Environmental Festival at The Nordic House.

During the weekend 11-12th of May, The Nordic House invites you to a diverse and informative program for the whole family. The focus will be on repair culture and methods to extend the lifespan of items found in every home – ranging from bicycles to pants and toasters! The aim is to draw attention to the 12th UN Sustainability Development Goal, which encourages a more responsible production and consumption.   

The program consists of workshops, lectures, presentations, pop-up repair labs, a design exhibition and documentaries. The events are all about introducing ways to better utilize the value of everything around us and to reduce waste in various ways. 

All weekend (Saturday and Sunday between 12-16 p.m)

Information booths and pop-up minimarket with environmentally friendly goods:

• FabLab
• United Nations Association of Iceland
• Í boði náttúrunnar
• Mena
• Mistur
• Plan Toys
• Tool Library & Repair Café
• Toskur med tilgang (Bags with Purpose)
• The Environment Agency of Iceland
• Ungir umhverfissinnar
• VOR – Verndun og ræktun

Misbrigði: Exhibition prepared by students of fashion design in their 2nd year at the Iceland University of the Arts in collaboration with the Icelandic Red Cross Collection. New design from old clothes.

Women’s Association’s Sewing Workshop: Need access to a sewing machine? The Women’s Association of Iceland sets up a sewing workshop and helps guests to repair, improve and change their own clothing. A knitting expert will also assist guests with repairing knitted clothes.

Organically certified at Aalto Bistro: On the occasion of the festival, TV chef Sveinn Kjartansson offers brand new dishes that will be cooked with only organic Icelandic food in collaboration with VOR, a producer of organic farming.

Experts on the hour: Informal lectures and Q&A with leading experts about topics related to repairing culture and the UN’s 12th sustainability goal. Note that all the talks, except the talk delivered by Anna Matos and Hafliði Ásgeirsson, will be delivered in Icelandic. See Icelandic program for full list of experts.

• Anna Matos / Tool Library & Repair Café / Sat 14:00
• A Tool Library allows members to check out or borrow tools, equipment and “how-to” instructional materials, functioning as a library would for books, with a membership, which allow members to take tools home for repairs, projects and hobbies. Read more about them at their website or visit their Facebook page.
• Hafliði Ásgeirsson / Fab Lab/ Sunday at 1 p.m. / Design global, make local – How local fabrication technology can limit global transportation of goods

Saturday

Dr. Bike: Pop-up bike repair tent at The Nordic House, at 12-16 p.m.

Landvernd Environment School 13:30 to 15:30: Discussion and Art workshop for kids regarding marine life. Suitable for kids aged ca 6-10 and parents are encouraged to join. NB talk/discussion will be in Icelandic.

Sunday

Repair Café in the greenhouse, at 12-16 p.m.

Landvernd Environment School 12:00 to 14:00: Discussion and Art workshop for kids regarding marine life. Suitable for kids aged ca 6-10 and parents are encouraged to join. NB talk/discussion will be in Icelandic.

Documentary: The Light Bulb Conspiracy, 17:00 to 18:00

• This is the story of companies who engineered their products to fail. In the 1920’s businessmen realized that the longer their product lasted, the less money they made. As a result, planned Obsolescence was born, and manufacturers have been engineering products to fail ever since. 

Documentary: The True Cost followed by discussion, 18:00-20:00

• A documentary that focuses on fast fashion. It discusses several aspects of the garment industry from production—mainly exploring the life of low-wage workers in developing countries—to its after-effects such as river and soil pollution, pesticide contamination, disease and death. 

Monday

Happy child in a healthy environment, at. 10.15-12.00 / Parental education, coffee and mingling. Lecture with Lene Midtgaard, who will give a lecture and good advice on how to avoid harmful substances in the environment of a child and change parents’ habits and purchases to ensure a healthy environment. The event is organized by The Environment Agency of Iceland.

The festival is organized by the Nordic House in collaboration with the following parties: 

• United Nations Association of Iceland 
• Women’s Association of Iceland, Kvenfélagasamband Íslands 
• The Environment Agency of Iceland, Umhverfisstofnun 
• Icelandic Environment Association, Landvernd
• Iceland University of the Arts, Listaháskóli Íslands 
• Repair Café / Tools Library 
• Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources 
• Vakandi