SOCIETY / BUSINESS

Norway: Crown Princess Mette-Marit launches digital literature-train

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway has launched this year’s literature-train in a story on Instagram that was published earlier this week. This year’s literature-train will run as a digital event that will take place through four conservations with some of the Crown Princess’ favourite authors.

Her Royal Highness published the following message: “Hi, dear all. On Thursday, this year’s literature train starts here on Instagram. I have brought with me some of the authors that I should have had with me on last year’s train, which of course did not happen due to the coronavirus. Then on Thursday at 7 PM, I will talk to Alf van der Hagen. He mostly writes books about other people. I am really looking forward to it and hope you feel like joining and listening to the first of a total of four conversations I will have with authors that I greatly appreciate. You are most welcome to join.”

The Norwegian Crown Princess is very interested in literature and books. She wants to share her joy of reading and to spread the power of good literature through her personal conviction that there is a book for everyone. Over time, Crown Princess Mette-Marit has participated in a number of literary events. In 2017, the Crown Princess took on the role of ambassador for Norwegian literature abroad.

In the Crown Princess’ literary agenda, however, there is one event that holds a special position: the Literature Train. In recent years, the Crown Princess has embarked on a literary train journey every spring, with events at libraries and literature houses along the way. The main goal of Crown Princess Mette-Marit`s “literature-train” is to reach a wider range of the population to increase awareness and enjoyment of literature.

In 2019, Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit chose to switch her annual “literature train” to a more urban “literature metro”. Instead of using some of Norway’s long and remote train lines to promote literature to young people, she used the metro-system in Oslo city to reach young people with her message. In addition, that year, for the first time, the Crown Princess’ literature train went abroad. With a course for the book fair in Frankfurt, the train started in Berlin and ended in Frankfurt.

Featured image: Det Norske Kongehus Instagram Still/ Fair Use

Iceland: Mountaineer John Snorri Sigurjónsson and his companions presumed dead

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – Mountaineers John Snorri Sigurjónsson, from Iceland, Muhammad Ali Sadpara, from Pakistan, and Juan Pablo Mohr Prieto, from Chile, who have been missing on K2 since February 5, are believed to have died on the mountain, mbl.is reports, quoting AFP.

K2 is the world’s second highest mountain, located on the border of China and Pakistan. It is considered one of the world’s most dangerous mountains for climbers. An extensive search effort has proven unsuccessful.

“All the weather experts, climbers and experts from the Pakistan army have reached the conclusion that a human being cannot live for that long in such harsh weather,” Raja Nasir Ali Khan, provincial minister for tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan, where K2 is located, stated. “That’s why we are announcing that they are no more.”

He added that search for the bodies would continue.

Featured image: Muhammad Ali Sa­dp­ara, left, and John Snorri Sigurjónsson on K2 before they went missing. From the Facebook page of John Snorri

Denmark: Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine have fun in the snow to support the Royal Run

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – The Crown Prince of Denmark had some help announcing the Royal Run’s new date, sharing the spotlight with his two youngest children, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.

In a video shared on the Danish Royal House website and social media channels, Crown Prince Frederik and his twin children announced the new fall date for the Royal Run, which has been twice-postponed due to the coronavirus.

In the video, Crown Prince Frederik stated: “For almost a year, it has been a condition for all of us that we have had to change our plans and our dreams. This has also been the case for the Royal Run. Twice before we have postponed the race and we must once again admit that it is not is realistic to complete the planned exercise party with over 70,000 people in the month of May, so it has been decided to postpone the Royal Run once again until Sunday 12 September, where we hope that it is again possible to gather so many people for a running party.”

Interspersed with Crown Prince Frederik’s announcement is footage of the trio running around the snow-covered grounds of Fredensborg Palace, where they’re currently residing, training for this fall’s race.

In a statement posted on the Danish Royal House’s website, Crown Prince Frederick elaborated, “In the meantime, we need to make sure to keep body and soul going. Especially right now in the dark period – it provides profit and well-being.

“So I hope that many of you will spend the time until September 12th to maintain the joy of exercise and running that Royal Run has already brought with it.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKyEbRCAMDT/

Featured picture: Kongehuset

Iceland: Screaming Tourists Campaign receives Digiday Award

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – The marketing campaign Let it Out, released by Inspired Iceland last summer, received a Digiday Award January 28 for the best creative campaign/program, mbl.is reports.

M&C Saatchi & Peel wrote the script for the campaign and did the creative work, while the production company Skot handled filming and production. The campaign was directed by Samúel Bjarki Pétursson and Gunnar Páll Ólafsson, and the score was composed by Úlfur Eldjárn.

The Digiday Content Marketing Awards annually recognize the companies and campaigns using content to modernize media and marketing.

Promote Iceland released the campaign in July of last year to engage people most likely to travel as soon as the lockdowns, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were lifted. Prospective tourists were offered a chance to release COVID-related stress by recording their screams on a phone or computer and, through a web camera, listen to them in Icelandic landscape at different locations.

“Understanding audience sentiment is critical to getting the right message across,” the selection committee’s statement reads, “and there was never a more sensitive time to ensure context and positive alignment than during the sweeping changes of the pandemic. With lives upended and economies in turmoil, Promote Iceland first analyzed its cohorts carefully and then tapped an emotional and creative vein while mitigating the risk of striking a wrong chord with people not yet ready to think about travel.”

You can watch the video HERE.

The second part of the campaign is underway, where you’re invited to ‘joyscroll’ 22.7 meters of uplifting material from Iceland. See for yourself HERE.

Featured imgage: From the video. Screenshot/Promote Iceland. 

Iceland: Guðlaug pool nominated for Mies van der Rohe Award

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – The natural pool Guðlaug on Langisandur beach, in Akranes, West Iceland, has been nominated for the 2022 Mies van der Rohe Award – the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, mbl.is reports. The prize is awarded every other year by the EU and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona.

It recognizes and commends excellence in European architecture in conceptual, social, cultural, technical and constructive terms. In April, 2022, the winners will be announced.

Guðlaug was designed by Basalt architects, while Mannvit was in charge of engineering design.

Admission to the pool is free, and it has proven ideal for sea swimmers. The pool opened to the public on December 8, 2018, and was visited by about 30,000 guests in 2019.

The structure includes an observation deck, reminiscent of the prow of a ship, a warm pool that enjoys shelter from the wind, and a shallow pool, mixed with seawater. The view from the pool of Faxaflói bay and Reykjavík is spectacular.

In the video below, you can see, step by step, how the project developed.

Featured image: From Guðlaug, before COVID-19 spread to Iceland. (Photo/Facebook)

Iceland: 22,000 tremors in Reykjanes peninsula, Southwest Iceland last year

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – Some parts of Iceland tremble more than others, and last year, a total of 22,000 tremors registered on the Reykjanes* peninsula, Southwest Iceland, Morgunblaðið reports. Most of those were less than 3 in magnitude. This continuous seismic activity began in the town of Grindavík on January 26 last year. This was followed by an inflation of the surface – first by a couple of centimeter, then more, presumably due to magma accumulating under the surface.

“There is more seismic activity on the Reykjanes peninsula than we’ve seen before,” states Kristín Jónsdóttir, earthquake hazards coordinator at the Icelandic Met Office. It is the largest seismic activity since digital measurements began in 1991.

The activity has for the most part been concentrated in the area from the southwestern tip of Reykjanes to Kleifarvatn lake in the east, but during the past few months, the activity and source of the tremors have been moving farther east, toward Krýsuvík. On October 20 last year, the source of an earthquake of magnitude 5.6 was not far from Djúpavatn lake.

The tectonic plate boundary of the Reykjanes Ridge runs from west to east across the Reykjanes peninsula. This is where the North-American tectonic plate meets the Eurasian one, sparking the idea for the so-called Bridge Between Continents near Sandvík, popular among tourists.

On average, the plates move away from each other by about one cm a year, but during the past semesters, the movement in certain areas in Reykjanes has been up to 16 cm (6 in).

Kristín assumes that pressure is building up in the earth between Kleifarvatn lake and Bláfjöll mountains, which can only be released in a large earthquake. Two such, of magnitude 6.3 and 6, occurred in 1929 and 1968. Their source was near Brennisteinsfjöll mountains, east of Kleifarvatn lake.

Björn Oddsson, geophysicist and program director for the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, states that the Reykjanes peninsula is constantly being monitored. A phase of uncertainty (the lowest alert phase) will remain in place there while seismic activity is above average.

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*Reykjanes is a small headland on the southwestern tip of Reykjanesskagi in Iceland. The region is about 9 km (5.6 mi) from Iceland’s international airport.

There was a prolonged period of constant volcanic activity on the peninsula, the Reykjanes Fires, from the 10th to the 13th century; between 1210 and 1240 about 50 square km of land were covered in lava. The area is fed by five volcanic systems; geological evidence suggests that they seem to activate in a coordinated way about every 1,000 years.

In the twelve weeks from 21 January 2020, after centuries of relative inactivity, there were more than 8,000 earthquakes and about 10 cm of land uplift due to underground magma intrusions on the peninsula, leading to concerns of a new phase of activity which could cause disruption for centuries.

As the name means “smoking peninsula” connected to volcanic activity, there are also other peninsulas by this name in Iceland, e.g. the peninsula of Reykjanes in Ísafjarðardjúp.

Featured image: Iceland (Pexels)

Sweden: Crown Princess Victoria puts focus on sustainable tourism

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden has attended the EU project DUNC’s digital conference. From her home-office at Haga castle Her Royal Highness gave a speech and closely followed the final day of this conference.

Development of UNESCO Natural and Cultural Assets, also known as DUNC, is an EU-funded collaborative project where the Swedish municipality of Karlskrona municipality has been essential. For three years, the project has worked to increase the commitment to sustainable tourism, as well as strengthen the local business community, at four world heritage sites around the southern part of the Baltic Sea.

In her message for the final day of the conference on January 26th, Her Royal Highness said: “As an alumni ambassador for the Sustainable Development Goals, the future of the ocean, and the Baltic Sea in particular, is a topic very close to my heart. I believe the DUNC project is a great example of how we can come together, around the Baltic, to address the challenges we have in common. And I look very much forward to hearing more about the achievements that have been made over the past three years.”

In January 2016, the Crown Princess was appointed by the then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as one of 17 ambassadors for work on the UN’s global sustainability goals. The ambassadors’ task is to promote in various ways the UN’s goals for sustainable development, Agenda 2030. From 2019, the Crown Princess has been included in the alumni group. As an alumni, the Crown Princess continues to focus in particular on sustainability, maritime and fisheries issues.

The royals in Denmark and Norway have also been deeply involved in sustainable development. In October last year, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark attended the World Hour in Copenhagen, an event that teaches young people about the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Crown Prince Haakon has for many years been a goodwill ambassador for the UN Development Program UNDP.

Photo by Kungl. Hovstaterna

Norway: Crown Prince Haakon speaks of inclusivity on anniversary of racist murder that shocked Norway

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – Crown Prince Haakon has commemorated the murder of Benjamin Hermansen, twenty years after his racial killing shocked Norway. The Crown Prince sent a digital message on the 20th anniversary of his death.

Benjamin Hermansen was killed in the infamous “Holmila-murder” on January 26 in 2001. He was just 15 years old and he was killed because he was black. Two Norwegian neo-Nazis were later convicted of the murder. Benjamin’s death had a deep impact across Norway and is considered to have had a major effect the on the Norwegian anti-racism movement.

Despite strict infection control measures, several hundred candles had been lit by a bust of the killed 15-year-old which has been erected at the place where he was killed. The Crown Prince wanted to participate in person in the commemoration but due to the strict infection control rules he had to take part remotely. In his digital message, Crown Prince Haakon said: “I want to thank all of you who every day stand up for a better society. A society that is safe and inclusive for all.”

The murder of Benjamin made a deep impression on an entire nation. Following the murder in 2001, Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Princess Martha Louise, along with many thousands of others, took part in torchlight processions through the streets of Oslo to commemorate the young boy and to show that Norway will not accept racism and violence. More than 40.000 people participated in the torchlight procession in 2001. In 2002, Crown Prince Haakon met Marit Hermansen, Benjamin’s mother.

After the murder of Benjamin Hermansen at Holmlia at the end of January 2001, King Harald was asked what we should all do now to avoid a similar killing in the future. Of course, no precise answer could be given, but he encouraged everyone “to look at their own actions”, to think about whether there is something each and every one has done that could have contributed directly or indirectly to the basis of hate, and to ask ourselves what we can do to remove the basis for something similar to happen again. In 2011, His Majesty King Harald visited Holmlia School during events to remember Benjamin on the 10th anniversary of his murder in 2011.

Photo by Simen Sund / The Royal Court

Sweden: King Carl XVI Gustaf celebrates Swedish forests

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – From the Swedish monarch’s lockdown residence Stenhammar Palace just outside Stockholm, King Carl XVI Gustaf attended a digital event entitled The Forest Day on Wednesday. The King of Sweden has a deep commitment to issues concerning nature, the environment and forests. His Majesty participated in the conference and opened the digital event with a speech.

In his speech, the King said: “I am sitting here on Stenhammar and looking out over the Sörmland forest, and thinking about how important the forest is to our country. The fact is that it is the income from those who have built up Sweden’s prosperity. And still does, with an annual export worth 150 billion Swedish crowns. At the same time, growing forests play a key role in slowing down and counteracting global climate change. Here in Sweden alone, it binds over 140 million tonnes of carbon every year.”

The conference was arranged for the seventh year in a row, this time completely digitally. The purpose of the conference is to strengthen the knowledge about Sweden’s forest and focus on the work that is done with the forests. Following the speech of the King, politician, academics and experts spoke and discussed, among other things, the role of the forest in a sustainable society.

In advance of the conference, King Carl Gustaf had a private visit to the forest near Stenhammar Palace – a residence recently attacked by an infestation of bark beetles. Here, and in many other similar areas in Sweden, work is now underway to get eliminate the bark beetles and rebuild the forest – job that will take a long time.

The forests in Sweden consists of about 75% cultural forest and just under 25% natural forest. In the south, deciduous forest is relatively more common, while central and northern Sweden are completely dominated by coniferous forest consisting of spruce and pine stands.

In Sweden, planned forestry has been conducted since the turn of the century in 1900, with the aim of supplying the forest industry with high-quality raw materials, while at the same time not jeopardising the long-term regrowth.

Photo: Linda Broström, The Royal Court of Sweden

Sweden: The King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is seen getting the coronavirus vaccination

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet – King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has received the vaccination against coronavirus. Underlining his belief in the importance of the jab, the monarch was photographed as he was given the injection.

King Carl Gustaf received the vaccination on January 15th at Stenhammar where he has been staying through this latest phase of the pandemic with Queen Silvia. Her Majesty also received the jab although no image was released.

The Swedish king released a short statement following his vaccination, saying ”the great vaccination programme against Covid-19 is now underway around our country. It is my hope that everyone who has the opportunity to be vaccinated in these coming months chooses to do so, so that together we can get through this difficult time.”

King Carl Gustaf will celebrate his 75th birthday in April while Queen Silvia turned 77 in December. At the end of last year, they tested negative for coronavius after underdoing checks when it was confirmed that their son, Prince Carl Philip, and his wife, Princess Sofia, had both contracted the illness. They have since made a full recovery and announced soon afterwards that they are expecting a baby in the spring.

In recent months, the King of Sweden has been critical of his government’s approach to the pandemic, saying ”I think we have failed. We have a large number who have died and that is terrible.”

Sweden has taken one of the most notably relaxed approaches in the world to dealing with the pandemic. The country has never held a full lockdown and most measures to control the spread are advisory rather than compulsory. Since the outbreak began, Sweden has recorded over 7,800 deaths, a much higher toll than neighbouring Scandinavian nations. Speaking after the comments became public, Sweden’s Prime Minister, Stefan Lofven, said ”the fact that so many have died can’t be considered as anything other than a failure” but continued that a proper verdict on the strategy wouldn’t possible until after the pandemic was over.

Photo by Sara Friberg, The Royal Court of Sweden

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