Together we build hope for our ocean

The ocean belongs to all of us - It is in us, around us and is an important part of our survival and everyday life. It is boundless and binds people together. Yet for many years we have treated the ocean disrespectfully and filled it with rubbish. We have neglected one of the most important life strings we have here on earth.

Most people begin to see that today’s lifestyle is harming nature. We are consuming far more than is sustainable. Creation is our common responsibility and many people are looking for a way to make a positive contribution.

The Hope Cathedral is a boundary-breaking art project established through a unique collaboration between the plastics industry, traditional crafts and volunteer work.

The unique roof is made of plastic retrieved from our beaches which is granulated and re-moulded into roof tiles in 40 different colours. Our vision is that it is possible to transform bad into good. During a 5-year establishment process we have created not only a colourful, solid physical structure, but also an inclusive meeting-place for people of all ages, from many cultures and religions and from different walks of life. To date, 19,000 volunteer hours have been put in and the cathedral has welcomed the work contribution of school pupils, pensioners, immigrants and language learners. The feedback from these experiences is that the participants experience mastery, have an increased quality of life and speed up the language learning process.  Building a cathedral of HOPE is something very special and also instills a great degree of pride.

The Hope Cathedral is a symbol of hope, of love and of courage - and of what is possible when we collaborate, involve and integrate.

The Hope Cathedral is a non-profit limited company and the income we get goes to running the company so that we can work against plastic in the ocean, for diversity, inclusion and exclusion. The need is great.

Symbol of hope

We must never give up hope that our engagement and action makes a difference. The cathedral shows us that we can transform something bad into something good - and is a groundbreaking meeting point between world heritage and modern art, between people across age, nationality and faith. Hope Cathedral is a place for common effort in a world where we may feel isolated from others.

The vision behind Hope Cathedral

See how the idea of ​​Hope Cathedral was born. The film is in Norwegian, with english subtitles. The music was made especially for Hope Cathedral by the artist Helene Bøksle.