{"id":3634,"date":"2024-10-11T08:16:09","date_gmt":"2024-10-11T08:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eikholt.no\/?p=3634"},"modified":"2024-10-24T12:14:27","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T12:14:27","slug":"kjell-henrik-the-auditorium-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eikholt.no\/en\/articles\/kjell-henrik-the-auditorium-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Kjell-Henrik - the man in the auditorium"},"content":{"rendered":"

Throughout much of Eikholt's history, Kjell-Henrik Hendrichs has been a pillar in the dissemination of knowledge about Norway and the world through thematic courses. His communication has enriched and left its mark on the everyday lives of many people with combined visual and hearing impairments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this interview, we asked Kjell-Henrik a few questions, and with enthusiasm he took up his pen. Kjell-Henrik has the power of words, both spoken and written. Through his 35-year history, we also get to know the developments that have taken place in the dissemination of knowledge at Eikholt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kjell-Henrik
Kjell-Henrik and course participants<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From working-class neighbourhoods to academia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For those who don't know you, can you tell us a little about who Kjell Henrik is?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

- I was born in 1941 and grew up on the eastern edge of Oslo, in the Rodel\u00f8kka and Gr\u00fcnerl\u00f8kka neighbourhoods. I lived at a time when for many people in working-class neighbourhoods - I come from working-class neighbourhoods - it was normal to go to primary school and then work. The city was divided in terms of education. On the west side, it was far more common to take the examen artium, as upper secondary school was then called. \"I've had a long and winding, but very instructive, educational path involving music, sociology, deaconry, theology and philosophy. And I've been a very active organiser, including leading two professional organisations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

- But most of all, I've been an educator in a myriad of situations. I usually say that I \"thrive very well in the auditorium\", something that not all educators do. In addition, I've written around twenty books with a variety of content. I don't actually know how many articles I've written. And I've given a lot of lectures on the strangest topics. The strangest topics mean that I'm always curious about new things and take on challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evolution from resort to resource centre<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We're wondering how you first got involved with Eikholt?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

- Together with Elbj\u00f8rg Liver\u00f8d, head of Eikholt, Per Sanne had many big visions for Eikholt. Per saw the need to turn Eikholt into something other than a holiday resort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

- It started through my good old friend, Per Sanne, who was the director of Eikholt. I was a university lecturer at the time. Per Sanne told me that soon after the opening of Eikholt, he had many conversations with one of the truly insightful deafblind people, Reinholdt Robertsen. At the time, Robertsen was also chairman of Norwegian Association of the Deafblind<\/a> (FNDB). Robertsen was a well-educated man who became deafblind as an adult. Through his conversation with Robertsen, Per realised that there was a pressing and urgent need to fill the profound lack of knowledge that characterised deafblind people from the mainstream education they received at the time. That's when Per Sanne contacted me, whom he knew as a colleague, teacher and friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

- The origin of Eikholt was to be a meeting and holiday place for deafblind people. Both Elbj\u00f8rg and Per quickly realised that many deafblind people had a significant lack of knowledge. After lengthy discussions, we realised that the most basic thing for deafblind people was to learn about Norwegian society, both past and present. We started with a week-long course on how our society is organised with municipalities, county councils and state administration. The course programme was called \"Living in Norwegian society\". Then came the many history courses on Norway from the Ice Age to the present day. The list of topics and the breadth of the programme is becoming considerably longer. And the wishes of the participants increased in length and breadth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Aashild Klopan and Kjell-Henrik have been a team that has ensured the structure and content of the themed courses for many years. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Focus on knowledge transfer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

- It was a rocky start. What else could it be? \"We started by guessing at what was relevant material. And gradually it was confirmed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

- In the beginning, I was unaccustomed to lecturing to deafblind people, and deafblind people were not familiar with me. Because of the tactile interpretation, I had to limit my use of words to a minimum. For me, it was a very big challenge. I have always been known to use a large vocabulary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

- There have been two factors of change in this 35-year project. One is the experience that the Eikholt employees and I have gained through trial and error. I personally say that I have developed my own Eikholt pedagogy. The second factor is that the participants in the courses are increasingly competent. Previously, it was frightening to realise how the participants had been grossly neglected by Norwegian schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

- Today's participants are in a much better position than the first course participants. And many course participants have attended a number of themed courses over many years. That's why the content of the themed courses is far more advanced now than when we started 35 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It's good to have that sense of mastery, it's good for your mental health<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Quote by Kari Kristine Engan, Course participant on Theme course<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kari Kristine Engan has participated in many of the Theme Courses, and we meet her at one of the latest Theme Courses with Kjell-Henrik. She tells us that he has a fantastic way of lecturing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-\"The most important thing about themed courses is to be able to participate in discussions in the network where we live. It's good to have that sense of mastery, it's good for your mental health,\" says Kari Kristine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kari
Active course participants on Theme course<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Johakim Lindgren, who has also attended some of the courses, adds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

- It's also nice to discuss and be able to talk about so many topics. It has given me more knowledge. There are no stupid questions on the themed courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are no stupid questions in the themed courses <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Quote by Johakim Lindgren, course participant at Temakurs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The joy of knowledge is something everyone should indulge in<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

- What I'm proud of is that we haven't stuck to one form and one set of topics. The latter is due to the fact that the participants' wishes have been taken into account through constant evaluations. The courses have been user-driven in the best sense of the word. In particular, we have come a long way when it comes to addressing socio-political and geopolitical topics and different political models and ways of thinking. We have covered all seven continents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

- I often tell friends and acquaintances that I don't think there are many adults who know more about Europe, European organisations, the EU and NATO than course participants in Eikholt. And we have prepared for all parliamentary and municipal elections over the past thirty years, and we have seen and analysed the election results afterwards. For the past twenty years, we have analysed the main figures for the expenditure and income sides of the national budget so that everyone knows the main items in the national budget and how it is created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pictures from Theme course<\/h2>\n Open full screen view<\/button>\n <\/div>\n
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