beyond ourselves, where we see differences as opportunities, for freedom is stronger than fear.

Tonight the streets are filled with love.

Redwood City, California-based Next Step is excited to sponsor Oslo Innovation Week 2011, taking place October 17-21 in Oslo, Norway. The event brings together investors, scientists and business leaders from around the world to promote innovation and value creation across a range of industries and their respective markets.

One of the key events of the week is the Norwegian Investment Forum. The forum is the largest of its kind in Norway and heavily attended. Up to 30 growth companies in the IT, life sciences, and clean technology industries will have an opportunity to present their businesses to more than 50 investors in attendance at this year’s Forum.

Next Step’s involvement in Oslo Innovation Week is multifaceted. According to Next Step Founder and CEO, Jennifer Vessels, “In addition to our sponsorship role at Oslo Innovation Week, we’re especially proud to represent Michelle Messina, CEO of Explora International and Jon Baer, Principal of Threshold Ventures and Managing Partner at FDI Institute, both of whom will be keynote speakers at the Norwegian Investment Forum. Michelle will explore how the Norwegian innovation community can support and motivate startups to think bigger, faster, and to exploit the many bridges between Norway and Silicon Valley, while Jon will share his insights into the ups and downs of the venture capital business from a Silicon Valley perspective of the global market. I know that both speakers are excited about addressing an auditorium filled with Norway’s leading innovators and entrepreneurs. I’m happy to say that I privilege to moderate both talks.”

Vessels also pointed out that she would be conducting a keynote speech to the Norwegian Ministry of Trade & Industry/Department of R&D and Innovation during the week. This agency’s primary goal is to bridge the gap between entrepreneurs, investors, and centers of excellence to promote innovation and growth. Throughout the Forum, Next Step will be involved in providing entrepreneurial coaching and investor pitch preparation training to attendees via a series of workshops at the Oslo Innovation Center.

The Norwegian economy is strong, open, globally integrated with a high level of trade and foreign investments, and a favorable international competitiveness. British business magazine, The New Economy, recently named Oslo as the best city for attracting inward investment. Key factors behind the decision were economic development and growth, good governance, and transparency and liquidity.

Vessels agrees, saying that, “There are many sound business reasons for investing in the Oslo region, but equally strong are the incentives to experience a quality of life unparalleled in many European countries. With a unique blend of vibrant big city life and recreational opportunities, Oslo makes a great place to both live and work. Vessels understands the uniqueness of Oslo first hand having lived and worked there from 1994 to 1997. While in Oslo, she served as International Sales Director for Tandberg (now a Cisco company).

About Next Step

Next Step improves revenue and profitability for organizations through sales effectiveness and employee productivity programs. Since 1997, Next Step’s team of 40 seasoned professionals have made a difference for organizations as they are expanding into new markets, competing in a changing environment and building a sustainable approach to growing results from sales, marketing and people. Clients include Cisco Systems, Adobe, Genentech, and many small to mid-sized technology, services, cleantech, and life sciences organizations.

For more information on our clients or our integrated training programs and consulting services, please visit: http://www.nextstepgrowth.com or call at 650-361-1902.

“If one man can show so much hate, just think how much love we all together can create.” – Helle Grannestad quoted by Norway Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg on Jan 24

It’s very difficult to understand what happened in Norway, a prosperous and peaceful country that ranks number 4 globally in per capita GDP and averages less than 30 murders annually. Many around the world heard about and were deeply saddened by the terror attack in Oslo on July 22, 2011. But to Norwegian citizens, residents, and families around the world, that day is likely to be as much of a point of delineation as 9/11 has been for Americans.

At the time both U.S. and international media covered the terrorist attacks as well as a plethora of theories surmising which group(s) might possibly be behind the attacks, the motives of the killer, and a host of questions about a Norwegian system of justice caught off guard and seemingly unprepared to deal with such a horrific event in the country that is a symbol of peace. Despite the wall-to-wall coverage of the violence, shock and dispair, the U.S. media gave little exposure to the beautiful responses of the Norwegian people – people of all backgrounds: Muslims, Islamists, Hindus, and ex-pats and international citizens living and working in Norway – as they struggled to understand and grieve this once unimaginable event.

The purpose of this site is to share a perspective on what we as global citizens, who are no strangers to violence, might learn from the way in which Norwegians responded to the only peacetime act of public violence in the country’s history.

The following to be a ‘side bar’ on home page?

I’ll start with a few facts that my non-Norwegian colleagues and friends would likely consider to be anything but ‘top of mind.’

•  At the request of Alfred Nobel, Norway awards the annual Nobel Peace Prize.

•  Violence is not part of Norwegian society, culture, or experience. The number of murders per year in this country of 4.9 million people averaged just 33 per year for the past 5 years prior to July 22, 2011. In the U.S., with a population of just over 307 million people, the average murder rate per year for the same period was 15,241. If the US rate were the same as Norway, that average would be cut to just 2,059 murders per year.

•  Norway is a culture of equality and openness in which the police do not carry guns; very few government officials ever have body guards and may even ride the train or take the bus to work. Many residents of Oslo and surrounding communities use the walkway leading up to and through the park of the Royal Palace daily as a walking and/or commute path.

•  Norway remains fourth in global GDP per capita, behind Qatar, Luxemburg and Singapore s due in large part to the highly effective way in which the Norwegian government manages the funds received from North Sea Oil Reserves. To secure sustainable development and standard of living for future generations, the country’s Budgetary Rule stipulates that only 4% of the funds can be used per year, with the remainder invested at a high rate of return in research in the petroleum industry and other areas of social responsibility.

•  Norwegian people are amazingly humble, a direct reflection of their belief in equality and by the very humble nature of Norwegian culture. (While such an unpretentious nature has been labeled as cold, standoffish or even arrogant, it has been my experience for more than 22 years that, when you get to know Norwegians, they are some of the most deeply caring, loyal, and well-balanced people in the world.)

Knowing this to be the Norwegian mindset, consider the mental impact of a native Norwegian terrorist, or crusader as he referred to himself, setting a bomb off in the center of Oslo, with the intention of destroying the Prime Ministers’ office and government buildings. This was first bomb in Oslo since WWII and the most violent peacetime act in Norway’s history.

The terrorist next traveled dressed as a policeman to Utoya Island approximately 24 miles from Oslo, where more than 200 youth, aged 12 to 24 years were attending Utoya Youth Camp, the Norwegian Labor Party’s youth camp. His intention was to again detonate bombs, but due to an alert island gatekeeper and security guard, his original plan was thwarted. Despite their efforts, he managed to kill both the gatekeeper and security guard who, as it was later learned, was the Princess of Norway’s stepbrother. The terrorist then went on to use both a rifle and handgun to kill, chase down, and terrorize the young campers.

In the end, the death toll stood at 77 dead, including 55 teenagers, and more than 100 individuals, 66 of whom were youth, who suffered physical injury. To grasp the magnitude of this deadly attack, consider that the population of Oslo is roughly 569,000 people and the entire country has a population of 4.9 million. That means the terrorist killed approximately 0.01% of the population of Oslo, and 0.002% of the population of Norway. While these figures may seem insignificant, they are actually a much higher per capita death toll than that of the U.S. 9/11 terrorist attack.

As news of the initial bomb downtown and the story of the killings on Utoya reached the US, I contacted many of my Norwegian loved ones and business colleagues, asking, “are you alright” or “were you or anyone you know a victim of this horrible event?” Their immediate response was simply, “I’m alive but will never be the same” or “my family was not injured but we are forever changed.” All understandably subdued responses delivered amid the shock and horror of knowing that it was a native Norwegian who acted out in such a cold and calculated manner against an otherwise peaceful country.

Heading or page change around Impact of the Event on and to Norwegian society:

As I continued to talk with them across the weekend, I learned that many of the “I’m okay” responses were of greater consequence. Acknowledgements of a “direct emotional impact” and recounts of  “close calls” became uncomfortably commonplace. Among those who unknowingly were spared was a colleague’s brother, who walked by the targeted government building only minutes before the blast. Another colleague’s niece, who worked in the destroyed building, was called away to a meeting elsewhere just minutes before the explosion. And there were many more close calls.

Even more difficult to bear was hearing the number of friends and clients who had indeed lost a godchild or their best friend or neighbor who lost children (while they were at summer camp). In this small, tight-knit society it seemed that no one had escaped the killer’s impact and moving forward, would forever have a changed perspective on life.

At this point I need to stop and ask each of you reading this several questions:

•  What might your reaction have been?

•  Would it be similar to the reactions of the U.S. citizens to 9/11?

•  Would it be hatred toward and a desire to fight or kill the perpetrator?

•  Would you have provided support for the killer’s cause, even unintentionally, by turning against the people and principals that he was against?

I won’t postulate your answers to these questions but I will ask you to put aside your initial responses and reconsider the questions using a typical Norwegian mindset, one of equality, humbleness, and peace. Might your responses be different? As you ponder your answer, I’d like to share with you actual responses of the Norwegian people.

How can these and the pics best be displayed?

Speech by Crown Prince Haakon prior to the Rose Parade in Oslo on July 25.

http://www.kongehuset.no/c27224/tale/vis.html?tid=93133&strukt_tid=27224

News reporter with Oslo Mayor Stang

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVcv0Ff79dc&feature=share

A video created by my friend Lasse Ingeberg (who’s best friend lost his daughter) of the Oslo Rose Parade attended by over 200,000 people

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOv18n3PCO4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

While I’ve not been to Oslo since the horrific events of July 22, my Norwegian friends, coworkers, and colleagues have spoken to me about an open spirit of community, unity, love, and respect for and among the people of Norway that has been sweeping over the country in recent weeks. Friends and colleagues greeting one another with hugs or similar acts of kindness is no longer unusual and increasingly commonplace. An extra moment is taken to reach out and touch or offer a hand to others, total strangers among them.

What can we as global citizens learn from this?

Simply put, there are many ways that a nation and its people can respond to hatred and violence without creating more violence and hatred. (Experience has shown us that fighting violence with violence only escalates the appeal of extremism.) Norwegians, by avoiding emotional outcries for vigilantism, knee-jerk political reactions, and strong-arm justice, are setting a rare example of how to make violent extremism a losing proposition for both known and would-be terrorists.

To be certain, ensuring that the terrorists lose their self-declared war on innocent people is the only truly meaningful way in which to honor Norway’s and the world’s victims and their families. But rather than through violent means, perhaps a Norwegian assault of peace, love, and understanding will show us all a better way to defend ourselves.

Inspirational Stories of Life Transformation—How Nine Young Women Broke the Cycle of Destruction

Butterfly Tears: Stories of Entrapment to Empowerment reveals the gripping, intimate stories of nine brave women who found the strength to turn their dark, raging worlds around. Women who against all odds, broke free of the destructive cycle of sexual, verbal, or physical abuse. Women who suffered abandonment and/or addiction and who found themselves in life’s dark corners of gangs, prison, or homelessness.

Drawing on deep-rooted tenacity, these women have now attained love, security, and successful lives. They have emerged as lawyers, teachers, medical professionals, and counselors who now joyfully give back and serve as mentors in society.

These young women’s compelling gut-level transformations offer strong inspiration to anyone who has suffered life’s hardships—to the breaking point and beyond.

The book also highlights the life of Dave Bishop, describing how his life journey—a journey that included his own alcoholism and recovery, and serving as a teacher to troubled teenagers—opened his eyes to how many young women need help and led him step by step to the formation of his groundbreaking Pathways to Independence foundation in Huntington Beach, California. With its all-volunteer network of therapists, doctors, mentors, and other professionals, Pathways has provided life-changing support and resources to these women and hundreds others like them since opening its doors in 1991.

Butterfly Tears can be purchased through the Butterfly Tears website at www.butterflytears.net or at Amazon.com.

Suggested Retail Price

Hardcover $24.95

EBook $7.49

About the Editors

Butterfly Tears was produced and published by longtime Pathways benefactor Wil Drouin and seasoned writer-editor Jennifer Thomas. The book features the powerful stories of nine Pathways clients and graduates—heart-wrenching first-person accounts of their metamorphoses from childhood horror to personal triumph in Pathways.