UFFA ( no, Ungdom for fri aktivitet; en, Youth for free activity) is an anarchist youth house in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

, Norway. The self-managed social centre provides a location for concerts and self-organised activities such as an

infoshop Infoshops are places in which people can access anarchist or autonomist ideas. They are often stand-alone projects, or can form part of a larger radical bookshop, archive, self-managed social centre or community centre. Typically, infoshops offer ...

at the Ivar Matlaus Bokkafé, a hacklab and an anarchist newspaper. Squatterd in 1981, it moved to its present location the following year. The centre was burnt down in 2010 and then rebuilt.

History

UFFA was established in 1981, coming out of an autonomous

squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

movement which also created the Blitz house in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

. The DumDum Boys, then known as Wannskrækk, played at the opening concert and later

Tre Små Kinesere Tre Små Kinesere are a pop group based in Trondheim, Norway which, since their beginning in the 1990s, have defined their own acoustic style. They recorded nine albums between then and 2004 to come back in 2010. The band was composed of Ulf Risn ...

first recorded at UFFA. It was established as a self-managed social centre and founding members talked about how in the 1980s there was nothing else for young people to do in

. In 2006, a book was published charting the history of the project on its 25th anniversary. The original location in Kjøpmannsgata burned down in 1982. UFFA signed an agreement with Trondheim municipality and resumed activities shortly afterwards at Innherredsveien (taking over the defunct Østbyen kindergarten). The centre was burnt down again in 2010, just before the New Year. UFFA activists successfully campaigned for the city council to build a new centre at the same location. In December 2006 people from both UFFA and Blitz participated in the demonstrations supporting their compatriots from

Ungdomshuset Ungdomshuset (literally "the Youth House") was the popular name of the building formally named Folkets Hus ("House of the People") located on Jagtvej 69 in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, which functioned as an underground scene venue for music and rende ...

in Copenhagen, and several were arrested. Protestors from Svartlamon blocked traffic and the demonstration picketed the Danish Consulate. Generally, UFFA has had less conflict with the authorities than its sister projects Blitz and Ungdomshuset. Alongside Blitz and also Hausmania, UFFA is a centre for anarchism in Norway.

Activities

At UFFA there is the Ivar Matlaus Bokkafé (an

and cafe), Kafe Knaillhard (a vegetarian restaurant), a hacklab, the concert room and various activity groups. The café is named after the anarchist Ivar Mortensson-Egnund, who among other things, lectured the Norwegian people about politics, religion and social issues. One of the lectures he held was named (Matløysa i Noreg" ("Foodless in Norway") and after this lecture he was called "Ivar Matlaus" ("Foodless Ivar"). The anarchist newspaper ''Folk & Røvere'' is published from the centre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:UFFA Politics of Norway Anarchist communities Event venues established in 1981 Social centres Trondheim Anarchism in Norway 1981 establishments in Norway

History

Activities

See also

References