International Student Festival in Trondheim
| The International Student Festival in Trondheim | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Student festival |
| Location(s) | Trondheim, Norway |
| Years active | 1990-Present |
| Website | |
| http://www.isfit.org | |
ISFiT - The International Student Festival in Trondheim, Norway is the world's largest student festival with a thematic emphasis. Approximately 450 students from all over the world attend the festival. The themes change with each festival, but have always been related to social and political topics with international relevance.
The stated purpose of ISFiT is to be a meeting place for discussion and debate, an arena where ideas are born, friendships are made and valuable lessons are learned. The festival aims at fostering inspiration and being a starting point for international cooperation amongst students. ISFiT is a non-profit festival.
The ISFiT participants take part in different workshops, which highlight the festival theme in various ways. Several lectures and thematic meetings are arranged, where well-known international speakers share their views with the participants and others.
ISFiT has been arranged in Trondheim, Norway every second year since 1990. More than 450 students work voluntarily in order to organize the festival.
The idea of an international student festival in Trondheim came to life in 1988. The thought was to gather students from different parts of the world in a combination of a conference and a festival.
The theme of ISFiT 1990 was "A Changing Europe -- What are the Roles and Responsibilities of the Students and their Universities?," a timely theme, considering that the Berlin Wall fell shortly before the festival was held. Gro Harlem Brundtland opened the festival. ISFiT arranged for two trains, one from Budapest and one from Paris, to transport 375 students from all over Europe to Trondheim. For many of the participants, this was their first visit outside the Iron Curtain. This train ride has later been called "The ISFiT Rail".
In 1992, ISFiT had already established its name in the world. More than 4,300 applications were addressed to Trondheim from students all over the world. Norwegian Minister of Education and Research Gudmund Hernes opened the festival.
In 1994, the Dalai Lama visited ISFiT after he had received a visit from dedicated ISFiT representatives, who went to India and spent days outside his office until they got a 10-minute meeting with him. He was reported to have replied, "Cancel my other appointments. This is more important." 1994 was also the year that ISFiT started to offer financial support, so that participants from even more countries could come to the festival. The Dalai Lama visited the Festival for the second time in 2015.
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