Norwegian Embassy in Dublin

Today is Sankthansaften, or midsummer’s eve, a day that for many means bonfires and barbecues. It is a celebration of summer and usually takes place on or near the date of summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the longest day of the year.

In some parts of Norway Sankthansaften is also celebrated with “Jonsokbryllup”, which is a make-believe wedding party where people dress up in traditional bridal wear.

We wish you all a magical midsummer and hope you enjoy the long day! ☀️

📸: Halvard Alvik / NTB
iStockphoto.com / TasfotoNL

Today is World Refugee Day, a day designated by the United Nations to highlight the rights, needs and dreams of those forced to flee, as well as encouraging public awareness and support of those who have had to flee their homes.

This year, the day is particularly focused on solidarity with refugees and hope for a world in which they are welcomed. An estimated 35.3 million refugees have been forced to flee their homes and around 41 percent of that number are children under the age of 18. In addition, around 50 percent of refugees are women and girls, with 1/5 of those suffering from marginalization, sexual and gender-based violence and child marriage.

Let us all come together in solidarity – let us keep our doors open and strive to find solutions to their plight, whether that means ending conflicts so they can return home in safety or ensure they have opportunities to succeed in the communities that have welcomed them.

Today is a day to honour refugees in all parts of the world by raising awareness and helping facilitate understanding while encouraging others to do the same.

📸: UNHCR / Jeoffrey Guillemard

If you love classical music and want to experience the beauty of Norwegian nature, we know of just the event for you!🎵

Valdres Sommersymfoni is organized every year when Valdres is at its most beautiful. The public will hear around 30 concerts with world-renowned artists in beautiful and special surroundings both indoors and outdoors.☀️🌲The festival is one of the most renowned classical music events in Norway, and usually has over 9,000 visits every summer.

The “Songs of Travel” project that includes both Valdres Sommersymfoni and Music for Galway will also be celebrated with a big concert during the festival, so be sure to check out the link if you’re in Norway from June 21 to 25 and want more information: https://www.sommersymfoni.no/

📸: Adrien Le Gall / sommersymfoni.no
Tom Henning Bratlie / Valdres Sommersymfoni

Last week the embassy was delighted to attend the exhibition opening of “Take A Breath” – IMMA’s major new exhibition that provides a historical, social, political, and personal examination of breathing.

The exhibition will run until March 2025, and in October it will feature a performance by Norwegian Camille Norment along with Irish Crash Ensemble. They will perform the piece Sounds for new Seeds, a composition of sound and voice that creates sonic sensations which envelops the listener both individually and collectively.

If you are in or around the area we definitely recommend stopping by and giving IMMA’s new exhibition a look – we at the embassy had a great time and can’t wait to see what else the exhibition has in store!

The embassy has a long-standing record of great collaboration with Scandinavia’s largest international festival for acoustic folk and world music, Førdefestivalen. The festival will be happening this summer from July 3-7 and will show more than 80 acts and 250 artists from all over the world. The music recorded at the festival often reaches an international audience and has even been played on the Vespertine radio show with Ellen Cranitch here in Ireland several times.

If you are in western Norway in early July, the festival taking place between fjords and mountains is well worth a visit. There will be many cool performances, for instance one on top of the mountain Hafstadfjellet!

Check out the following link for more information about the different performances: https://www.fordefestival.no/program

📸: Førdefestivalen / Facebook

Nå nærmer sommeren seg med stormskritt og det er sikkert mange nordmenn skal ut og reise de neste månedene.✈️

Visste du at reisende har mulighet til å registrer seg med Utenriksdepartementet slik at de kan få viktig informasjon dersom det skjer en alvorlig hendelse? Reiseregistrering for norske borgere kan nå gjøres i appen Reiseklar og her kan du også få lett tilgang til reiseinformasjon og reiseråd.

Sjekk ut linken for mer informasjon: https://www.regjeringen.no/no/tema/utenrikssaker/reiseinformasjon/reiseklar/bli-reiseklar-med-uds-app/id2877128/

📸: regjeringen.no

Did you know that Norway was the first country in the world to introduce a 40 percent gender quota for listed companies to improve female representation on boards? Now the EU is following suit and hope to inspire change with new legislation which will require listed companies to ensure women make up 40 percent of their non-executive directors or a third of their total directors.

The Business Post recently interviewed Liv Monica Stubholdt, partner in law firm Selmer, and Tore O Sandvik, the state secretary at the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry, about Norway’s long road towards gender balance and what Irish firms can hope to learn from it.

Read the full article here:

Aiming for better: What Irish firms can learn from Norway’s long road towards gender balance Other European countries have led the way on efforts to improve female representation on boards. Now Irish firms will have to follow suit

Oslo Freedom Forum, an internationally recognized conference for democracy and human rights, kicks off next Monday, June 3. This year’s theme is “Reclaim Democracy” and will feature talks from inspiring activists, journalists, entrepreneurs, world leaders and many more.

The conference aims to amplify the voices of courageous dissidents, expose threats to liberal democracy and to highlight today’s most pressing human rights issues. In an increasingly tumultuous geopolitical situation, the conference is more relevant today than ever before.

If you’re in Oslo from June 3-4, it’s a conference you don’t want to miss! Oslo Freedom Forum

📸: Oslo Freedom Forum / Facebook

In a forest outside Oslo, trees are growing to print stories that won’t be read until 2114. This is the public artwork the Future Library. ✉️🌲📖

Today, Sunday May 26, the 10th consecutive Future Library Handover Day will take place. This year’s author is award-winning Valeria Luiselli, bringing her manuscript to rest for 90 years.

If you are not in Oslo you can still follow the ceremony in the forest and the conversation with the author online. Visit the Future Library on Facebook for more information.

📸: Rio Gandara / Helsingin Sanomat

Did you know that Irish🇮🇪 is one of the oldest and most historical written languages in the world, and yet today only around 1.9 million speak it? How wonderful then to have a book of Norwegian🇳🇴 poetry translated into Irish?📚

The embassy was delighted to attend the launch of the poetry collection Lysets horisonter by Jan Erik Rekdal this week at An Siopa Leabhar, where we heard snippets of both the Norwegian and Irish sections of the book! We cannot imagine a more linguistically poetic book, drawing on both of our beautiful languages.📝

Check out the pictures below to see one of the poems from the collection in both Norwegian and Irish.

It has now been a week since we celebrated our national day on May 17, and we wanted to say thank you to everyone who helped make it such a fantastic day! We feel so grateful to be able to celebrate our day in a country such as Ireland, who has welcomed us with open arms to share in the celebrations. We couldn’t have asked for a better day to focus on children’s rights, peace and reconciliation.

Thank you to everyone who joined the festivities with us – to the diplomatic community, business partners, culture and historical contacts, as well as the Norwegian community in Ireland. We hope to see you all again next year!

Cellissimo, the new international cello festival on the edge of Europe, has finally kicked off in Galway! The festival is meant to be a forum for exploring the power of music and arts to understand and encourage behavioural change around global challenges such as sustainability and the climate crisis.

The Songs of Travel portion of the festival programme is not only supported by Valdres Sommersynfoni, but it will also see music composed by Norwegian composer Lasse Thoresen.

The embassy is privileged to have been invited both to the launch of the programme back in February, as well as the festival itself lasting until May 26th. The ambassador greatly enjoyed attending one of the concerts earlier this week.

While in Galway, the ambassador also met the Lord Mayor and discussed current topics around culture and history.

📸: Marc O’Sullivan

This weekend the embassy was excited to attend the Boyne Valley Viking Experience at Slane Castle.🏰

The event is the largest Viking festival in Ireland and has over 500 reenactors from all over the world, Norway included.🇳🇴This year’s theme was ‘Norse-Irish Connections’ and the ambassador took her role very seriously and showed up to the event in full Viking costume! She even tried her hand at rowing one of the long ships with other reenactors.🚣‍♀️

It was an entertaining afternoon with full size Viking longboats on the River Boyne, crafts and medieval tools, medieval music and reenactment of battles.

Thank you for having us and for a wonderful day!☀️

It’s the day before the day and our last 17th May fun fact for this year, so what better topic than our national anthem?

Norway’s national anthem is titled «Ja, vi elsker dette landet», which translates to “Yes, we love this country.” It’s a much-loved song written by famous writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in 1859, emphasizing values of freedom and independence which lead to a ban of using it in occupied Norway during WWII because of its connection to the Norwegian resistance.

Even though it has been used as the de-facto national anthem for many years, it didn’t actually become the official national song until 2019, and it is a song that every Norwegian would sing with pride, both on 17th May and other days of national importance.

See the left square of the picture below for the anthem’s original publication in Aftenbladet in October 1859.

📸: Antikvariat Bryggen

The weekend is a popular time for Norwegians to be outdoors and go for a hike surrounded in nature.🌺

Over time, several particular words and phrases have been created to embody Norwegians’ love for nature and the outdoors. One of these is “friluftsliv”, which is actually three words put together: “fri” meaning free, “luft” meaning air, and “liv” meaning life. Norwegian playwright and poet, Henrik Ibsen, first started using the term in the 1850s to describe the value of spending time in remote locations for spiritual and physical wellbeing. Its popularity has only grown since, and today it has become a huge part of Norwegian culture.✨

The embassy is no exception when it comes to loving the outdoors – earlier this week we went to the Tibradden woods🌲 where we spent an afternoon barbequing🔥 and enjoying the peace and quiet of nature. A typical Norwegian spring and summer day!☀️

17 May is often recognized as a day for the children, so it’s only natural that they have a prominent place in the celebrations. No matter where you are in Norway on May 17th, you will see a children’s parade, referred to as “barnetog” in Norwegian.

In most of the larger cities in Norway, children from different schools will line up with their classes for the parade. Often they will be singing or performing little cheers while marching, accompanied by a band (“skolekorps”) if the school has one.🥁🎶

After the march is over it is common to gather at the different schools for hot dogs🌭, ice cream🍦 and tons of different games for the children to play.

It is bound to be an exciting day for children of all ages!

📸: Ryan Kelly / NTB scanpix
Budstikka

Don't forget to register - the deadline is tomorrow, Friday May 10th! 🇳🇴

If you are or have been in Norway on May 8th, you have without a doubt seen flags raised everywhere. But do you know why it is an official flag flying day?

Today is Liberation Day, known in Norwegian as Frigjøringsdagen. May 8th has been highlighted every year since 1945 to commemorate the liberation of Norway from Germany after five years of occupation. The day is also recognized as Norway’s Veterans Day.

Furthermore, Liberation Day symbolizes Norway’s commitment to peace and reconciliation. A huge part of Norway’s foreign policy today is dedicated to finding lasting political solutions to wars and conflicts by facilitating dialogue and supporting conflict resolution.

Today is a day for celebration of freedom, peace and democracy🕊

📸: Peder Torp Mathisen / Forsvaret
Torbjørn Kjosvold / Forsvaret

Children and youth are the voice of our future and it is crucial to make sure their rights are upheld. This doesn’t just mean basic human rights and fundamental freedoms, but also rights related to their ability to play and rest, or to choose your own friends and join groups. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes children’s rights to participate in the arts and cultural life, and to express themselves freely in the medium of their choice, including in the form of art.🎨

The embassy agrees that children’s rights are a top priority, which is why we are so delighted to be a partner of The Ark, Dublin, a cultural centre for children in the middle of Dublin.🇮🇪

Earlier this week we were excited to attend the launch of their 2024-2028 Strategy. With a focus on realizing children’s right to art and culture, the strategy outlines four strategic priorities to uphold their mission of making and sharing fun and ambitious art for, by, with and about children, inspiring others by what they do.🌟🎸🎭

It was inspiring to hear about the importance of art and culture in forming children’s upbringing from a wide range of speakers – Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, Special Rapporteur on Child Protection and Human Rights lawyer and barrister, Director Aideen Howard, Chairperson Carol Fawsitt, as well as representatives from The Ark Children's Council as young as 11 years old.

We are excited to see the realization of The Ark’s strategy in the years ahead and look forward to future collaborations.🤝🏼

Another common item on 17 May is our traditional costume – the bunad!

The bunad is commonly worn on days of special occasions such as confirmations, weddings, and of course 17 May. It originates from pre-industrial farming society, where people looked to local folk costumes and traditions in search for a symbol of national identity.

Recognized by its beautiful embroidery, the bunad is also decorated with brooches and has buttons, cufflinks and belts traditionally made of silver. Every region has its own unique design, and today there are more than 450 different types of bunads in Norway!

Although significantly more women than men own a bunad (70 percent versus 20), they are both extremely popular and easily recognizable. See below for some of our unique designs – if you are in Norway on May 17 you are guaranteed to spot several different varieties of our traditional costume!

📸: Unni Hansen / NRK
Kamilla Tellefsen / Visitnorway.com
Fredrik Ahlsen / Visitnorway.com

Norway’s Constitution Day, 17 May, is less than a month away, so for the next few weeks we will be posting some fun facts about norms and traditions surrounding the day. Our first topic is food, and what better item to focus on than sponge cake with whipped cream (bløtkake)?

For many Norwegian households, bløtkake is a staple dessert on our national day, enjoyed by both children and adults. It consists of layers of cake, jam and whipped cream, and it is commonly decorated with berries such as strawberries and blueberries to create the Norwegian flag. Some also cover the cake in marzipan for a bit of extra sweetness. Tiny decorative flags can then be attached to both the cake and other food dishes.

If you are still unsure about what to make for the big day, bløtkake is guaranteed to be a delicious success!

📸: Godt.no
Matgleden.no

Did you know that reading can help combat isolation, strengthen bonds between people and broaden our horizons, all the while stimulating our minds and creativity?📚Research into the benefits of reading has also shown that people who read have increased abilities to empathize, larger vocabularies and that reading can even help prevent age-cognitive decline! That is why World Book and Copyright Day on April 23 should be a day of learning and celebration.🥳

If you want to start reading but don’t know where to start, don’t worry – both Norway🇳🇴 and Ireland🇮🇪 have some fantastic authors with a multitude of books to delve into. Maybe try Norwegian author Jon Fosse who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2023 and has written a variety of contemporary fiction novels, plays, essays and poetry to explore. Or perhaps a James Joyce novel from an Irishman regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of the 20th century is more your taste?

Stick to one of your favourite books and authors or try something completely different – either way, we encourage you to read a little extra on this important day.

📸: Alex Block / UNESCO
Valentin Salja / UNESCO

The embassy team had the pleasure of visiting Airfield Estate, a 38-acre farm and gardens aiming to inspire and enable informed food choices benefitting both ourselves and our planet.🌍 At the core of their vision is the idea of environmentally sustainable agriculture – the restaurant on site not only creates their menu based on what is grown and in season, but are also committed to breaking down food waste and compost it on site, creating a zero food waste cycle.♻

The Estate also has a new permanent World of Soil experience, which is focused on soil and its role in sustaining life on our planet. With several interactive exhibits, it is a great place to bring children to inspire excitement around soil and sustainability.🌱

Thank you to Airfield Estate and CEO Claire Mac Evilly for an educational and engaging day!👏

🇳🇴 Norway’s Constitution Day – 17 May 2024 🇳🇴

!!!! Registration is mandatory for participation !!!!

The Norwegian Embassy in Dublin is delighted to invite you to the celebration of Norway’s Constitution Day, 17 May 2024.

Programme:
14:45 - Gathering for the parade at the Molly Malone statue, St Andrew’s street, with departure 15:00. Remember to bring your flags!
15:30 - National anthem and speech at the Bandstand, St. Stephen’s Green.
17:00-19:00 – Reception with our Irish partners, representatives from the international community and Norwegians in Ireland at the Norwegian residence.

To attend the reception, please RSVP by 10 May to [email protected] indicating how many adults and children will be there.

📸: Maria and Erin Griffin

At the embassy, interns learn a lot in a very short amount of time. Among other things, interns are tasked with political reporting, managing social media channels and content, helping to organize embassy events and activities and so much more. However, being an intern can also be a very social experience, and one of the many highlights of the six-month placement is the intern meet-up! Interns stationed at Norwegian embassies all over Europe will then get together in one city and spend a weekend sharing experiences while getting to know each other.🌍

Last weekend this spring’s interns met in sunny Belgrade!🇷🇸 The Norwegian embassy in Belgrade welcomed more than 30 interns to the residence and organized a variety of interesting presentations – Ambassador Kristin Melsom talked about Norwegian-Serbian relations and the current security policy in the Balkans was discussed by defence attaché Dag-Magne Lunde and head of the OSCE-delegation in Serbia, Jan Braathu. The interns were then lucky enough to get a wonderful Serbian lunch before having the rest of the weekend to explore all Belgrade has to offer – the Church of Saint Sava, Museum of Yugoslavia and Belgrade Fortress were especially popular destinations.⛪️🏰

Thank you to Norwegian Embassy in Belgrade for hosting, intern planning committee for organizing, and in Europe for an incredible weekend!☀️

Today is the first day of the Ramadan Feast and a day for solidarity, kindness and support.

We wish everyone celebrating Eid al-Fitr a wonderful celebration with family, friends and other loved ones✨

Eid Mubarak from all of us here at the embassy🌙

📸: BBC

In today’s tumultuous geopolitical environment it is more important than ever to stand together and cooperate with each other in areas of defence and security.

The Norwegian Government recently proposed a historic increase in defence spending to strengthen all services of the Norwegian Armed Forces. Their new Long Term Plan on Defence outlines an additional 600 billion kroner investment over the next 12 years, along with more personnel and new capabilities.

The new plan reinforces Norway’s commitment to NATO, and along with Finland and Sweden’s entry into NATO, our allied security is considerably strengthened.

This change marks a step in the right direction for improved defence capabilities and increased security not only for Norway, but for NATO and its allies as well.

📸: Torbjørn Kjosvold / Ministry of Defence

This weekend the embassy went to Athlone to give a presentation at a prep-camp for Roverway 2024, a jamboree taking place in Norway🇳🇴 this summer with around 5000 participants, among them 110 Irish scouts.🇮🇪

The most popular part of the presentation was by far the food sampling section – pickled herring, stockfish (dried fish, often cod), brown cheese and cured meats went down well with the young crowd!🐟🧀

We wish you the best of luck in Norway and hope you have a wonderful experience.👏

https://roverway.no/ Embassy of Ireland Norway & Iceland

📸: Maria and Erin Griffin

The right to health for millions of people is coming under threat every day, not just from conflict, war and disaster, but also from pollution, lack of safe drinking water and health crises.

That’s why the theme “My health, my right” has been chosen for this year’s World Health Day, celebrated every year on April 7th. The theme was chosen to champion the right of everyone, everywhere to have access to quality health services and education, but also safe drinking water, clean air, quality housing, and freedom from discrimination.

Mental health is also becoming an increasingly difficult issue that needs to be addressed – more than 40% of Irish adults have a mental health disorder, one of the highest rates of mental health illness in Europe.

Let us keep fighting for the right to health for everyone, everywhere, in every way!💪

📸: WHO