Dances with Wolves was the name of a fantastic film which showed a man’s interaction with wolves. Reality is even more fantastic. And you too can get a taste of it at Langedrag Nature Park and Mountain Farm, a 2 ½ hour drive from Norway’s capital Oslo.
Here animal keepers have been accepted as members of the wolf pack. It is an experience to see at close range how the wolf pack works together, and intriguing to learn more about this great ancestor of the dog. You may join a wolf expert on an exclusive one hour tour into the Wolves Enclosure. Inside the fences you will learn about the language of the wolves, their instincts and life within “The Pack”, all while you sit just a few meters away from them.
The confidence and trust needed to achieve this level of contact has been built up by understanding and using the wolves’ own signals. There are not many places in the world which can show such close contact between humans and wolves. Watching it happen prompts feelings of warmth and humility in both children and adults.
But Langedragis not only about dancing with wolves. It has an extensive collection of wild and domestic animals, with the emphasis on preserving the animals which are as close as possible to the original, wild species – without human ‘engineering’. It is an exciting philosophy, and the host family has succeeded in making Langedrag an exciting place to visit for adults as well as children.
“Animals, large and small, wander freely around the place, and are accessible to visitors,” says the owner, Tuva Thorsen.
“Animals, large and small, wander freely around the place, and are accessible to visitors,” says the owner, Tuva Thorsen. Asked whether that is not perhaps a little dangerous, her enthusiasm for the concept is clear: “It is quite safe because we place great emphasis on teaching all our visitors how to act around the animals. We tell them how important it is to respect the animals, how important it is to let the animals come to us, that we must not chase after them to make contact. As a result our animals feel safe, and an animal that feels safe is not a dangerous animal.”
We asked Tuva to list the species kept at Langedrag, but that proved not to be an easy task. She had to explain why each individual species was so special.
Riding on fjord ponies
“Take the fjord pony, for example,” she said. “Everyone knows it as a patient, good-tempered horse that is very well suited for teaching youngsters to ride. But few people know that it is the only breed in existence today that is practically identical with the original wild horses, the Przewalski horse. The Fjord pony is also the only breed of horse with a ‘stand-up’ mane.
Scottish highland cattle. Photo: Sverre Vassbotn
“We also have Scottish highland cattle, which are well suited to the harsh climate in the Norwegian mountains. The species is most similar to the primitive European ox. We have 12 of them, and they normally stay outside all year round. We also have yak from central Asia, where they are used as pack animals. You can also see reindeer at Langedrag, both herds of wild reindeer in the mountains and a few tame reindeer which live within the park.”
Tuva admits that it is hard to think of the large animals as cuddly, nut insists that they are peaceful. And it is certainly possible to make contact with them – when the animals feel like it!
Lynx at Langedrag. Photo: Eva Loeken
We ask which animals are the most popular with the many youngsters who visit Langedrag. “We have lots of beautiful mouflon sheep. They wander about here in the park and up the mountains. I need hardly say that this is Europe’s original wild sheep! When it is out on its own, it can live side by side with wolves, since it can actually outrun a wolf in mountainous terrain. The wolves can only take the weakest members of the flock, so contributing to natural selection. The rabbits are a bit special, too,” Tuva continues. “They live free in a harsh climate, and that has an effect on their reproduction. They do not mate all the time like most rabbits. They have young only in spring.”
Rabbit
Tuva speaks with passion about the lynx, Western Europe’s largest and most fascinating wild cat, and about the mountain foxes, which are threatened with extinction and which they hand feed! Everyone can enjoy this exciting meeting with the animals, whether you are here just one day or a whole week. Langedrag offers activities for children, families and school classes. All the buildings have been built and are maintained with the same respect for nature that Tuva has for the animals.
Mouflon sheep
We finish where visitors to Langedrag begin, in the reception center. It is impossible to imagine a building more in keeping with its environment than this one, built as it is of 10” logs with a grass roof. Just look, even the sight of it soothes the soul!
Dances with Wolves in Norway, written by John Hammond
Japanese art and design had a profound influence in the Nordic countries during the final decades of the 19th century and well into the 20th. Several museums and galleries in Oslo, Norway, exhibit Japan-inspired art this summer.
It was the art critic and collector of Japanese art, Philippe Burty, who coined the term “Japonism”, which has become an international art movement that refers to the influence of Japanese art on the West. “Japanomania” swept the Western world in the early 1850s. By the 1870s the Nordic countries, not surprisingly, became interested, since Nordic art shares the love for and influence of nature.
Japonamia in the north. Exhibition in Oslo
This summer’s major exhibitions in Norway are made in collaboration with other museums across the world. Exhibitions at the National
Professor Gabriel Weisberg
Gallery and The Museum of Decorative Art and Design in Oslo exhibit “The Influence of Japan on Nordic Art and Design”, consisting of two parts: the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design devotes its attention primarily to applied art, while at the National Gallery the principal emphasis is on fine art.
Not everyone sees the clear impact of Japanese art on Scandinavia. Three years ago, US Professor Weisberg attended a conference on
Japonisme at the University of Rennes in France. A Japanese professor asked him what he was working on, and Weisberg explained that he was beginning a project examining the impact of Japanese art on Scandinavia. Weisberg recalls: “He said, ‘There’s no such thing.’ And I said: ‘You’re going to be proven wrong.’”
Three years later, Weisberg made good on that promise. In February he traveled to Finland for the opening of Japanomania in the Nordic Countries, 1875–1918 at the Ateneum Museum in Helsinki. Now the show has traveled to Oslo, where it will remain through 16 October.
The major trend when it comes to Norwegian museum exhibition this summer is not related to styles or art forms, but the act of cooperation. As a result, you get people queuing up for an hour or more outside the museums, which is something you rarely see in Oslo. Still, that was the case at the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter this spring. The exhibitions at the National Gallery and The Museum of Decorative Art and Design show record number of visitors.
Evening interior Harriet Backer 1890 Photo Nasjonalmuseet part of the exhibition Japonmania in the North
After Japan opened its borders in 1854, Japanese objects soon found their way into world exhibitions and famous department stores in Paris and London. It was in these metropolises, around 1860, that this East-Asian culture first had an impact. Internationally, the movement became known as Japonism.
A show like this has never been done before. Yet it is important for several reasons, not least highlighting that Japanese art actually has had (and continues to have) an impact on Scandinavian countries and that it takes place in the Nordic countries, giving visitors a chance to reflect upon and understand the influence outside of the gallery walls.
It opens up new territory and gives people new ideas about Scandinavian art. “It is unique, and it’s different, and it’s my swan song,” Weisberg says. “The show is scholarly, but it is developed in a way that it can reach the average person.” That is the point of what Weisberg does: he wants to reach and educate the public.
The great wave off Kanagawa
Japanese art and design were seen as something new, fresh and exciting. The emphasis on asymmetry, simplification and stylisation – combined with a profound respect for the smallest of nature’s details – had a liberating effect on artists and designers, who increasingly wanted to consign older styles to history and create something new. Japonism formed a prelude to Nordic modernism.
The King’s Road in Norway was historically one of the main routes between Eastern and Western Norway, and has been in use since 1793. Since 2009 a collaborative upgrading project, involving public and private sectors, has aimed to teach people about the importance of the history of transport over Filefjell.
Driving at King’s Road, Norway
The result is a 100 km long continuous cultural heritage path between Lærdalsøyri and Vang. Every second year, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration awards “The Beautiful Roads Award” which is the Norwegian Director of Roads’ prestigious honorary prize for “roads with good aesthetic qualities adapted to their surroundings.” Now, the King’s Road is voted the most beautiful road together with the Skjarvelandet landslide project on the Havøysund road in Northern Norway.
The cache is placed at Mureklopphaugen, about 14 meters southwest of the old county border stone between the old Bergen and Akerhus counties. The stone is made of Danish marble and was placed here in 1797 by C. J. Hammer who built the road.
The King’s Road was the first passable road over Filefjell mountain pass, built by hand under C. J. Hammer’s leadership using simple tools at a time when dynamite had not yet been invented.
The route runs from the narrow, dramatic fjord landscape at the head of Sognefjorden over the Filefjell Mountains and down to the rural villages in Valdres. It is a journey between regions.
Filefjell, Tyin
There is a lovely view over the surrounding mountains, and the highest point is about 1250 meters above sea level. Walking takes about 4 – 5 hours each way. There is a bus connection to Kyrkjestølen mountain farm at Filefjell on the E16 approximately 65 kilometers from the center of Lærdal. You can return by bus from Maristova.
The Troll’s Ladder
Since 2012 sherpas from Nepal have constructed new walls, bridges have been erected after ancient drawings, vegetation has been cleared, and it is signposted and embellished along the route.
The historic Royal Route has been the theme for the project, and alternative paths have been combined to a continuous route where it no longer was suited for hiking. Thus it also offers hikers a complete holiday experience that enlivens all their senses. You can leave your car behind as you walk along historic paths through spectacular scenery; the joy of travelling slowly.
The Most Beautiful Road in Norway Reopened, written by Tor Kjolberg
The Norwegian architectural company, Snøhetta, was selected to design a memorial building at the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001. On Sunday, 15 years after the tragic events, we may hopefully experience that the architects have sifted the powerful currents of memory, myth and meaning into a sense of events.
Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, the late New York Times architecture critic Herbert Muschamp remarked that the several storeys of twisted metal facade then still standing after the cataclysm recalled Frank Gehry and Issey Miyake’s work.
However, Retaining the Twin Towers’ ruins was likened to the ‘aestheticisation of murder’, and in 2004, Snøhetta was commissioned to design the only building on the memorial plaza. In the years since, the program has changed several times, however it has remained a cultural facility dedicated to visitor comfort and orientation.
National 9/11 Memorial Museum Pavilion by Snöhetta
On May 15, 2014, President Obama was present for the dedication of the National September 11 Memorial Museum & Pavilion at the World Trade Center site. The Pavilion and Museum opened to the public for the first time on May 21, 2014.
The design for the building embodies a careful reaction to the horizontal character of the memorial design while also providing the area with a lively organic form that allows the visitor to imagine the site and city in a broader sense.
“Our desire is to allow visitors to find a place that is a naturally occurring threshold between the everyday life of the city and the uniquely spiritual quality of the Memorial. It is important that people physically engage with the building and feel that it helps lead them on to other areas of the site and other thoughts about their experiences there,” said architect Craig Dykers.
The Pavilion’s jewel-like, striped façade was developed in collaboration with the client to allow the building to have a strong resonance for the visitor as well as providing visual and architectural connection to the surrounding urban environment. The flat plane of the Memorial Plaza is pierced by the glass Atrium of the Pavilion, which allows visitors to enter the below-grade Museum and bring with them sunlight from above.
9/11 Memorial Museum director Alice Greenwald said she wanted ‘an emotionally safe encounter with a difficult history’.
Monuments like this are always fraught with disagreements, yet it seems, fifteen years after New York City has a building befitting both the city and the event.
SNØHETTA has been involved in the shaping of several great buildings and architectural landscapes worldwide. Amongst their work are buildings such as the Norwegian Opera and Ballet in Oslo and the Library of Alexandria in Egypt.
One of the most remarkable places to fish in Scandinavia is right in the center of Stockholm, in the fast moving Strömmen channel which links the fresh water of Lake Mälaren with the Baltic Sea. So, cast your line in Scandinavia.
A clean-up program has brought salmon and sea trout back to the very heart of the Swedish capital.
Fishing salmon in Strömmen river, Stockholm
Big salmon and sea trout can be caught almost anywhere in Sweden – in world-famous waters like the southern Mörrum River, in the large and wild rivers of the north, as well as along the coast when the fish are on their migration.
Fishing in Mörrum river
The salmon season varies between rivers, but usually starts during the summer and continues well into the autumn. The sea trout tend to arrive a little later. Both spinning and fly-fishing can produce good salmon catches, but sturdy tackle is advised.
In Norway the variety of fish and fish products is amazing, and Norwegians look on a proper fish shop as an asset to a community.
Fishmarket in Bergen, Norway. Photo; Visit Norway
Norway is a country of fishermen, both commercial and anglers. The long coastline is a mecca for saltwater angling, yet freshwater angling is more popular, and there are a quarter of a million fishable inland lakes and ponds.
Grayling / Thymallus thymalius
The most common of around 40 freshwater species are trout and char; in the northernmost parts, and in lakes and ponds at higher elevations, they are the only fish. Grayling and pike are more common in larger lakes and rivers in eastern and central areas.
Family icefishing in Gjøvik, Norway. Photo: Visit Norway
Ice fishing is a prime wintertime hobby. It’s a straightforward form of angling, which requires only a bated hand line or a sjort pole and line, warm clothing and lots of patience.
Cast Your Line in Scandinavia, written by Tor Kjolberg.
Danish fashion designer Henrik Vibskov is not only associated with a fashion label, but a multitude of twisted yet tantalizing universes created in relation to each of his collections.
In spite of, perhaps because of, collection names like, “The Transparent Tongue”, “The Stiff Neck Chamber”, “The Bathtub Observer” and the “Spaghetti Handjob” his trendy yet warable clothes are loved by the Copenhagen hipster crowd as well as a growing number of fans abroad.
On a chilly night last August Vibskov drew a horde of fashion types into a theatrical butcher store sprung to life, with rows of hanging stuffed knit “sausages” and workers attending to them in the city’s meatpacking district.
As a fashion designer Henrik Vibskov has produced more than twenty collections since he graduated from Central St. Martin’s in 2001, and he is currently the only Scandinavian designer on the official show schedule of the Paris Men’s Fashion Week, which he has been since January 2003.
This summer he gravitated in particular to the delightful vulgarity of a butcher’s window and a hedonistic idea with beautiful precision of martial art, so the visitors were greeted with a world of meat, baloney and salami.
The collection autumn/winter 2016/2017 gave a sense of the designer’s myriad talents. One can see and appreciate the extravagant, but not overpowering, work that has been well thought out. At the same time it offers options for developing a more basic collection aimed at the consumer.
Danish Fashion’s Rebel Kid, written by Tor Kjolberg
Today, 6 September, The Kavli Prize is awarded during a ceremony in Oslo, honoring nine scientists from Germany, Switzerland, the UK and USA.
On June 2nd, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters announced the 2016 Kavli Prize Laureates in Astrophysics, Nanoscience, and Neuroscience. The winners will receive a gold medal, a scroll and their share of the prize money.
The Kavli Prize 2016
This year’s laureates were selected for the direct detection of gravitational waves, the invention and realization of atomic force microscopy, and for the discovery of mechanisms that allow experience and neural activity to remodel brain function.
The Kavli Prize in Astrophysics is shared between Ronald W.P. Drever andKip S. Thorne, both from the California Institute of Technology, USA, and Rainer Weiss of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. They receive the prize “for the direct detection of gravitational waves”.
The signal picked up by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in the US on September 14, 2015, lasted just a fifth of a second but brought to an end a decades-long hunt to directly detect the ripples in space-time known as gravitational waves. It also opened up a completely new way of doing astronomy, which uses gravitational rather than electromagnetic radiation to study some of the most extreme and violent phenomena in the universe.
This detection has, in a single stroke and for the first time, validated Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity for very strong fields, established the nature of gravitational waves, demonstrated the existence of black holes with masses 30 times that of our sun, and opened a new window on the universe.
The detection of gravitational waves is an achievement for which hundreds of scientists, engineers and technicians around the world share credit. Drever, Thorne and Weiss stand out: their ingenuity, inspiration, intellectual leadership and tenacity were the driving force behind this epic discovery.
The Kavli Prize in Nanoscience
is shared between Gerd Binnig, Former Member of IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, Switzerland, Christoph Gerber, University of Basel, Switzerland, andCalvin Quate, Stanford University, USA. They receive the prize “for the invention and realization of atomic force microscopy, a breakthrough in measurement technology and nanosculpting that continues to have a transformative impact on nanoscience and technology”.
The realization of the atomic force microscope was reported by Binnig, Gerber and Quate in 1986, with a demonstration that the instrument could be used to obtain profiles of a solid-state surface with close to atomic resolution.
In the last 30 years the instrument has evolved dramatically and has provided fundamental insight into the chemistry and physics of a large variety of surfaces. It is still widely used today as a versatile tool for imaging and manipulation in a broad range of scientific disciplines.
The Kavli Prize in Neuroscience is shared between Eve Marder, Brandeis University, USA, Michael Merzenich, University of California San Francisco, USA, and Carla Shatz, Stanford University, USA. They receive the prize “for the discovery of mechanisms that allow experience and neural activity to remodel brain function”.
Until the 1970s, neuroscientists largely believed that by the time we reach adulthood the architecture of the brain is hard-wired and relatively inflexible. The ability of nerves to grow and form abundant new connections was thought mainly to occur during infancy and childhood. This view supported the notion that it is easier for children to learn new skills such as a language or musical instrument than it is for adults.
Over the past 40 years, however, the three Kavli neuroscience prize-winners have challenged these assumptions and provided a convincing view of a far more flexible adult brain than previously thought possible – one that is ‘plastic’, or capable of remodelling. Working in different model systems, each researcher has focused on how experience can alter both the architecture and functioning of nerve circuits throughout life, given the right stimulus and context. They have provided a physical and biochemical understanding of the idea of ‘use it, or lose it’.
This new picture of a more adaptable brain offers hope for developing new ways to treat neurological conditions that were once considered untreatable.
About the Kavli Prizes
The Kavli Prize is a partnership between the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, The Kavli Foundation (USA) and the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. The Kavli Prizes were initiated by and named after Fred Kavli (1927-2013), founder of The Kavli Foundation, which is dedicated to advancing science for the benefit of humanity, promoting public understanding of scientific research, and supporting scientists and their work.
Kavli Prize recipients are chosen biennially by three prize committees comprised of distinguished international scientists recommended by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the French Academy of Sciences, the Max Planck Society, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society.
After the prize committees have selected the award recipients, their recommendations are confirmed by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.
The 2016 Kavli Prizes will be awarded in Oslo, Norway, on 6 September. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon will present the prizes to the laureates. This year’s ceremony will be hosted by Alan Alda and Lena Kristin Ellingsen. Prime Minister Erna Solberg will host a banquet at Oslo City Hall in honour of the laureates.
This year’s ceremony will be hosted by Alan Alda and Lena Ellingsen
Masters of tonight’s ceremony will be Alan Alda and Lena Ellingsen.
Alan Alda is an American actor, director, writer and seven-time Emmy Award winner. His long time interest in science and promoting a greater public understanding of science led him to host the award-winning PBS series, “Scientific American Frontiers,” on which he interviewed hundreds of scientists from around the world. He is a Visiting Professor at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University, and is on the Board of the World Science Festival.
Lena Ellingsen
Lena Ellingsen is a Norwegian actress. In 2009 she received a Gullruten for Best Actress in a Lead Role for her work on the TV series “Himmelblå,” and in 2015 she received a Hedda Award for her supporting role in the musical “Dido + Aeneas.” She is mainly known for her lead role in the Norwegian TV series “Mammon,” but is also a highly acclaimed theater actress who is engaged at The National Theater where she has performed in multiple plays over the years.
The Kavli Prize to Nine Pioneering Scientists, source: The Kavli Price
Solvatten was established in 2006 in Stockholm, Sweden.The primary focus of the organization has since then been to produce and sell Solvatten to governmental and non-governmental partners around the world.
The company also facilitates CSR projects and carbon offsetting strategies. Through such partnerships, Solvatten has been brought to thousands of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.
In 2010, Solvatten Africa Ltd. was established in Nairobi, Kenya. The aim is to link the distribution of Solvatten with regionally appropriate financing, thereby encouraging uptake by more individuals and organizations in East Africa.
Solvatten (Sunwater) is a portable 11 liter container that harnesses sunshine to heat and treat water at the household level.
Inventor Petra Wadström
In Uganda, Namutebi runs a small business from her home selling ice.
This is her story:
“I first admired Solvatten when I saw one with a community promoter in my village. I was intrigued by it and welcomed the opportunity to be trained in its usage. Solvatten would help me reduce my expenses, boost my ice block business and prevent illness in my family. I then resolved to save some money to buy a Solvatten unit with support from my husband. It cost about 25,000 UGX.
Safe water is essential in my work as I use it as a raw material. In the past I would boil the water for making the ice using charcoal and firewood, but this was very expensive – I spent 2,000 UGX every day to buy charcoal or firewood, but this is no longer the case. I now use Solvatten and am able to save about 60,000 UGX a month. On a hot day, I can purify water up to three times, a total of 33 litres. Since I quickly achieved good results, I was able to buy a second Solvatten unit with my savings.
Inventor Petra Wadström presents her invention to President Obama
Solvatten has enabled me to expand my small business and subsequently improve my family’s quality of life. I advise those who do not have Solvatten to save up some money and buy it. It comes with a lot of benefits and it is a good way of saving money on energy costs”.
Namutebi’s husband commented “Everybody who passes by our home looks at the Solvatten, and they wonder what it is. Some of them have asked me about it when we meet, and I have been able to explain to them how it works – everyone that I meet is enthusiastic. The challenge is that our people have little money to buy the unit. I am trying to put together some money so that I can buy one for my mother”.
Namutebi is a housewife and mother to five children. She lives in Wakiso district, Uganda and runs a small business from her home, selling ice.
Picture: Namutebi. She is a housewife and mother to five children. She lives in Wakiso district, Uganda. Namutebi runs a small business from her home, selling ice.
Swedish Company Purifies Water in Africa, source: Solvatten
Our aim is to interview ambassadors to Denmark, Norway and Sweden, coming from the top ten countries on our readership list. First out is the Canadian ambassador to Norway, Ambassador Artur Wilczynski.
We interviewed Ambassador Artur Wilczynski on the 12th January 2016.
Why did you decide to join the Foreign Service?
I wanted to be in the Foreign Service for many years, but I am fairly new to it. I joined in the Foreign Ministry in Canada in 2010. I’ve had a very diverse career. I spent many years working as a political advisor on Parliament Hill, and then I joined the public service at the Department of Canadian Heritage, which administers culture, sports and human rights. Actually that is when I started to work with Norway, back in 1999.
Both Norway and Canada were members of International Network on Cultural Policy. We were working on an instrument on cultural diversity at UNESCO. In fact, one of my colleagues, Åse Valle, still works with the Norwegian ministry of Culture. We’ve been in touch for many years. I worked then at Public Safety Canada. I was the Director General of International Affairs and Border Policy. Much of my work was on counterterrorism and security questions. Since I wanted to do this international work for the foreign ministry, I competed for a position – and won.
I was pulled into the foreign ministry and became the Director General, Security and Intelligence. I did that job for four years before I was named as an ambassador.
What exactly is your job, and what issues do you address daily as ambassador?
Part of my job is to understand the full range of policies and issues that different countries face, and trying to explain them back to Canada
and to Canadians and my colleagues in various ministries. I have used my experience from my job in Public Safety in Canada a lot here. You cannot be anywhere in Europe today without appreciating some of the challenges of border management. My job at Public Safety was to look at how we work in particular with the United States. Canada and the United States work as partners to balance security and prosperity issues for the benefit of our populations. It’s a different context from Europe. You support a free flow of movement of people to ensure you have economic prosperity. In Canada and the United States the case of economy and security is very closely intertwined. And it’s the same thing in Europe. Your economies are very closely intertwined with free movement of people and goods. The challenge is to understand how to manage or deal with that, not just in EU but all of Europe. My job is to watch and to listen and to share experiences if they are relevant. My background has been helpful.
How is it to be the Canadian Ambassador to Norway?
The job is different on different issues. It’s never the same thing, and that’s why I like it. It’s a great job. It’s a fantastic job. It’s a huge, huge privilege to serve as an ambassador, particularly serving as an ambassador here in Norway.
Broadly speaking, there are a number of parts to my job. The first part of it is that I am the official representative of my government here in Norway. I need to speak with an official capacity with the Norwegian government. I am working with your foreign ministry and different parts of your government. For example regarding oil energy and defense, I am the main interlocutor in Norway for Canada on these questions.
But I am also a broader spokesperson for Canada and Canadian issues. I try to talk directly to Norwegians, to have public speaking events, to meet with different communities and businesses, to raise awareness about Canada with Norwegians. That’s an important part of my job. Business promotion is an important part. I was actually surprised by how big the trading relations are between Canada and Norway; billions of dollars. Much of it is in natural resources, nickel and metal derivatives but also oil and gas sectors, both in services and commodities, and defense is an important part of the economic relationships. Your pension fund has invested heavily in Canada, but also Canadian companies have invested here in Norway.
So being here to support that process and answer questions is also a part of my duties. I am here to provide service to Canadians, so when Canadians come to Norway, or live in Norway, it is important to help them when they come to the embassy. Many Canadians come to Norway for sport and adventures, and sometimes these adventurous people take risks. And when people take risks, they get hurt, and they hope somebody can be there to help them. When people experience difficult situations they need help, and we are here to provide consular service.
Also I am the manager. I’ve got 25 people working at the embassy, so it’s not a small unit. It’s a good size group. I’ve got six Canadians, and 19 Norwegians or people of different nationalities living in Norway. It’s my job to provide a good workplace and give directions and guidance to do a good job for the embassy.
Foreign Service has its highlights and challenges. Can you give us examples of both from your tenure as the Canadian Ambassador to Norway?
A lot! One of the things I have loved the most so far in Norway is engaging with young people. Last year, about this time, I was asked by Arctic Frontiers, a big conference in Tromso, if I would be a mentor for the Emerging leaders’ program. The Emerging leaders’ program is a group of about 35 young people from across the Arctic region, a good number of them Norwegians, but also people from Germany, Russia, Canada, Finland and Asia.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Borge Brende at Arctic Frontiers Conference 2016
It was the first time I was invited, and we met up in Svolvaer, Lofoten islands. The purpose of it for them was eventually to make a presentation to Foreign Minister Brende – of their vision of the Arctic. I was providing the guidance and helped these bright and intelligent people with how to communicate and how to speak to senior officials. How they should present their cases, whether it was about some technical issues or around complex issues associated with health care. How do you package these issues in a way that public policy and politicians and bureaucrats can understand what to do with it? For me that was a wonderful highlight, actually a start of a number of activities that I’ve done here in Norway since that with young people.
So I have done events around a group called Alarga, which supports young immigrants and people of diverse backgrounds. I have done a presentation for them about what diversity means, how to integrate and things such as that.
I worked with the Young Ambassadors Program in Oslo. Young Ambassadors is a group of about 30 – 35 eager, young Norwegian high school students, who are looking for leadership positions. It’s a group that helps them to network, helps them to expose themselves to people with different perspectives and give them guidance. So all this is a few instances that I have been able to work with young people.
I was also invited to speak to a Jewish youth organization here in Norway. Engaging with young people, I think has been the biggest highlight. I get a lot of energy from that.
It’s incredibly nice to be here. Norway is one of the best places in the world to live. Are there challenges?
Managing a small team of employees can be challenging. When you’re new and you’re learning, you make mistakes. Some people are forgiving, other people are less. In my opinion there are no challenges that affect the relationship between Canada and Norway. We have a really good relationship. If anything, I think we take each other for granted. When people in Norway think about North America, they think about our big neighbor in the south, US. My job is to help them to think about Canada.
Minister of Education and Research, Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, giving a presentgation at Transatlantic Science Week
It’s interesting. I was recently in Boston, as a part of this job, to a conference that the Research council of Norway and a number of other organizers called Trans-Atlantic Science Week. It was a trilateral conference; Canada, the US and Norway. It was interesting how the Norwegians were talking about how they could do more business in the United States. The Americans emphasized that the American and the Norwegian business culture were very different. And as a Canadian citizen, living next door to the Americans, I know there is a difference, and I think Norwegians would be more at home doing business in Canada. I think we are more similar. I don’t think there is the same kind of raw individualism in Norway and Canada as there is in the US. And I think that affects the way that we behave, the way we interact. The history of the US compared to the history of Canada and Norway is very different.
The Canadian history is around accommodation. We’re the ones who did not rebel against the British crown. We maintained the British crown. America’s moto is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Ours is peace order and good government. And I think that is more like the system in Scandinavia and Norway. National environments are also something we hold in common, in terms of our overall culture.
I encouraged those businesses, saying it was a challenge to work in the US and said, ‘Come to Canada’.
What events and areas of work have defined your Interaction with the Norwegian government
It’s a wide range of issues. The most recent one is to counter violent extremism and terrorism. We brought some officials from Canada and had good meetings with police and various officials here in Norway and had a public event on the issue. I had good meeting with the Minister of justice and security on these issues and recently did a presentation to the Norwegian Defense College. Another one that’s quite significant, we had our Deputy Minister of international development here last summer, talking about education and international cooperation on education.
Minister of justice and security, Anders Anundsen
Also another very important issue that we spent a lot of time on, particularly over the past couple of months, was climate. Canada had a change of government, so climate issues have been quite central for my new government, and meeting with the Environment minister before Paris was another area of interaction.
Is there one experience, person, or event in Norway that has greatly influenced your decisions or your policies, and if so, in what way?
The short answer would be ‘no’. But what’s very interesting here is the general approach to how things get done. And I think there are some interesting models here that I think are useful for Canadians to consider. I am for example very impressed with how the political and economic calendar here in Norway get coordinated with the NHO (the main representative organization for Norwegian employers with companies ranging from small family-owned businesses to multi-national companies) annual conference, and how you get business leaders and government coming together and talking about what they think are strategical challenges for the country. And to do that in a format that’s interactive, where you have thousands of people in an audience, from the CEO of Statoil to the Prime Minister; from the Crown Prince to dozens of ambassadors. For me, that is a very interesting model.
Director General of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise, Kristin Skogen Lund, and leader of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, Gerd Kristiansen at the Remix Conference
I have been there last year, and also this year. To see how this happens is very interesting.
Then it is interesting to see how the talking gets translated into doing, and also what does not get translated. For example, last year a presentation was about Norway’s population going to be seven million people. How do you get ready for that? How do you make sure your infrastructure is working? Make sure you have the jobs required for your people? How do you prepare yourselves? It is interesting that the fact that media covers it substantially and in depth and analytically, demonstrates the level of political maturity and sophistication which is really quite interesting. I think in Canada we’ve got many different kinds of dialogues that take place. Canada is a huge country with ten million square kilometers. We’re also a federation with two languages, very diverse. We pull in 250,000 immigrants every year from around the world, because we need it and we want it. It’s part of our identity. So how you develop public policy in that environment is interesting. I think that is one of the areas where your government really is trying to be far more consultative and engaged in terms of reaching out to different actors. The new government has talked about changing the relationship with the indigenous peoples in Canada fundamentally. It is being more engaged in dialogue with provincial and territorial governments. Relationship and dialogue are really important for the new government. See how countries like Norway do that. That’s interesting for us, something we can learn from.
What does Canada stand to learn from Norway? And vice versa?
I think another area where many Canadians have looked to Norway has been how you have managed to sustain a cooperative benefit for your whole society from the natural resources that you’ve extracted; the State pension fund. The decisions that were made many years ago have left Norway with an incredible legacy. And I think that kind of political consensus around something as fundamental as what to do with that asset has been really, really interesting. And I know that in Canada the assets which has been managed for about the same number of years in terms of being in the oil and gas industry, and it’s been an incredible benefit for people right across the country, and it’s been a particular benefit to people in Alberta, Newfoundland, Labrador and Saskatchewan. But we don’t have the same scope and collective legacy in terms of the pension fund like Norway has, even if Canada is a much more diverse country. I think there are lessons to learn.
Oslo commuter rail
Every day I also marvel at the infrastructure you have, as a part of what you have invested. I almost never drive in this city. I take the metro, which is 50 meters from my front door, and I can go anywhere. I walk in the city, I cycle. There is really no reason to drive. That kind of infrastructure is great. And Oslo is not a huge city; 650,000 people. My hometown, Ottawa, with one million people doesn’t have near this kind of public transit system, and this kind of supported transport system I think is something we can learn from.
Snow in Norway winter wonder land
What Norway can learn from Canada? I must say this is a bit of a joke, but actually I’m half serious: The way you clear your streets in Oslo during winter time. I love your transport system, but the snow – I don’t. Put salt down! Take better care of the roads in winter. If you take care of the side roads the same way you take care of the cross country ski slopes in Nordmarka, I would be happy. I fell a couple of times, and I have friends and colleagues who have broken bones. I understand the resistance to salt, but I think it is sometimes overstated. I try to figure out what cost more; number of people with broken bones or environment issues.
I think one area where we could share information is how we manage migration and immigration. I myself am a refugee to Canada. I was born in Poland and because of various political issues that were taking place during the communist system, we ended up in Canada. People like me are not particularly exceptional in our system. I have colleagues who have been born in other parts of the world, came to Canada and ended up representing us. We don’t have that same angst, I feel, about our national identity – who we are as result of people coming to Canada. I think that is something we can share.
Diversity of youth in Norway
I was in Bergen in the summer. It is an organization called STL. In English it stands for Religious Minority and Lifestance Communities. It’s a government agency. I met with the leadership of this group. There was Somali community, Bosnians, people from the Mormon community. It was interesting to listen to one man with Somali background. “Can someone who looks like me ever have their children really considered Norwegians?” he asked. “They speak Norwegian. They were born here. They went to school here. Are they Norwegians?” And as a Canadian I find that a strange question. It is in this area I think we can work together, and I see some potential between Canada and Norway.
How do you facilitate the exchange between Canada and Norway?
There are lots of tools at my disposal. One that I have taken to use a lot is social media. Social media has become an increasingly important
part of the diplomatic toolkit. So whether it is on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or others, it has almost turned into a reflex. If I do an event or take a picture, I tweet about it and try to make connections between Canadian and Norwegian experiences. For example at the end of the NHO conference, a big chunk of it was called Remix, about the possibilities within the sharing economy. And we do a lot of that in Canada. So I was tagging social projects in Canada. So during the two nights we actually learned from each other, trying to connect. A lot of it is old fashioned, as when I report back to my colleagues what Norway is doing on issues x or y, or when I meet with Norwegian officials, I explain Canada’s position, and I do as many public speaking engagements as I can handle.
For example at the Oslo Chamber of Commerce I did a presentation on the new Canadian government. So I explained what Canada is like, what the electoral system is like, what the results were and what differences to expect. So it’s a combination of those kinds of issues.
I also talk as much as I can with journalists and media, but then I come back to what I’ve said before, that we take each other for granted. That’s a challenge because unless it is a problem, there isn’t necessarily a high degree of interest. So we’ve got to find new innovative ways to get people’s attention.
I also do YouTube videos. We did a session with the Norwegian Research Council about exchange between our two countries. But when trying to get attention and raise the profile, I did something with my colleagues from the research council. They invited me to go swimming in the fjord. I jumped into the fjord, temperature was four degrees Celsius. I screamed a little bit, but then I used it for social media, because it is somewhat tough to get attention. So sometimes you got to do things that are a little different just to get the message across.
So I am going to a hockey game here in Norway and tweeted about hockey and sports and what’s interesting. I do that because it is a way to raise awareness of the work that the embassy does; some of the political work, sugar it a little and put a little public policy in there.
What kind of misconceptions do Norwegians have of Canada? And vice versa?
Norwegians don’t know a lot about Canada. It’s not that what they know is wrong, but they don’t know a whole lot more than it is north, it’s big, it’s cold and they play hockey. Perhaps what they don’t know is that Canada is an economic powerhouse, that we’ve got a diversity of industries, great services, diverse population with a complicated history, that we’ve got a lot of common with Norway and that we have similar values in the way that we are taking care of each other, and having an active and constructive role in the world and the standard stuff – the sports, the winter. It’s nice that we know that about each other.
But to take the time to know what shared history we have, which is significant, is also important. The first European settlement in North America was a Viking settlement in L’Anse aux Meadows in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. And having spent time on the west coast of Norway, and having spent time in Newfoundland and Labrador, there are remarkable things that we have in common; the fishing heritage, the North Atlantic, and that should bind us more together. But I think because of the migration and so many Norwegians at the turn of the last century came to the US, means that a lot of Norwegians, when they look across the Atlantic, they’re looking further south, and they should keep in their gaze that there are 400,000 Canadians with Norwegian ancestors. That’s a very big number, and we’ve got Norwegian clubs in British Columbia, through the prairies, in Toronto and in Montreal.
Don’t forget the history from WW2 about Little Norway. After the war many Norwegians settled in Ontario, and Toronto, and a number of Canadian men came back with memories of Norway, so I think there is a deep history, but just a lack of knowledge. And that’s a part of my job to try to get those stories out.
Also Canadians have stereotypical knowledge about Norway and Norwegians. They think of the fjords and the Northern Lights. They don’t have so much understanding of how the society is managed or know the role of sharing that the people here has, the collective sense of responsibility for one another.
The great role that Norway plays internationally in terms of being a bridge builder between peoples; a country with such a small population being able to do so. And I think Norway has leveraged itself in a very interesting way. There’s a lot to be said about good offices, and you have a very skilled and talented group of people, who work in your foreign ministry, and work in public sector here in Norway. The role that they play everywhere from the Middle East to Colombia, Sri Lanka, to South Sudan and lots of different hard places, has been important. It has been good and demonstrates that Norway brings a kind of balanced, fair approach that is essential. And there are so many different actors who trust Norway, for it does not have that colonial history with that baggage that many of the European powers have. And I think Norway has capitalized on it. It’s done good work, but I think also this has helped Norway and Norwegian interests.
How do you feel Canada is represented abroad, and are there any elements of Canadian foreign policy that you would want to change?
It’s not up to me to change Canadian foreign policy. It’s my job to go and implement it. I was appointed by a conservative government and now I will implement the policy of a liberal government. That’s my job. I’ve been in professional public servant for 25 years. It’s my job to provide advice, and that’s between me and my bosses back in Ottawa, whether I am here or there and I give them the benefit of my advice and my experience and knowledge. They make the decisions, and I implement the instructions that they provide.
On entertaining visitors, coming to Norway, what are your best/worse experiences? We haven’t had a lot of visitors so far. My parents came twice. They came when we first arrived, and it was fantastic, because the protocol here was so nice. They included my parents in some events, around my presentation of credentials. They couldn’t come to the Palace, but there was a reception afterwards where my parents were invited to. For me that was so special and meant a lot to me and a lot to my parents. My parents sacrificed a lot for me. They left their country. They took a little boy across the Atlantic and had to put up with me for decades, and to have them to experience that was wonderful.
When you bring people to Norway, you always send them to experience Norway’s nature, but also to experience the culture. I love places like the Vigeland’s Park. I like taking them down to the Opera House, the combination of nature and culture which coexist so nicely here. I live here together with my husband. When people come visit us, and friends come, that is really important. It says a lot about what kind of country Norway is, how accepting it is of human rights and people relations, which is something that doesn’t happen everywhere.
I’ll tell you the places I go regularly to eat. There’s a great restaurant up at Frognerseteren with a view of the city. I love bringing people there. I must say I find it less touristic than going down to Aker Brygge. They have fish, game. It’s a different menu and located so pretty. There’s a good sushi restaurant at Majorstuen, near the Frogner Park. I like Theatercafeen. It’s more and more cosmopolitan in Oslo. Chinese food I haven’t found yet, but Thai is great and Indian is great.
Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Students, consider Canadian universities!
This is my first posting. I am learning to know my colleagues and seeing what that do and how they do it. I am learning from the colleagues at the embassy and I am learning from the people of the foreign ministry and trying to prioritize, because there are lots of different things you can do. So the first year you try to be everywhere all the time. Some things are good – some things are not so good. Now I have met some good friends and have some good connections with local expats living here and Norwegians, who have been remarkably generous about my husband and I. It’s been great!
And to young people, considering where to study, I just want to mention that there are great universities in Canada!
On Being an Ambassador to Norway, Ambassador Artur Wilczynski was interviewed by Tor Kjolberg
All portrait photos of Ambassador Artur Wilcztnski by Tor Kjolberg
The Danish government has according to a government press release a national strategy to be “the first smoke-free generation by 2020”.
The press release states that this will be done in part by putting new restrictions on smoking at educational institutions and “partnerships with the business community” aimed at getting stores to stop selling tobacco products to minors.
“Far too many children and youth take up smoking. We need to do something about that. And if we can reach our goal of having none of the children who are born today smoking in 2030, we will have gone very far in terms of preventing new cancer cases,” Health Minister Sophie Løhde said.
Danish health minister Sophie Lohde
According to Løhde, the government’s plan would “send a clear signal that children and smoking don’t go together”.
The goal of a smoke-free generation was presented as part of Cancer Pack IV (Kræftplan IV), which carries a total price tag of 2.2 billion kroner.
“The government puts a high priority on the fight against cancer and therefore we want to inject a historically large amount of money into the area. With Cancer Pack IV we will ensure that more people survive cancer and that they can live a good life when they complete treatment,” Løhde said.
The head of The Danish Cancer Society (Kræftens Bekæmpelse) called the plans “a breakthrough”.
“This is a clear acknowledgement of the fact that tobacco is the most serious preventable health problem in Denmark,” Leif Vestergaard Pedersen told the venerable Danish newspaper Politiken.
Cancer treatment
According to a study released at the European Cancer Congress in Vienna in September 2015 that was described as the largest ever study of the disease, Denmark’s cancer survival rate of 50.9 percent is near the bottom among all western European countriesand far below the level in Nordic neighbors Sweden (64.7 percent), Finland (61.4), Iceland (61.2) and Norway (58.6).
Løhde said an aim of the plan is for Denmark’s survival rates to “match the other Nordic countries”.
Among the other initiatives in the plan is a “patient-first” strategy which stresses individual decisions about treatment options.
“Cancer treatment should be based on the individual patient’s needs and life situation. Patient involvement is already an integral part of the health care system but we should turn to the patients themselves even more for advice, listen more to them and be better and considering their experiences,” Løhde said.
Although the Danish Health Authority (Sundhedsstyrelsen) reportedly recommended additional measures including increased tobacco levies, plain-label packaging for cigarettes and forcing stores to place tobacco products out of plain view, the Danish Cancer Society (Kræftens Bekæmpelse) said the government “hit the nail on the head” with its new plan.
Dorte Crueger, Chairwoman of the Danish Cancer Society
“There are a lot of good things to say about Cancer Pack IV, but the thing I am most pleased with is the ambition to make future generations smoke-free,” the society’s chairwoman, Dorthe Crüger, said in a press release. “No other initiative could save us from more instances of cancer than if we succeed with that.”
Denmark Aims to Combat Cancer, source: Press releases
The major trend when it comes to Norwegian museum exhibition this summer is not related to styles or art forms, but the act of cooperation. As a result, you get people queuing up for an hour or more outside the museums, which is something you rarely see in Oslo. Still, that was the case at the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter this spring. The exhibitions at the National Gallery and The Museum of Decorative Art and Design show record number of visitors.
