The West-Nordic Day in Iceland 2020
12:30-19:00
The West-Nordic Day will be celebrated in the Nordic House this year with a varied program Wednesday, September 23rd.
The purpose of the West Nordic Day is to strengthen and show the cultural cooperation between the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland.
The focus will be on languages, identity, and the future vision of youth. Amongst the participants in the debate taking place at 17:00 in Salur you will find researchers on the topic, the artist Kristinn Óli Haraldsson (Króli) and a Lithuanian High School-student who has lived in Iceland for four years. In the debate taking place during lunch-time, Silja Dögg Gunnarsdóttir, president for the Nordic Council, and Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, minister for Nordic Collaboration, discuss the importance of the West-Nordic collaboration. In the evening there will be a micro concert with the Faroese musician Janus Rasmussen, who is one of the nominees for the Nordic Council Music Award.
Due to the current rules surrounding public gatherings we can only allow a limited number of guests. The event will be streamed live on the Nordic House web- and Facebook-page.
Program
12.30-13.30 – Debate about the importance of West Nordic collaboration. The speakers are Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, Minister for Nordic Collaboration, and Silja Dögg Gunnarsdóttir, President of the Nordic Council. The moderator will be Bogi Ágústsson, a journalist. Read more here
17.00-18.30 – Seminar on the connection between language, identity, and future vision of youth. See speakers and participants in the panel discussion below. The rappers Jói P & Króli will perform at the end.
– Greetings from the West-Nordic Council – Guðjón S. Brjánsson, president of the West-Nordic Council
– Video greetings from young people in Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands
– Talerum the computer game and linguistic meetings in the West-Nordics – Auður Hauksdóttir, professor emerita in Danish at Háskóli Íslands
– Use Icelandic without hesitation – Kristinn Óli S. Haraldsson (Króli), artist
– Almannarómur and samrómur ungmenna – Jóhanna Vigdís Guðmundsdóttir, director for Almannarómur – center for linguistic technology
– Poetry about Icelandic – Fríða Ísberg, author and nominee for the Nordic Council Literary Award 2020
– To be an immigrant in Iceland: speculations about a linguistic acquisition, identity, and attitudes – Stefanie Bade, PhD-student at Háskóli Íslands
– What do I have to say after four years in Iceland? – Gedvinas Švarnas Gedminas, 16 years old High School-student
The Nordic House library offers a range of books and artworks by Faroese and Greenlandic artists available for lending, which will be given special focus this day.
In the exhibition hall Hvelfing, in the basement, you will find the exhibition UNDERNEATH, where amongst others the Greenlandic artist Parma Brandt is participating.
Read more here
The Nordic House coordinates the program for the West-Nordic Day in collaboration with:
– Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute for Foreign Languages, University of Iceland
– The West Nordic Council
– The Representation of the Faroe Islands in Reykjavik
– The Representation of Greenland in Reykjavik
– The Nordic Association
– Iceland´s Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture
About the West Nordic Day
The West-Nordic day is held on September 23rd every year to heighten the cultural collaboration and the sense of closeness between the three neighboring countries, the Faroe Island, Greenland, and Iceland. The Harvest Equinox was chosen as the date for the marking of the West Nordic history and culture in the West Nordic countries. The agreement on this West Nordic cultural cooperation is managed by the cultural ministries in the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. The day is celebrated in all three countries simultaneously.
