Rolf Noras has been Director of Cultural Affairs in the City of Stavanger in Norway from 1997 to 2017. However, between 2004 and 2009 he was seconded to be Strategic Director of Stavanger2008, the European Capital of Culture. In this position he was responsible for Stavanger’s application.

 

Rolf Noras has been a highly influential voice in the development of the European Capital of Culture programme. He was a founder member of the network group which helps to support both candidate cities and newly appointed ECoC cities and share experience and good practice.

 

From 2017 to 2019 Noras was Mentor for the City of Bodo’s Application to become European Capital of Culture in 2024. In 2019 the EU-Commission designated Bodo to win the title in 2024.

 

Other roles Rolf Noras has fulfilled include being Chair of “Troll in Words”, a Norwegian Government pilot project for the encouragement of reading among children and young people. He also led the project “From Feeling to Facts”, which was run as a series of courses all over Norway, focusing on the role and contribution of the cultural sector in modern urban planning.

 

In addition to "What would you do differently if you knew what you now know?,  Rolf Noras’ written works includes “Life in the Quarters of the City”, Booklet in the series “Better Close Environments”, published by The Ministry of Climate and Environment, and “Physical and intangible cultural infrastructure” – Author of article in “Transforming Cities – Paradigms and Potential of Urban Development”, Universitätsverlag Hildesheim, Germany, 2019. ISBN 978-3-487-15796-2.