Ida | Personal testimonies

Ida was 25 when she survived the attack at AUF's summer camp at Utøya in 2011. Here, she tells her story to participants in Democracy teaching at Utøya, together with Lill-Hege and Oddvar who she met that day in 2011.

Drawing: Landscape with vegetation, trees in autumn colors, and a white house with a red roof in the middle. In the foreground we see the water's edge.

Drawning of the white house on Utøya

Els Cools

Ida was employed as an International Adviser at AUF's head office in 2011. During the terror attack on Utøya, she was in the Matsalen, in the Little Hall, behind the old outdoor stage, at the water's edge beyond the Pump House and finally in the caves near the water.

The only sign she saw that someone tried to help them on 22/07/11 was Lill Hege and Oddvar. They were fired upon by the ABB, they rescued many AUFers, and transported the Delta troops to the island. After the attack, Ida, Lill Hege and Oddvar have become good friends.

Here you can hear a recording where they tell their stories from the terror attack on Utøya.

Portrait of a smiling woman. Blurred brown background.

The recording was made in 2018 with VGS pupils as listeners in the Library in new main building at Utøya. The sound is recorded by the 22 July Centre, and was subsequently edited by Martha Våge in NRK.

Eleven people pose together in front of trees.

The international delegation and the AUF leadership at Utøya on July 21, 2011. From left: Ida Spjelkavik (international advisor), Bassel El Oud (Lebanon), Thabilie Mangweni (Eswatini), Mari Aaby West (deputy leader), Tamta Liparteliani (Georgia), Tonje Brenna (general secretary), Natia Chkhetiani (Georgia), Eskil Pedersen (leader), Ritah Nansubuga (Uganda), Åsmund Aukrust (deputy leader), and Sam Muyizzi (Uganda).

AUF

Published Nov 24, 2022 Last updated Nov 29, 2022