Helle Christin Nyhuus (born 1966)

Translator's Note: This is a machine-assisted translation completed on July 22, 2025. While care has been taken to maintain accuracy, this translation has not yet undergone human review or validation. Please note that specialized terms, historical references, and nuanced content may benefit from expert review.

When Nyhuus entered the queer community as a young person, she experienced that there was little focus on youth. As a result, she helped start a youth group. Later, she also became the first youth liaison in LLH.

Nyhuus’s career as a gay rights activist began somewhat by chance when she ended up at Metropol. At the same time, a meeting was being held there to plan Oslo Pride in 1986.
— I thought this was fun and important, and I wanted to get involved, so this was my first political activity related to gay rights. I remember being incredibly provoked by how focused the established community was on adult issues. I then joined the effort to start a youth group. And when I later became the first youth liaison in LLH, we organized a national youth conference in Bergen.

It lasted two days at Hotel Terminus and was supported with NOK 300,000 by the then Minister of Children, Family and Consumer Affairs, Valgerd Svarstad Haugland. The first summer camp followed the next year at Utøya. This was the precursor to the summer camp Jafnadhr and Skeiv Ungdom.

In 2001, Kristin Clemet was Minister of Education and Research in Kjell Magne Bondevik’s second government. She was responsible for new curricula, and Nyhuus led the work on including homosexuality in the school syllabus. She wrote specific curriculum goals for five subjects: mathematics, English, Norwegian, KRLE (Christianity, Religion, Life Stance and Ethics), and social studies.

Nyhuus is active in the June 25 Support Group. She serves on the board and works on a memorial and remembrance site.

In an excerpt from the interview, she talks about Lesbebussen, which toured the country in 1988. — An incredibly important visibility project.

The full interview is available in our reading room. Queer Archive met Helle Christin Nyhuus in Oslo in the winter of 2025.