New friendship benches are meant to encourage greater openness
With its sustainable urban furniture, Vestre has been creating social meeting places for more than 75 years. In partnership with the HUMAN International Documentary Film Festival and the voluntary organisations LEVE and Kirkens SOS, we are installing three friendship benches in Oslo’s city centre. During the film festival, from 10 to 16 March, passers-by can sit down and have a chat – in keeping with our philosophy that urban furniture should create social meeting places.
Sustainability is also about people
For us, long-term sustainability is a blend of financial, ecological and social aspects. Ketil Magnussen is the director of the HUMAN documentary film festival. He calls the friendship benches a low-threshold way of promoting authentic encounters and deep conversations. The aim is to encourage greater openness when things get tough.
At certain times, the benches will be staffed by volunteers from LEVE, an organisation for people who have lost someone to suicide, and Kirkens SOS, which offers a crisis helpline to those in need. Another of those who will be taking time out for a sit-down and a chat during the week is Else Kåss Furuseth, a well-known Norwegian comedian, author and TV-host. She is also the founder of the recently established Ensomhetspartiet (the Lonely People’s Party).
“Not everyone has someone to talk to, but everyone benefits from expressing how they are feeling and from being listened to. We want to do something so that more people can have a positive experience of opening up and being met with genuine interest and compassion,”
A project from Zimbabwe
Inspiration for the project comes from Zimbabwe, where the psychiatrist Dr Dixon Chibanda started "The Friendship Bench" in 2006 as a solution to the country’s inadequate mental health services. He trained a group of grandmothers in basic cognitive behavioural therapy so that they could offer support and conversation to people in the local community. The project has since become an international success.
"The Friendship Bench", a documentary which tells the story of this project, will also be shown at the HUMAN International Documentary Film Festival.
Vestre’s design philosophy in practice
When the HUMAN film festival contacted us with the friendship bench idea, we responded with an immediate yes. The project represents the core of our design philosophy – creating furniture that is not only functional and aesthetically pleasing, but that also contributes to a better society and is accessible for everyone.
The benches will be installed at Youngstorget and outside Vega Scene and Cinemateket. Painted in the festival's characteristic bright orange, these friendship benches will be a vibrant eye-catcher in the city centre during festival week.
“Loneliness is one of the greatest challenges we face today. But, sometimes, a simple conversation can make a huge difference. By creating inclusive and caring meeting places, we are helping to prevent isolation, strengthen community spirit and build bridges between people. If this proves popular, perhaps friendship benches can become a permanent fixture,”
