Award-winning political thriller Oslo opens in London next week, charting the machinations of Norwegian diplomats striving for Middle East peace. [...] Oslo – for which Rogers is now writing a screenplay, as it is to become a feature film – tells the almost-forgotten story of the early 1990s back channel discussions between Israelis and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which took place inside a castle tucked away in a forest, located outside the Norwegian capital.

Norwegian artist Morten Traavik, who drew global attention in 2015 by bringing Slovenian avant-garde band Laibach to perform in Pyongyang, will hold the first-ever art symposium in North Korea, Aug. 26 to Sept. 4. His latest initiative named "DMZ Academy" seeks collaborative works between artists from North Korea's state-run institutions and those from the outside world, amid heightened tensions on the peninsula.

July marks the end of BirdLife Malta's 20-month Action for Nature project, an international exchange initiative that has seen a total of 84 youths and leaders participate from Malta, Hungary and Norway to improve the NGO's nature reserves as part of an environmental campaign.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende has strongly condemned the Palestinian Authority for using Norwegian aid money to establish a women's center in Burqa named in honor of terrorist Dalal Mughrabi. Brende further noted that "Norway will not enter into any new aid agreements with the Palestinian Election Commission or UN Women in Palestine until procedures are put in place to ensure actions such as these don't happen again in the future."

When thinking of Arctic diplomacy, one is drawn to the significant work of the Arctic Council.  One may also think of the United Nations system and the important work being done under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to settle claims related to the continental shelf.  What is often forgotten in the mix of Arctic politics and diplomacy is the central role of bilateral relations in advancing cooperation and understanding between nations and people in the High North.

In addition to the various groups of indigenous people who reside in the Arctic, eight countries Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Canada, and the United States have claimed interest in the Arctic. Diplomacy between the different groups is required for cooperation and organization in the complicated region. Due to its importance in environmental security, sizable natural resource reserves, and remote location, the Arctic incentivizes cooperation through science diplomacy.

A key component of this initiative is the plan to increase the number of female mediators in peace processes. The government is trying, among other means, to achieve this by creating a network of female mediators. In addition, Sweden is part of the network of Nordic Women Mediators, a network of women from the Nordic countries with professional mediation and negotiations experience.