Noregs Ungdomslag
Encyclopedia
Noregs Ungdomslag is a Norwegian cultural society formed in 1896. It has around 17,000 members and 450 local chapters.

Activities

Among the society's activities are folk dance
Folk dance
The term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:*They are dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music or music based on traditional music....

, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

 and the spreading of knowledge and use of traditional costumes . Several activities are directed towards youth and children. Some local chapters, such as Bondeungdomslaget i Oslo, run their own sports clubs (IL i BUL
IL i BUL
Idrottslaget i Bondeungdomslaget i Oslo is a sports club in Oslo, Norway, founded on 8 January 1913. It is one of several branches of Bondeungdomslaget i Oslo, a local chapter of Noregs Mållag and Noregs Ungdomslag....

), or also music societies. From 1913 to 1956 the society had a shared secretariat with the Nynorsk
Nynorsk
Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...

 language organization Noregs Mållag
Noregs Mållag
Noregs Mållag is the main organisation for Norwegian Nynorsk , one of the two official written standards of the Norwegian language. In the Norwegian language struggle, it advocates the use of Nynorsk...

. The society has been a driving force for the building of assembly houses, coffee houses and lodging houses , folk high school
Folk high school
Folk high schools are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal...

s and secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

s.

The society works closely with institutions such as the Nynorsk
Nynorsk
Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...

 theatre Det Norske Teatret
Det Norske Teatret
Det Norske Teatret is a theatre in Oslo. The theatre was founded in 1912, after an initiative from Hulda Garborg and Edvard Drabløs. It opened in 1913, touring with two plays, Ervingen by Ivar Aasen and Rationelt Fjøsstell by Hulda Garborg...

 and the children's magazine Norsk Barneblad. They organize dance festivals and theatre festivals.

After 1900 the societies were also active in supporting defence and the military.

History

The society has its roots in a number of societies for reading and discussion formed in the last part of the 19th century, often related to the folk high school
Folk high school
Folk high schools are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal...

s. In a founding meeting in Trondheim in 1896 delegates from seven of the earlier formed county societies were gathered, and the national umbrella organization Noregs Ungdomslag was formed. A central task from the start was enlightenment of the people, in particular by providing speakers to the local chapters. These activities closed down when radio and other mass media became widespread. The local societies could provide libraries, organize cinema, and work for obtaining assembly houses , often through collective voluntary work (dugnad
Dugnad
Dugnad is a Norwegian term for voluntary work done together with other people. In a tradition similar to that of barn raising, community members meet to help an individual, or club members meet to build a clubhouse or get necessary jobs done for a family in need. Participation in a dugnad is often...

).

Leaders

Among the early leaders of the society were author Sven Moren
Sven Moren
Sven Moren was a Norwegian farmer, poet, story writer, playwright, children's writer, organizer and local politician.-Personal life:...

, who chaired the society for two periods, Klaus Sletten
Klaus Sletten
Klaus Daae Sletten was a Norwegian organizational worker and politician who spent his professional career as an editor of magazines and newspapers. He was known as a supporter of the Nynorsk cause.-Early life:...

, Nikolaus Gjelsvik
Nikolaus Gjelsvik
Nikolaus Gjelsvik was a Norwegian jurist, a professor at the University of Kristiania from 1906. Among his works are the books Innleiding i rettsstudiet from 1912, Lærebok i folkerett from 1915, and Lærebok i millomfolkeleg privatrett from 1918...

, and Olav Midttun
Olav Midttun
Olav Midttun was a Norwegian philologist, biographer, magazine editor, and the first national program director of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation ....

.

The current leader (chairman of the board) is Kristian Fjellanger, while Eli Ulvestad is Secretary General.
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