​A glimpse into a meeting in DKG EPSILON in Kristiansand Norway

Epsilon has twenty-four members and has meetings once a month.
Meeting content:
● Welcome, a few words for the day, perhaps a poem, perhaps a song. (Ellen plays the piano).
● A current main topic with a speaker, questions, and input from the audience.
● Coffee and cakes, pleasant conversation, and a small raffle to raise income for Epsilon’s project in Bangladesh.
● Information from/about DKG centrally and locally.
● Sometimes a new member’s ceremony.
● End with some welcome home words and an invitation to the next meeting.

At our meeting on the 11th of March, the theme was:

“To belong, - to be an important participant in the community.”

Mette Midling-Jensen was our speaker this evening. Midling-Jensen is a special education teacher and subject developer at the upper secondary school KKG (Kristiansand Katedralskole Gimle). Here she works with students on the HT course (everyday life training), designed for students with functional variations.

Midling-Jensen is concerned with which words we use when we refer to people with functional variations. We must think with our hearts; rigid rules will never suit everyone! She talks about how she experiences the differences between people, which could otherwise be obstacles to collaboration, being erased when coming together creatively.

​Midling-Jensen is the prime-mover for the Spor”/Traces performances, as well as Ikke A4/Not A4 at the Kilden theater and concert hall in Kristiansand. (https:// vimeo.com/369827240/508f00efcd is an short teaser from the production.)

The theatre has a dialogue and competence center for inclusion and creative art.

Spor is a professional artistic production developed in collaboration with one hundred different young people from many different environments in the city, and the city's symphony orchestra. Here, students with mental and physical challenges collaborate with able-bodied students. These meetings between the young people and the professional artists create a climate of tolerance and provide excellent quality experiences.

The name Spor/traces has been chosen because one can experience how this collaboration can leave lasting traces for the individual participant as well as “ripple effects” in society. The performances are the result of long and challenging processes where everything is adapted to the participants both in front and behind the curtain.

Due to completely different conditions, psychologically and physically, one must treat the individual differently so that equality is created. Midling-Jensen emphasizes this and explains how important it is to meet Kildens employees who do everything to ensure that all participants feel an important part of the community and the performance.

Midling-Jensen could point to many examples where e.g. wheelchairs were transformed into both princesses and animals, at the request of the actors! She also explained how other arrangements were made so that the individual could challenge their capacity and be proud of both of them and their fellow students.

Epsilons meeting participants were also shown video clips from three different performances. These showed both touching and wonderful performances, both for reflection and a better understanding of all the work put in. (NRK, the state broadcasting company has made a documentary of two of the members and their efforts and challenges before the opening night..!)

Midling-Jensen told us moved, and engaged, about feedback from both students with and without functional variations, and not least from their parents. Everyone clearly expresses that this has been very important. For some, lifechanging.

We, Epsilon members, have experienced an evening of unusual collaboration that can change ingrained perceptions and thoughts. Yes,it simply changes lives if a space is created where everyone can participate and perform in a community.

Togetherness, kindness, friendship, and joy make us stronger together!

​In 2021, Mette Midling-Jensen received the well-deserved Agder County Culture Award together with her collaborator, singer, and actress Elisabeth Lindland, for her work with the SPOR performances. Helene Øydne Fredly (Muriel Marsh)