About this episode

Bjorn Ihler shares his experience of surviving a terror attack and his journey towards understanding the perpetrator.

In July 2011 Bjorn Ihler was a 20-year-old performing arts student and a member of the youth division of the Norwegian Labour Party. He participated in the Party's summer camp on Utøya island, about 35km from Norway's capital Oslo, when Norway suffered its worst terror attacks in recent history. Anders Breivik was a far-right extremist who launched a bomb attack on government offices in Oslo. Two hours later he attacked the summer camp that Bjorn was attending. 77 people were killed that day – the majority on the island. Bjorn survived and helped save two young boys who were also on Utøya. Just days after the incident Bjorn threw himself into trying to understand how someone could behave this way; he read Breivik's far-right manifesto, attended the trial and as many court sessions as he could, and spoke to countless former extremists. Today, Bjorn is an expert in preventing radicalisation and extremism and alongside his wife co-founded the Khalifa Ihler Institute which promotes peace, human rights, and community. Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: May Cameron Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the…

People in this episode

Host: Jo Fidgen

Guest: Bjorn Ihler

Topics covered

• terrorism
• radicalization
• personal story
• survival
• peacebuilding

Keywords

• Utøya
• terror attacks
• Anders Breivik
• radicalization
• peace

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Norwegian Labour Party, Khalifa Ihler Institute

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