Our history

15.08.2015: What is the opposite of bullying?

– Is it not about doing something good for others? , said the 9-year-old.
– Yes, then we can treat others the way we want to be treated said his little brother.
– But what makes you happy might not be what makes me happy, their older brother pointed out.
– That's true, said the little brother
– Finally the older brother exclaimed with excitement: When we know what makes others happy, we can spread Gleding instead of bullying!

A few hours later Siri began writing the first children's book: «Gleding with Lykke and Wilmer» which was published six months later, in February 2016.

  • August, the first Gleding Day was held at a school in Haugesund.
  • November, the Norwegian children's book Feiling med Lykke og Wilmer, which explores the theme of learning through failure, was published.
  • Media coverage (VG, Norways largest newspaper): Siri (30) fra mobbeoffer til gledesspreder "Siri (30) - From Bullying Victim to Spreader of Joy"

2017

  • TV appearance on TV2's Good Morning Norway: Fikk sin første venn først som 17-åring "Made my first friend at 17."
  • Third children's book published in Norwegian: Undring i følelsesuniverset (Wonder in the Universe of Emotions)
  • Gledingsangen: Gleding song created in collaboration with Håvard Paulsen (former NRK Super host)

2018

  • Siri Abrahamsen brings the clown Wilmer to the Miniøya Festival, where they presented the Gleding Show, a live read-aloud experience designed to strengthen children's emotional "superpowers"
  • Tours and Talks

2019

  • Tours and Talks
  • Newspaper coverage

2020

  • «Foreldre for livet», a Norwegian book for parents was created and published by Siri Abrahamsen and psychologist specialist Karoline Øvrehus Solheim.
  • Development of the digital platforms Gledingskole ("Gleding school") and Gledingbarnehage ("Gleding Kindergarten")
  • Launch of the Gleding-podcast for children.
  • Digital parent meetings held every Sunday during the pandemic.
  • In-depth portrait interview with Siri Abrahamsen about Gleding in the Norwegian newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad.

2021

  • «Gleding til verden» (Gleding to the World)-launch at the Literature House in Oslo.
  • Nominated as Social Entrepreneur of the Year by FERD.
  • Developing animations and the digital universe in partnership with Qvisten Animation, engaged in promising talks with NRK Super- who showed strong interest- but ultimately decided that Gleding was a competitior to their existing "Bli med!" concept.
  • Q-Meieriene partnership: 4 million milk cartons featuring Gleding branding distributed nationwide.

2022

  • Book for the youngest readers: "Små Gleder" or "Little Joys" is published.
  • Gleding contributed to the development of the Youth Meaningfulness Index (YMI) alongside Voluntas in Denmark and the Alv Foundation in Germany.
  • Gleding takes part in the panel on the "Algorithm Generation" during the Arendal-week.

2023

  • Shortlisted by HundrED in Helsinki as one of the top 100 global innovations in education (selected from 3000 projects).
  • Henchmoon & Goon develops a pilot game using animations provided by Qvisten Animation.
  • Gleding splits into two entities - Gleding United (non-profit organization) and The Gleding Company which encompasses publishing, animations and games.
  • Professor Arild Bjørndal is appointed as Chair of Gleding United; a partnership is formed with the Centre for Evidence and Implementation.
  • Gleding is presented in sign language at the World Federation of the Deaf congress in South Korea.

2024

  • Gleding United AS secured 2 000 000 Norwegian kroner in funding to further develop its digital platforms aimed at supporting the "village" around the children.
  • Campaign film "Inside for life", «På innsiden for resten av livet» garnered over 1.2 million views in Norway.
  • For the second year running, Gleding was named one of the top 100 global innovations in early childhood education by the global education organization HundrED.
  • Founder Siri Abrahamsen is nominated for the top 10 in Norway for Reitan's "Årets Ladejarl" (Change maker of the year), in recognition of her efforts to foster a more compassionate society.