Norway may be a small country, but it's a big player in its efforts to bring peace to the most troubled regions of the world. BY LYDIA SEABOL AVANT orway is well known for the Nobel Peace Prize that is awarded in Oslo every December. But the country's peace efforts go far beyond the annual award. N Norway is currently involved in about 20 peace and reconciliation efforts around the world, according to Lisa Golden, senior advisor in the Section for Peace and Reconciliation, part of Norway's Foreign Ministry. The country also gives millions of kroner in aid to foreign countries each year to assist political and economic development, the development of civil society, the promotion of human rights and to provide humanitarian aid. " Norway is distinguished by the fact that we are actively engaged in many places and by the experience we have built up over decades of engagement, " Golden says. " We are furthermore one of the few countries that has had the flexibility to talk to all sides in a conflict to help them find peaceful solutions. " Building Trust Around the Globe Norway works to promote peace at the request of parties where it believes it can make the most difference, Golden says. The tactics used vary sonsofnorway.com VIKING DECEMBER 2012 21http://www.sonsofnorway.com