Axel Stave (12):
“The Whale is about the ocean and hope”
“I want to become a professional football player, a police officer or a marine biologist when I grow up,” Axel Stave told us when we first met him as a 10-year-old. He is now 12 and believes The Whale will be a truly beautiful building. When we ask him to describe it, Axel says “To me, it’s a building about the ocean”, pausing briefly before adding, “and about hope”.
Axel is one of the many young people who have taken part in the Oceans of Hope programme, an initiative by The Whale. He explains the programme like this:
“It involves us who are young today and it’s – like the name suggests – about hope and the ocean. To put it simply, about the hope we young people have for the ocean,” says Axel.
He is interested in the concept of the ocean as a friend.
“My family runs the world’s northernmost surf camp here on Andøya. Andøya Arctic Aloha is at Åknes on the southwestern coast of our island. As a result, I spend a lot of time in the water with my dad surfing,” says Axel.
He describes whales as cute and playful animals.
Axel is preoccupied with people not throwing rubbish into the ocean. He believes that the better relationship we have with the ocean, the more likely we are to take care of it and the creatures that live there.
“More people should be friends with the ocean,” says Axel.
To me, it is a building about the ocean and about hope.Alex
4000 kilometres
“The sperm whales that live in the sea just outside Andenes are born down near the Azores and migrate all the way up here when they become adults. The distance from the Azores up to the edge of continental shelf off the coast of Andøya is more than 4,000 km. The people at The Whale travelled to the Azores to learn about the hopes the young people there have for the ocean. It turns out they actually think quite similarly to us. They believe people must stop polluting the ocean now. We live far apart, we speak Norwegian and they speak Portuguese, but we share some of the same hopes. It’s strange but also kind of nice,” says Axel.
“The hopes of the young people from the Azores and us up here in the north have been turned into several short films, which The Whale has shared online. Our hopes were also presented in an exhibition that was shown here in Andøy and during the closing of Bodø 2024, when our county capital was the European Capital of Culture,” says Axel.
When you visit The Whale, look out for the groundbone on the floor, which contains a small chest created by Andøy artist Bent Aune. In the chest, which is made of driftwood, lie the hopes of the children from Andøya and the Azores, including my hope. It’s wonderful to think that the foundations of The Whale contain the hopes young people have for the ocean. The Whale is built on the hopes of young people.Axel
At upper secondary school too
Youth at upper secondary schools have also been engaged in Oceans of HOPE. In the autumn of 2023, The Whale hosted its first hybrid conference. This event was held in two places at the same time, combining live lectures with presentations streamed online on a large screen.
Biologist Hanne Strager hosted the conference for the students at Polarsirkelen Upper Secondary School in Mo i Rana, while marine biologist Camilla Ilmoni hosted the programme in Fyrrvika. Several hundred pupils experienced an exciting day.
The speakers included:
- Juli Packard from Monterey Bay Aquarium
- Heidi Pearson from the University of Alaska
- Peter M. Haugan from the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen
- Audun Rikardsen from UiT The Arctic University of Norway
- Fisher Monica Amsen from Andenes
- Artist Pål Moddi Knutsen from Senja
- Photographer and adventurer Tord Karlsen from Bleik, and Axel’s father, Anders Stave
Youth conclude the conference
“The environment is important for the youth of Nordland. The way we live, travel and conduct business today sets the conditions for what the future will look like. That’s why it’s important that we get started with the green transition and Nordland should be at the forefront in this respect,” said Markus Gabor from Mo i Rana. In 2023, Markus was a member of the youth county council.
“Dear politicians, it’s time to put climate and ocean health on the agenda – and take it seriously this time. If you do your part, we the youth will take our share of the responsibility,” said Elida Lian from Andenes. In 2023, she was the chair of the student council at Andøy Upper Secondary School.
Torstein Raaby’s sweater
In 2026, Axel Stave was the narrator of the short film Håp for havet (Hope for the Ocean). In the film, he wears a beautiful, traditional Islender sweater, which once belonged to the explorer Torstein Raaby. This sweater was recently returned to Andøy by a woman living in Australia. Axel became the first person from Andøy to wear the sweater since Raaby himself. The legendary Torstein Raaby was the only North Norwegian in Thor Heyerdahl’s crew on the Kon-Tiki expedition.
Thor Heyerdahl’s theory was that Polynesia could have been settled by people from South America and not only from Asia. By sailing a primitive balsa wood raft about 7,000 km from Peru to a Polynesian island, he demonstrated that it was possible for pre-Columbian peoples to cross the Pacific Ocean using ocean and wind currents. During the expedition, Heyerdahl’s crew became increasing aware of pollution in the ocean.