Norway Today 2014 by Washingtonian Custom Media

NORWAY T O D A Y

Here in Norway, fishing isn’t just an industry, it’s a way of life.

This isn’t our sea. We’re just looking after it.

The frameworks that control Norway’s fishing industry are the bedrock of a predictable, stable and sustainable future, for generations to come. To read more about Norway’s commitment please visit: http://en.seafood.no/sustainability

DID YOU KNOW?

The name Norway is thought to mean “path to the North.”

Contents 06 Lifestyle 08

PHOTOGRAPH BY SÓNIA ARREPIA/VISITNORWAY

Art Imitates Life Norwegians to Know

Education

Sports

16 Culture 18

Happy Birthday, Norway!

Performing Arts

Design

Music

26 Business 28

Fashion

Seafood

38 High North 40

Arctic Frontiers

How to Start a Business in Norway

Arctic Council

Arctic Research

Energy

Explorers

48 Tourism 48

Visit Fjordland

NORWAY TODAY is a publication of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington, DC, produced in conjunction with Washingtonian Custom Media (washingtoniancustommedia.com; 202-862-3512). We welcome feedback for future issues. Please contact the embassy: Urd Milbury, Embassy Editor, 2720 34th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008; 202-333-6000; emb.washington@mfa.no. Web site: norway.org

I L L U S T R A T I O N S B Y P O LY G R A P H

FOB.layout [P].indd 1

N O R WAY T O D AY

5/6/14 3:47 PM

INTRODUCTION

Welcome from the Crown Prince In 1814, Norway’s Constituent Assembly met at Eidsvoll outside Oslo to lay the foundation for the country’s independence. The constitution they adopted, considered radical for its time, was inspired by new political and social currents in Europe and America. IN 2014, NORWAY CELEBRATES the bicentennial of that founding

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon

PHOTOGRAPH BY PRESSELECT /ALAMY

document, which is based on the principles of sovereignty of the people, separation of powers, and individual rights. After 200 years, these values still form the backbone of our democracy. They have paved the way for development and welfare throughout our society. We must continue to actively protect our democratic values through our international work because these values empower the people and prevent the misuse of power. As a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Program, I acknowledge how these values are challenged in many parts of the world. But I also honor the fruits of the hard work on the ground to strive to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by 2015—which among other issues aim to ensure good governance. The MDG are improving people’s lives. One of the most important goals was reached in 2010, ﬁve years ahead of schedule: halving the number of people worldwide living on less than $1.25 USD per day. Never before has such extreme poverty been reduced so quickly on a global level. Child mortality has been reduced and more girls and boys are going to school. These are encouraging developments. Not all of the MDG will be reached by 2015. Even so, I believe we should recognize and be proud of what we have achieved and keep ﬁghting for further success. When living conditions improve, basic human dignity is honored. Norway has a long tradition of working to improve the lives of people from all parts of the world. I hope this latest issue of Norway Today gives you a good sense of what life is like in our country and how we use our human, cultural, historical, geographical, and economic assets to underscore our values of freedom, democracy, and human wellbeing.

N O R WAY T O D AY

FOB.layout [P].indd 2

5/2/14 9:43 AM

DID YOU KNOW?

Vikings did not have helmets with horns.

A BR I EF H IST ORY OF NORWAY 9000 BC - 8000 BC Earliest signs of human settlement in modernday Norway. 5000 BC First known wall carvings appear in Rødøy depicting people skiing.

1736 Elementary education introduced. 1814 Norwegian Constitution adopted, based on the American Declaration of Independence and French Constitution.

PHOTOGRAPH OF 1000 BY BETTMANN/CORBIS; 1828 BY NORWAY IMAGE BANK; 1901 BY BJØRN ASLAKSEN/NTB SCANPIX; 2013 BY CHRISTIAN FREDRIK WESENBERG

1814-1905 Union with Sweden.

800s AD Vikings conquer large swaths of Europe with their longships. 900 Norway becomes one kingdom.

1828 Author and playwright Henrik Ibsen born in Skien. 1843 Composer Edvard Grieg born in Bergen.

1000 Norse explorer Leif Erikson becomes the ﬁrst European to discover North America, creating settlements in Greenland and Canada. 1349 Black Death reaches Norway, killing over half the population. 1524 Union creates Denmark– Norway.

1893 Edvard Munch creates ﬁrst version of “The Scream.”

1901 Nobel Prizes established. 1905 Full Norwegian independence. Haakon VII crowned King of Norway.

1991 Death of King Olav V; Harald V succeeds his father as King of Norway on January 17.

1911 Roald Amundsen becomes the first person to reach the South Pole. 1945 German occupation forces in Norway surrender on May 8. 1946 Norwegian Trygve Halvdan Lie named first Secretary-General of the United Nations. 1949 Norway joins NATO. 1952 First Norwegian Winter Olympics held in Oslo. 1969 Oil and gas deposits discovered in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. 1972 The Norwegian Association for Women’s Rights establishes the Council for Equality Between the Sexes. 1981 Gro Harlem Brundtland becomes Norway’s first female Prime Minister.

1993 Norway brokers IsraeliPalestinian peace negotiations that lead to the Oslo accords.

1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. 1995 Norway becomes the world’s second-largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia. 2010 Norway and Russia sign historic treaty to establish a maritime border.

2013 Erna Solberg becomes Prime Minister. 2014 Norway wins 26 medals at the Sochi games to bring its all-time Winter Olympics count to 329.

N O R WAY T O D AY

FOB.layout [P].indd 3

5/2/14 9:43 AM

DID YOU KNOW?

About 450,000 lakes in Norway have been identified.

Welcome from the Ambassador

Ambassador Kåre R. Aas

PHOTOGRAPH BY LAWRENCE JACKSON/WHITE HOUSE

It’s a fascinating time to represent Norway on the world stage—much is happening throughout our majestic country, and of particular note are developments in the dynamic Arctic region. A sizable portion of Norway’s population, land mass, and sea area can be found north of the Arctic Circle. To keep this vitally important region safe and environmentally sound, we continue close, productive cooperation with our Arctic neighbors. Today, the High North, as the Arctic region is sometimes called, is characterized by strong employment, bustling industry, and optimism for the future. The business sector is growing and very competitive on a global level. Our technology and innovation in the region are unparalleled. And tourists and students alike flock for the breathtaking scenery, depth of culture, and breadth of knowledge. The High North is a habitat for fish and other wildlife as well as a rich source of oil, gas, and minerals. Our goal is to harvest these valuable natural resources in a sustainable, peaceful, and ethical manner. At the same time, as melting Arctic ice opens up new shipping lanes, international opportunities and challenges will present themselves. Our experience in Arctic exploration, safety, and preparedness will be extremely important in this region and will make us a vital voice in the international dialogue. Norway’s goal is for the High North to become one of the most innovative and knowledge-based regions of growth in the world, building on its status as a leader in space technology and research. In the pages that follow, you will learn much more about Norwegian culture, politics, and society and about the endlessly fascinating and rapidly changing High North. Enjoy!

N O R WAY T O D AY

FOB.layout [P].indd 4

5/2/14 9:43 AM

SVALBARD

Vadsø Kirkenes

Tromsø

FINLAND Bodø

RUSSIA

SWEDEN

Kristiansund

Trondheim

Ålesund Lillehammer Bergen

OSLO Tønsberg Fredrikstad Stavanger Kristiansand

DENMARK

POLAND

ENGLAND

GERMANY

FRANCE

FOB.layout [P].indd 5

5/2/14 9:43 AM

» Being smartest means a continuous increase in productivity, a world-class education system, top-notch research and development communities, excellent universities, and a high degree of innovation. If we succeed in being innovative, we are likely to have low unemployment rates and strong economic growth. « —ERNA SOLBERG, Prime Minister

N O R WAY T O D AY

Life.layout [P].indd 6

5/2/14 9:45 AM

PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER HUNDERT/GETTY IMAGES

Life.layout [P].indd 7

PE O PL E & L I F E ST Y L E SP SPE S PEN PE NDI ND D I NG NG T TIM IM M E W ITH TH H FA FAMIL AM MI LY A ND MIL N D IN I N THE TH T HE G GR RE EAT AT OUTD AT OU O UT TDO TD DO D O ORS OR O RS R S AR A R E HIGH H IIGH GH G H ON NT TH HE PR PR PRI RII O OR ORI RI TY R Y LIS IST O IS OF F T HE H E AVE AV VER RAG A AG G E N ORW OR O RW R W EGI EG E G AN, GI N, B N, BU U T THER T HER HE ER E RE E'S ''S S SO SO M MU UC CH HM MOR MO ORE TH OR HA HAT AT TS SH HA APE PE E S E ACH ES AC A CH DAY AY. LLEAR EA E EAR AR A R N A BOU B OU BO O U T THE OUT TH HE E CO COU C OU O U NTR TR RY Y'S 'S S HO H O LI LLIS I TIC IC CA AP P PRO PR OA AC CH C HT TO OF FO O OD O D AS A S WE WE WEL ELL L A S S O OME ME O ME OF F IT ITS NO NOT O TA OT OTAB ABL AB BL E P EOP B O P LLE OP E AND ND N DE ED DU DUCA UCA UC CA C ATIO ATIO T NAL NA ALL OP A O P POR PO PO OR RT TUN TU UN U UNIT N IT ITI T I ES TIE TI ES. E S. S.

5/2/14 9:45 AM

PEOPLE & LIFESTYLE

Art Imitates Life Children’s books in Norway aren't all sunshine and butterﬂies—many provide refreshingly honest insights into life's most important relationships, values, and struggles.

LUSSI IS A WELL-BEHAVED, quiet Norwegian child. She’s so quiet, in fact, that nobody seems to notice her. They don’t even notice when she begins to fade into the wall. When she does ﬁnd her voice—a loud one at that—those around her sit up and take note. The protagonist of Osloborn Gro Dahle’s best-selling children’s book, Snill, Lussi is a role model for Norwegian kids—especially the girls. A charact character made all the more pow powerful through throu 2D and 3D illustrations, Lussi teaches readers about the value of asserting themselves. Lussi's is an important lesson—and one of many mature life challenges that is repeated often in Norwegian literature for all ages and in the country’s educational system. As early as kindergarten, Norwegian curricula call for reading that teaches kids about managing difficult situations, from pushing for the acceptance of same-sex marriage to dealing

with the loss of a parent, as in Stein Erik Lund’s My M Father’s Arms Are a Boat, Bo illustrated illustrat by Øyvind Torseter. They’re even realistic about the challenges of going to school itself. In Stian Hole’s award-winning Garmann’s Summer, a six-year-old protagonist expresses anxiety and fear over starting kindergarten to his elderly relatives. Little Garmann’s fear is as real as it gets for a kindergartener. This phenomenon isn’t new to Norwegian literature. In the 1960s, popular author AnneCath. Vestly challenged traditional gender roles in her series of books about Aurora, whose mother was a lawyer and whose father stayed at home to work on his PhD and raise Aurora and her siblings. Even literature by royalty challenges traditions; Princess Märtha Louise’s illustrated book, Why Kings and Queens Don’t Wear Crowns, talks about how difficult it would be for a king, like her grandfather King

Olav V, to don a crown while performing everyday activities like cross-country skiing. Point being: Royals sometimes just want to be like everyone else. Meanwhile, the Norwegian literature that’s most popular outside of its native country often provides a glimpse into life in Norway. Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World, for example, teaches readers all about the philosophies that shape Norwegian culture, as seen through the eyes of a teenager. Another of illustrator Torseter’s masterworks, The Hole, provides a playful examination of how one Norwegian deals with crisis. And Waffle Hearts by Maria Parr illustrates illustrat the simple, heartwarming warmin nuances of young friendship friendsh in the country. The main character, sometimes called Norway's Pippi Longstocking, explores her fjord-side hometown with a friend, who helps her sort through love, loss, family, and figuring out what childhood is all about.

N O R WAY T O D AY

Life.layout [P].indd 8

5/2/14 9:45 AM

DID YOU KNOW?

In 2011, the average life expectancy in Norway was 79.0 years for men and 83.5 years for women, up from 77.7 and 82.5 years, respectively, in 2005.

The Geitmyra Culinary Center for Children aims to teach visitors where their food comes from—and how good it can be.

f o od f igh t er s

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF GEITMYRA CULINARY CENTER

ASK THE AVERAGE ADULT in Oslo: “Where does your

food come from?” and the response will likely be a shrug or directions to the supermarket. But ask a child, and you could hear something far different. Many kids in Oslo know not only the source of their food but also how it's grown and best prepared. Why? In part, their education is thanks to a humble-looking historic farmhouse in the middle of the capital. Norwegian food columnist and chef Andreas Viestad transformed the ramshackle 18th-century Geitmyra house into the Geitmyra Culinary Center for Children in 2011. Since then, Viestad and the center have taught thousands of children the joys of growing, cooking, and eating healthy, locally grown food. “We wanted to make a place where kids could get some knowledge about food origins and how to cook because we see that knowledge has somehow disappeared during the last generation,” says Lene Gjelsvik, the center’s general manager. The culprit behind this culinary amnesia is all too familiar to the Western world—convenient, packaged food and food powders. Says Gjelsvik: “The consequences are not very good;" they include obesity and all its attendant health complications. So Viestad and company figured: What better place to start than with children? They combined grants from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs with funding from private entities to form a nonprofit organization that has

transformed the Geitmyra farmhouse into a culinary hub. Gjelsvik estimates that more than 10,000 visitors have passed through its honey-colored halls in barely three years. And through a collaboration with the country’s school system, sixth graders can spend an entire week there. There are also evening classes, an online database of teaching resources, and Open Farm Days four to six times a year for families. No matter the program, students learn not just where the food comes from—land or sea—but also how to cook it. They learn about sustainability, gardening, composting, and all the preparation required to make a meal. Signs of success are mounting. Children who have been through the program enjoy fish and vegetables more than before, according to one study by Norway’s Food Research Institute. And the center has won two prestigious awards: the Oslo Award for the Environment and a regional Innovation Norway honor. Magnus Thorvik, the center’s project manager, says work has also begun on a collaboration that would create similar programs elsewhere. And the center’s opening has tapped into a sort of Nordic–food zeitgeist evidenced by the New Nordic Cuisine movement, which values purity, simplicity, freshness, and ethics. But for Thorvik and Gjelsvik, the real test of the center’s success will always be the way the kids respond. “Seeing them finding carrots or potatoes in the field is always fascinating,” Gjelsvik says. “It looks like they’re digging for gold and actually finding it.”

N O R WAY T O D AY

Life.layout [P].indd 9

5/2/14 9:45 AM

PEOPLE & LIFESTYLE

NORWEGIANS TO KNOW Erna Solberg Leader of Norway’s Conservative Party since 2004 and a former member of both Bergen's city council and the Storting, Erna Solberg was elected Prime Minister in 2013. On the 52-year-old's agenda as Prime Minister are an increased focus on innovation and education, establishing world-leading educational institutions, maintaining sustainable development in the Arctic, and promoting global human rights. Of note: A strong socialmedia push helped Solberg become Norway’s leading lady.

Bjørn Kjos

Magnus Carlsen At just 23 years old, Tønsberg-raised chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen is the world’s top-ranked player. His rating is the highest in the history of competitive chess, and based on rankings produced by FIDE—Federation Internationale des Echecs or World Chess Federation—Carlsen has been the best in the world d since 2011. When hee ﬁrst made the rankings list at 19, he player was the youngest y ever to do o so. He won his ﬁrst W World Chess Championship Champio onship in 2013, defeatingg Indian Vishy Anand, m more than 20 years his senior, who reigned had reign ned since 2007.

Norwegian Air Shuttle founder Bjørn Kjos landed in the commercial airline business by luck. A former Air Force pilot and lawyer, the executive was working on an investment plan in 1993 to revive a now-defunct airline when he decided instead to become the majority investor in what’s now Norwegian Air Shuttle. In 2002, he turned the airline into a budget operation; it’s now Europe’s third-largest low-cost airline and Scandinavia’s second-largest airline. Norwegian Air Shuttle’s signature rednosed planes ﬂy to 128 destinations in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, the US, and Thailand.

Marit Bjørgen The most decorated female Winter Olympian in history, cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen also leads the sport’s all-time World Cup rankings. Nicknamed the “Iron Lady,” the 34-year-old has won 62 World Cup events, and she took home the most medals of any athlete at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver with three golds, one silver, and one bronze. Despite sitting out much of the 2012-2013 season, Bjørgen excelled at the 2014 Games in Sochi as well, earning three more gold medals for a total of 10 medals in four Olympic appearances. ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOE CIARDIELLO

Life.layout [P].indd 10

5/2/14 9:45 AM

DID YOU KNOW?

The paper clip was invented in the 1890's by Norwegian patent clerk Johann Vaaler.

Helge Lund

Kristin Skogen Lund

CEO of oil and gas giant Statoil since 2004, Helge Lund likes showing businesses that their contributions to society can be just as important as their share prices. Energy has a “huge role to play in bringing people out of poverty,” the 51-year-old told Financial Times in 2012. Lund has been driven to raise Statoil’s global presence. A major step in the right direction: He secured a landmark partnership with Russian company Rosneft in May 2012. He also emphasizes transparency and has said that Statoil may refuse to do business with anyone who will not adhere to its zero-harm health, safety, and environment platform.

47-year-old Kristin Skogen Lund is one of Norway’s most successful business leaders. She's chief of NHO—the country’s national employers’ organization—its ﬁrst-ever female leader. After earning her MBA at French business school INSEAD, Lund ascended quickly in the corporate world at Unilever and Coca-Cola. She then became CEO of Scandinavia Online, an Internet provider, then Scanpix Scandinavia, then Aftenposten, Norway’s largest newspaper. In 2011, she was named one of Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business.

Kristian Røkke Kristian Røkke was only 27 when he was named CEO of Pennsylvania’s Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. Since his appointment in 2011, he has tripled the company’s size and reintroduced furloughed apprentices to its training program in ship building. The Norwegian-American son of Aker ASA Chairman Kjell Inge Røkke, Kristian Røkke began his Aker career in the International Trainee Program in 2006. Armed with degrees from the London School of Economics and the Norwegian School of Management, he then moved steadily up the management ladder, becoming senior vice president for operations in 2010 before landing the role of CEO.

Mats Zuccarello Mats Zuccarello is the seventh Norwegian ever to land a spot in the US National Hockey League—he signed a two-year contract in 2010 to play left wing for the New York Rangers. A 26-year-old who grew up in suburban Oslo, Zuccarello started his professional career at 18 with Norway’s Frisk Tigers. He joined Sweden’s premiere league, the Elite Series (Eliteserien), in 2008, winning the league’s MVP award—the Golden Helmet—in 2010. Shortly after, he was picked up by the Rangers. Since debuting in the NHL, Zuccarello has appeared in 142 games, logging 30 goals and 62 assists.

N O R WAY T O D AY

Life.layout [P].indd 11

5/2/14 9:45 AM

PEOPLE & LIFESTYLE

Education Northern Exposure FOR AMERICAN STUDENTS STUDYING ABROAD, NORWAY OFFERS A DEAL—AND SO MUCH MORE.

» Only a thousand [Norwegian] students studied in America [six or seven years ago]. We need to do something more to encourage other students to go abroad. « TORBJØRN RØE ISAKSEN, Minister of Education

SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS FOR STUDENTS FROM THE US

School is practically free in Norway, but what about the cost of travel and lodging? These financial-assistance programs can help. 01 American– Scandinavian Foundation: Fellowships and grants to study in Scandinavia The foundation’s longest-standing commitment to educational exchange provided nearly $650,000 to 62 students, professionals, and artists in 2013. amscan.org

02 Norway-America Association: Scholarships for studies and research in Norway The Norway-America Association awards approximately 90 scholarships from 10 different programs annually, totaling about $77,000. noram.no

03 Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Fellowship programme for studies in the High North The Ministry's program funds students from Canada, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the US studying in northern Norway. siu.no

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARTE GARMANN

and Research

WITH EDUCATION INFLATION at an all-time high in the US, $120 barely covers a university textbook. So imagine Kristin Schild’s surprise when that sum paid for an entire course at a Norwegian university. A Dartmouth College PhD candidate studying glaciology, Schild says choosing to spend time in icy Norway was a no-brainer. For $120.08, she spent ﬁve-and-a-half weeks at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), the world’s northernmost institution for higher education and research, located in Longyearbyen. UNIS boasts arguably the top glaciology program in the world. “Every week we could snowmobile out to a glacier,” Schild recalls. “It was pretty incredible.” Her experience barely scratches the surface of what Norway has to offer American students interested in studying abroad, according to Margunn Instefjord, a senior advisor with the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education. International students in Norway say that the main reason they've chosen to study there is the availability of high-quality programs, rather than the minimal cost. “We believe that internationalization will contribute in increasing the quality of Norwegian higher education,” Instefjord adds.

N O R WAY T O D AY

Life.layout [P].indd 12

5/2/14 9:45 AM

DID YOU KNOW?

The number of Americans of Norwegian descent ( full or partial) living in the US today is roughly equal to the current population of Norway.

NEW INITIATIVE ENCOURAGES INCREASED STUDY-ABROAD

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF NORWEGIAN CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN EDUCATION

The most popular classes for study-abroad students in Norway are in the humanities.

For American students, Norway offers an amazing deal: Undergraduate, Master’s, and doctoral English-language courses are practically free at Norway’s 8 universities, 6 specialized university institutions, 25 stateuniversity colleges, and 2 national academies of the arts. The only cost at these publicly funded institutions is a 50- to 100-dollar semester fee, which grants membership to the local student-welfare organization. Schools offer beneﬁts including campus health services, counseling, and access to sports facilities and cultural activities, according to Norway’s official studyabroad-program website, studyinnorway.no. In 2013, about 520 students traveled from the US to Norway to study abroad, according to Instefjord. The most popular among the courses they chose were in the humanities and social sciences. But the country offers a wide range of programs—such as petroleum engineering, peace research, and environmental studies, along with almost 250 Master’s courses taught in English, according to studyinnorway.no. American students interested in studying in Norway can contact universities directly for application forms and admissions requirements. Deadlines for study beginning in August generally fall between January 15 and March 15—though some institutions have separate “pre-qualiﬁcation” deadlines that are earlier. Back in Hanover, New Hampshire, at Dartmouth, Kristin Schild is already planning to get back to Norway. This time, though, she’s working a different angle. “I’m trying to convince my husband to apply to the Norwegian Polar Institute so we can go back,” she says. “I just loved my experience there.”

In an effort to expand its students' international presence, Norway recently began funding study for Norwegian freshmen at American universities. Previously, government funding had begun sophomore year, as the American first year was considered equivalent to a year of Norwegian high school. Freshman-year grants are made possible through the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund. Beginning in 2014, Norwegian students can choose from a list of 203 qualifying universities—those listed on the well-regarded rankings of higher-education institutions created by Times Higher Education, Shanghai Ranking Consultancy, and QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. Since 1947, the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund has worked to make higher education affordable for everyone. The average student receives up to $44,000 a year, only some of which must be paid back as a student loan. “We want more Norwegian students to go abroad,” new Minister of Education and Research, Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, said in an interview with the Institute of International Education. “Six or seven years ago, the financial incentives were almost as good as they are today, but still only a thousand students studied in America. We need to do something more to encourage other students to go abroad.”

N O R WAY T O D AY

Life.layout [P].indd 13

5/2/14 9:45 AM

PEOPLE & LIFESTYLE

Sports Norwegian dominance in cold-weather pursuits is well documented, but soccer, sailing, and handball are duly popular, too. No matter the arena, Norway's elite athletes are known more for their pride than their fame or prima donna attitudes. IN A COUNTRY that values few things more than time outdoors and has more than 50 ski resorts for just 5-million people—all with top-notch facilities for kids—it’s no surprise that so many Norwegian children grow up to excel in winter sports. When they're young, Norwegians participate exclusively for fun, so they develop a love for sport well before they feel any pressure to win. By the time competitiveness becomes a priority, they’re old enough to manage it. Since the Winter Olympics began, Norway has won almost 50 more medals than any other country. They have been earned in cross-country and alpine skiing, biathlon, ski jumping, curling, speed skating, and ﬁgure skating—all sports that are woven into the fabric of Norwegian society. But in much of Norway for many months each year,

landscapes are lush and green, and its modest 150,000-square-mile area includes almost 10,000 square miles of coastline. Thus, openwater sports and warm-weather games that require the same balance of power and endurance as, say, cross-country skiing, are popular as well. Norwegians love soccer; they’re quick to point out that their men's team is the only national team to boast a winning record against Brazil with two wins and two ties. The sport is prevalent enough to warrant its own professional league—like Britain’s Premier League and Spain’s La Liga—called the Tippeligaen. With 16 teams, the Tippeligaen is nearly the same size as the two powerhouses, both of which have 20 teams. Even more impressive than the popularity of men’s soccer in Norway is the success of women in the sport.

HEAVY MEDALS: Tallying Norway's Winter Olympic Success

7 6 4

1924

3 4 3

4 3 3

2 1 1

1932

1936

1948

1952

1956

7 4 5

1928

N O R WAY T O D AY

Life.layout [P].indd 14

7 3

6 6 3 3

1960

6 6

5 5 2

1964 = GOLD

1968 = SILVER

1972

PHOTOGRAPH BY MATTHIAS SCHRADER/AP PHOTO

TOTAL

= BRONZE

5/6/14 3:48 PM

Norwegians invented ski waxing, the modern binding, and the laminated ski.

PHOTOGRAPH OF HENIE BY EVERETT COLLECTION; DÆHLIE BY JACQUES DEMARTHON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES; BJØRNDALEN BY AL TIELEMANS /SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES

DID YOU KNOW?

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Norway’s women earned the country’s ﬁrst gold medal in soccer. In six Women’s World Cups, Norway has landed in the top four four times and won once. International success has also come often in sailing, canoe/kayak, and handball. The Norwegian women’s team has won five Olympic handball medals—two gold—since first participating in the sport in 1988. Sprint kayaker Eirik Verås Larsen has brought home medals (two gold, one silver, one bronze) from the last three Olympics, and rowers and sailors have earned several medals in the last 20 years. Norway's winter athletes are even more extraordinary. All the winningest athletes in the history of the Winter Olympics—Bjørn Dæhlie and Ole Einar Bjørndalen on the men's side and Marit Bjørgen on the women's—are from Norway. They have 35 medals—22 gold—between them. And despite some disappointing early performances in Sochi by stars like downhill skier Aksel Lund Svindal, Norway outshined everyone but host Russia to land second in the gold-medal count. In any sport contested on snow, Norway is likely to compete for gold. Among those who saw success in Sochi were Kjetil Jansrud, competing in his third Olympics, who picked up where Svindal fell short to win the Super-G and place third in the downhill. 20-year-old Staale Sandbech earned his ﬁrst Olympic medal in snowboard slopestyle, Anders Bardal won a second consecutive bronze in ski jumping, and Bjørgen and Bjørndalen each earned two golds. Perhaps most important about Norway’s elite athletes is the connection they feel to one another. They look up to those who have brought gold home before them and strive to follow in their tracks. Said 40-yearold Bjørndalen after winning his second Sochi gold to surpass Dæhlie as the most decorated Winter Olympian ever: “I never imagined this would happen. Bjørn is still my big hero.”

TOTAL

Golden Past, Golden Present Get to know some of Norway's most memorably Winter Olympians.

Sonja Henie HOMETOWN: Oslo (then Kristiania) SPORT: Figure skating OLYMPIC APPEARANCES:

1924 / ‘28

/ ‘32

/ ‘36

KNOW THIS: Norway's youngest-

ever Olympian, Henie won three Olympics and ten consecutive world championships before her fame as the first woman to compete in an above-theknee skirt landed her in the Hollywood spotlight.

Bjørn Dæhlie HOMETOWN: Elverum SPORT: Cross-country skiing OLYMPIC APPEARANCES: 1992

/ ‘94

/ ‘98

KNOW THIS: Dæhlie was the win-

ningest Winter Olympian ever for 20 years, until his countryman overtook him in 2014. Following retirement, he made a fortune through real-estate investments and a line of activewear, BJ Sport.

Ole Einar Bjørndalen HOMETOWN: Drammen SPORT: Biathlon OLYMPIC APPEARANCES: 1994 / ‘98 / 2002 / ‘06 / ‘10 / ‘14 KNOW THIS: Biathlon requires an impossible mix of endurance, finesse, and power that Bjørndalen has maintained for 20 years. He became the most decorated Winter Olympian ever in 2014 at age 40.

10 11

10 10

13 9 6 3

3 2 4

1980

1984

3 3 1

1976

6 5

11 7

9 8 6

3 2

1988

8 9

1992

1994

1998

2002

2006

2010

2014

N O R WAY T O D AY

Life.layout [P].indd 15

5/2/14 9:45 AM

»Building institutions was an important part of building the nation, so we have many cultural institutions supported by the government. And we have a very strong and growing independent, professional performing-arts field representing a variety of artistic expressions: modern dance, puppetry, children’s theater, circus, modern opera, and crossovers.« TOVE BRATTEN Manager, PAHN (Performing Arts Hub Norway)

PHOTOGRAPH BY CONNIE COLEMAN/GETTY IMAGES

N O R WAY T O D AY

Culture.layout [P].indd 16

5/2/14 9:48 AM

CU LTUR E & H I ST O RY NORWAY’S CONSTITUT ION TURNS 200 IN 2014, AND CULTURAL ICONS—FROM PLAYWRIGHT JON FOSSE TO DESIGNER JENS EKORNES—CONTINUE TO FLOURISH ON A GLOBAL SCALE.

Culture.layout [P].indd 17

5/2/14 9:48 AM

C U LT U R E & H I S T O RY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NORWAY! This May, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway turns 200. It’s the oldest Constitution in Europe and the second-oldest in the world next to its American counterpart. Like the American and French Constitutions after which it was modeled, Norway’s Constitution is a living document—it has been amended 315 times—and it includes stipulations about the separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Developed during a time of absolute monarchy in Europe, the limits that Norway’s Constitution set on the power of the king and the church were viewed as very radical when it was written. Each year, the anniversary of its signing is celebrated with civilian-only flag parades—purposely without military celebration—and this year’s 200th commemoration is set to be the grandest yet.

Powerful farmers become chieftains, forming petty kingdoms.

500 BC to 800 AD

Håkon the Good is crowned, establishes the Gulating (parliament) in Western Norway.

930 872 to 930 AD

Harald Fairhair begins unifying petty kingdoms into Norway, becomes the first King of Norway.

Håkon Håkonsson is crowned, creates clear laws of succession to end wars over the appointment of kings.

1217 1015

Reign of Olaf II begins, he establishes Christianity in Norway.

Margaret I establishes the Kalmar Union, uniting Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

1397 1380

Denmark and Norway unify under one king.

Norway ceases to be an independent kingdom, becomes dependent under Denmark.

1536 1523

Sweden breaks from the Kalmar Union, creating Denmark-Norway.

N O R WAY T O D AY

Culture.layout [P].indd 18

5/2/14 9:48 AM

DID YOU KNOW?

Disney artists traveled to Norway to study its architecture and culture for the film Frozen.

JAN 14: Danish king

gives Norway to Swedish king. MAY 17: Constitution signed and dated. Parliamentary system established.

1884

1851

Religious freedom formalized and prohibition against Jesuits lifted.

Union with Sweden dissolved.

1905 1898

1956 1913

Parliamentary system formally written into Constitution.

2007 1988

2012

PHOTOGRAPH OF PARLIAMENT BY WESTEND61/GETTY IMAGES; SAMI WOMAN AND CHILD BY BERIT ROALD/ NTB SCANPIX

1897 Jews recognized and allowed in Norway.

Culture.layout [P].indd 19

Suffrage for all males.

Universal suffrage.

Sami Act written to protect indigenous Sami people.

Separation of church and state established.

Prohibition against monastic orders lifted.

5/2/14 9:48 AM

C U LT U R E & H I S T O RY

Performing Arts

Five puppeteers and 30 puppets bring Baby Universe to life.

All the World’s a Stage AN INITIATIVE TO PROMOTE NORWAY’S PERFORMING ARTS AROUND THE WORLD BEGINS WITH BUILDING ARTISTIC PARTNERSHIPS.

DANCE

Baby Universe: A Puppet Odyssey tells an apocalyptic story of the sun’s final days and of the bitter, dying planets and scheming moon that await the end. In the production, scientists are attempting to grow new baby universes, which survivors—living underground in bunkers at the time of the show— will colonize. One baby universe, 7,001, shows particular promise, as its doting mother nurtures the universe from infancy through childhood. Nordland Visual Theatre, based in Stamsund, Norway, collaborated with Wakka Wakka Inc., a nonprofit theater company in New York City, to produce the visually stunning puppet show. The theater won a 2013 Drama Desk Award, and its success has taken the 30 puppets and five puppeteers around the US and to Cuba, Norway, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and China since its debut.

From December 9 through 14, 2014, contemporary dance will take over Oslo. Both established ensembles and new acts—including kids groups—will perform at Ice Hot Oslo (nordicdanceplatform. com), put on by Dansens Hus Oslo, in collaboration with Dansens Hus Stockholm, Dance Info Finland, Dansehallerne Copenhagen, and Performing Arts Iceland. In addition to contemporary-dance performances, visitors to the festival will be able to partake of artistic presentations and discussions with artists, directors, and others involved in the production of the festival during its Norwegian debut.

The dancers in Carte Blanche are some of Norway’s best.

PHOTOGRAPH OF BABY UNIVERSE BY JIM BALDASSARE; ICE HOT BY ERIK BERG

In response to high international demand for Norwegian performing arts, the Performing Arts Hub Norway (PAHN) has begun an initiative to send Norwegian artists out to the world’s audiences. Supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the organization is working with partners in several countries to put on Norwegian performances. Currently, it aims to grow Norway’s reach in North America through consulates and by introducing Norwegian artists to representatives from the North American performing-arts environment. The hope is that these “triangular collaborations” will provide exposure for Norwegian artists who “cannot reach it themselves, alone,” says Tove Bratten, PAHN’s general manager. Because “the Norwegian market is small, they have to deal with the global possibilities, both to present and to develop the art.” PAHN represents a wide range of art forms—dance, circus, modern opera, puppetry, and children’s theater, among others. Besides promoting Norwegian arts, the organization envisions exchanging art as “part of a huge global, human, and democratic project.”

T H E AT E R

N O R WAY T O D AY

Culture.layout [P].indd 20

5/2/14 9:48 AM

DID YOU KNOW?

Norwegian Broadcast Company’s “Slow TV” has become a popular phenomenon in Norway. Broadcasts have included a 134-hour voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes and a “from sheep to sweater” knitting program.

Q& A WITH

JON FOS SE Jon Fosse is among the world’s most celebrated modern playwrights and authors—and he’s certainly a favorite in his home of Norway. Born in 1959, Fosse made his theatrical debut in 1994, and his work has been translated into more than 40 languages since. There is currently an initiative in Norway to raise the international proﬁle of Nordic theater, particularly to bring it further publicity in the US. How do you see this initiative helping Norwegian playwriting and playwrights both now and in the future? Nordic playwrights have done impressively well in the world’s theater since the days of Ibsen. He came from Norway—then a small country with almost no theatrical institutions or traditions—and he is now the secondmost produced playwright in the world next to Shakespeare. Norway was and is a small country, which makes this remarkable. The same happened to the Swedish author August Strindberg. He was not produced as much as Ibsen, but he also belongs to the world’s canon of dramatic writing. So two

Nordic dramatists are produced worldwide. In modern times, the Swede Lars Norén and I have also been produced a lot all over the world, though least in the AngloAmerican world. My work has had many more productions in Latin America than in the United States, but I have had a few productions in the US, thanks to the effort of Sarah Cameron Sunde, who worked hard to both translate and direct my plays in New York. The initiative to bring a playwright to a country must come from people in that country themselves. That is for sure. How does Norwegian writing differ from contemporary American writing, in your opinion? Norwegian writing differs in the same way that European writing does. Standard realism doesn’t have the same position in Europe, or more speciﬁcally in Norway, as it does in the US and in England, for example. This goes for both novels and plays. In Europe, writing is basically art, not entertainment (though there is necessary opposition between the two). In the English language the big exception must be Irish writing, with writers such as Joyce and Beckett. What would you consider the secret to your international success? God knows! But the fact is that my work has been translated into more than 40 languages, and there have been over 1,000 productions of my plays. Most of them are in smaller theaters, but they have also been produced in bigger ones, such as the ones in Paris.

How is your work typically received by audiences in the United States? There haven’t been that many productions of my works in the United States. But generally my plays have been better received there than in the UK. What has been your most popular work so far? I think it must be the short novel Aliss by the Fire, translated by Damion Searls [and published in English in 2010 by Dalkey Archive Press]. Searls also had an important prize for best translation for that novel. What are you currently working on? I have written some forty plays, all included, and with Plays Six published by Oberon Books in May, everything I have written for the stage will have been published in English. Now I’m writing a kind of prose—I don’t think I will write more for the theater. What topics are you exploring in your writing? Love and death, as everyone else. Who is your favorite American writer? William Faulkner. Where in the US do you most like to showcase your work? I have only been to the US twice, and both times only to New York. New York is no doubt the main city for American theater, but normally I prefer the countryside to the bigger towns. I grew up in a small community in Norway and feel like a kind of Norwegian hillbilly myself, except I’m from the coast, not the mountains!

N O R WAY T O D AY

Culture.layout [P].indd 21

5/2/14 9:48 AM

C U LT U R E & H I S T O RY

Design 01 Fredrik Kayser was most famous for his chairs, but he created a number of other iconic furniture pieces as well. In 1960, he designed the Hertug sideboard—made of rosewood and teak and known for its functionality—exclusively for Viken Møbelfabrikk AS.

02 Bjørn Engø’s rainbowcolored Emalox dishes are made from anodized aluminum and coated with a protective lacquer. Engø designed all sorts of kitchenware, and his original Emalox Grey series won a design award in 1967.

03 Tias Eckhoff ’s coffee pot earned the Norwegian Design Council’s Award for Design Excellence in 1964. Featuring an anodized body and signature mouth, the coffee pot was one of the dining pieces that made Eckhoff a household name.

05 Luxurious laziness takes shape in the form of Norway’s iconic Stressless, a leather reclining chair and footrest created by furniture maker Jens Ekornes in 1971. Its success made Ekornes’s company into a major market player in Norway and worldwide.

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF NORWEGIAN ICONS

04 Grete Prytz Kittelsen, nicknamed the “Queen of Scandinavian Design,” was a goldsmith and enamel designer. Famous for the “Cathrine bowl,” she also designed jewelry for her family business, J. Tostrup, like this 1971 sterling-silver collier with red and yellow enamel.

N O R WAY T O D AY

Culture.layout [P].indd 22

5/2/14 9:48 AM

DID YOU KNOW?

Norwegian Thor Bjørklund invented the cheese slicer in 1925.

Scandinavian design is among the world’s most widely recognized and coveted. Known for minimalism, clean lines, simplicity, and practicality, designs from the region have led the world of modern home décor for decades. Norwegian Icons, an exhibit of these artists and works from 1945-1970, has been shown in Oslo and Tokyo and debuted in New York in 2014. Some of the showcased designers’ work is featured here. May 23-June 1, 2014; Openhouse Gallery; 201 Mulberry St., New York.

06 The Tripp Trapp is a wooden high chair whose seat and footrest can be adjusted as its user grows. Designed in 1972 by Peter Opsvik, the chair soon became the country’s top seller, and it remains a designer staple in homes around the world.

07 The smooth, thick bluegreen glass of the Blokkvasen makes it one of Severin Brørby’s signature pieces. Designed in 1960 during his employment at Hadeland Glassverk, the piece won an award from the Norwegian Design Council in 1970.

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF NORWEGIAN ICONS

08 Else Berntsen Hughes and Paul C. Hughes, the husbandwife team behind Studio Else & Paul, lept into the spotlight thanks to their raw, sculpturelike jewelry design. This necklace, created in 1960, is a prime example of their unique style.

09 Considered one of Norway’s classic furniture pieces, the “Klaffebord”— a folding dining table designed for small living spaces—was introduced in 1957 by Bendt Winge. Winge’s idea of ﬂat-pack furniture continues to dominate assemble-at-home design and production.

10 The stackable “City” chair by Øyvind Iversen—made of molded plywood and steel—is considered one of the classic designs of the Scandinavian Movement. It was created in 1954 as part of Iversen’s Master’s thesis for the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry.

N O R WAY T O D AY

Culture.layout [P].indd 23

5/2/14 9:48 AM

C U LT U R E & H I S T O RY

Music POP

Modern-classical composer Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje’s award-winning compositions have been performed worldwide— by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and at the Other Minds Festival in San Francisco, to name a few. Her innovative blend of orchestral instruments with electronica can be heard in her numerous ﬁlm scores, operas, and compositions for theater, dance, and other art forms. The 40-year-old is also a singer and engineer. She is heavily involved in creating art installations with the group SPUNK, she collaborates with the noise duo Fe-mail, and she often performs her own compositions.

HIP HOP

Since 1992, the Norwegian hip-hop duo, Madcon, composed of Yosef Wolde-Mariam and Tshawe Baqwa, has been singing and rapping its way to the top of both the European and American charts. Short for “mad conspiracy,” the pair’s ﬁrst album, It’s All a Madcon, won a Norwegian Grammy and other awards in 2004. Success has con continued since, with hits o off ﬁve albums such as “Glow,” which surpassed platitenfold in num status tenf Norway, and ““Freaky which was Like Me,” whi wildly popula popular internationally. Destiny’s De Kelly Child singer K collaborated Rowland collab with the duo on their single, “One Life Life,” released in May 2013.

As Electronic Dance Music (EDM)’s popularity continues to grow globally, a number of Norwegian deejays and producers are making their way onto the American scene. Inspired by Grammy-nominated electronic duo Röyksopp, Norwegian talent is gaining traction with multiple releases announced for 2014. Venues such as the renowned Ultra Music Festival in Miami, Electric Zoo in New York City, SXSW in Austin, and TomorrowWorld in Chattahooche Hills, Georgia, have created an American audience for some of Norway’s most promising talents such as CLMD, Fehrplay, Cashmere Cat, and Ørjan Nilsen.

PHOTOGRAPH OF BERNHOFT BY FRED JONNY; RATKJE BY JULIA MARIE NAGLESTAD; MADCON BY ERLEND BJØRTVEDT; RÖYKSOPP BY CHRIS DAVISON

On his Facebook page, Jarle Bernhoft, often just called Bernhoft, describes his music as: “Melted gravel with chocolate topping.” With his hair coifed to a peak and his nerd-chic glasses, Bernhoft is as multifaceted as his self-description. He transitioned from the hard-rock bands Explicit Lyrics and Span to a solo career funky-soul areer as a funky soul crooner. rooner. Born in Nittedal, the he 37-year-old now lives in n New York. He was invited nvited onto Ellen after she he spotted his video on YouTube ouTube in 2011, and his is second solo album, Solitary olitary Breaks, topped the he Norwegian Top 30 list st for nine weeks in 2011, 011, thanks to hits such ass “Stay with Me,” and “C’Mon ’Mon Talk.”

ORCHESTRA

N O R WAY T O D AY

Culture.layout [P].indd 24

5/2/14 9:48 AM

DID YOU KNOW?

Joik, the traditional Sami singing style, is one of the longest living music traditions in Europe.

OUT THERE

PHOTOGRAPH OF STARGATE BY MICHAEL BUCKNER; ICE MUSIC FESTIVAL BY EMILE HOLBA

PRODUCTION

K Known ffor it its Billboard Hot 100 work with R&B, hip-hop, and pop artists, Stargate has rapidly become one of the world’s hottest music producers. Started in 1997 by Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel Storleer Eriksen in Trondheim, Stargate has since moved to New York to produce for the likes of Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Beyonce, Lionel Richie, Alexis Jordan, and others. And the duo partnered with Jay-Z to create the record label StarRoc in 2008. Stargate most recently topped the charts in conjunction with Norwegian comedy duo, Ylvis, with “The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)”— YouTube’s most popular viral hit in 2013.

Famous for the 2013 electronica earworm, ele “The Fox (What does the “Th Fox Say?),” Norwegian Fo brothers Vegard and br Bård Bå Ylvisåker, better known as Ylvis, have kn been performing profesbe sionally since 2000. sio Their variety and game Th shows have made the sh Bergen natives two of Be Norway’s most popular N comedians. Now hosts of the talk show, I kveld med Ylvis (Tonight with Ylvis), the Ylvisåkers created “The Fox” as a promotional element for their show. But after it went viral on YouTube— logging hundreds of millions of views—and topped the Billboard Hot 100 for several weeks, the pair leapt into the international spotlight.

The 2015 Ice Music Festival will take place February 5-7 in Geilo.

F E S T I VA L S

Sounds of Norway FROM CLASSICAL TO JAZZ AND POP, THESE FESTIVALS, SPREAD THROUGH THE COUNTRY, CELEBRATE NORWAY’S DIVERSE MUSICAL TASTE.

The tag line for Polar Jazz says it all: “Cool place, hot music,” indeed. Held each February in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, the world’s northernmost music festival beckons Norway’s top jazz, blues, and bluegrass musicians and their fans. polarjazz.no An entire music festival centered around ice? Only in Norway. The Ice Music Festival, held at the beginning of each year in Geilo—between Oslo and Bergen—features stages and instruments fashioned from ice and snow. icemusicfestival.no Norway’s best known romantic composer and the city of Bergen’s most famous son, Edvard Grieg, has starred in his very own music festival for 18 years. The Grieg in Bergen festival features concerts between June and August with soloists, chamber groups, and orchestras from Norway and around the world, who celebrate Grieg’s legacy. grieginbergen.com The Norwegian Wood Festival isn’t just a nod to the Beatles song by the same name. Every June, fans flock to Frognerbadet in Oslo to rock out to their favorite Norwegian and international bands. Past performers have included Van Morrison and Johnny Cash. This year, look for John Mayer, Arcade Fire, Passenger, and others. norwegianwood.no

N O R WAY T O D AY

Culture.layout [P].indd 25

5/2/14 9:48 AM

Âť We have very consensus-driven solutions on the really big national issues. For example, we just passed a major, substantial pension reform in Norway, which was implemented without any protest because we have the possibility of getting business, labor, and government together and coming up with sensible, consensus-oriented solutions. And people accept that, trust it, and understand it. That is part of why we have been able to adapt and build this business environment. ÂŤ KRISTIN SKOGEN LUND, CEO of Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO)

PHOTOGRAPH BY BERIT ROALD/NTB SCANPIX

N O R WAY T O D AY

Business.layout [P].indd 26

5/6/14 3:48 PM

B U S I N E S S & I N D U S T RY BUSINESS IS BOOMING IN NORWAY. TECHNOLOGY STARTUPS, FASHION, AND SEAFOOD JOIN OIL AND GAS IN CONTRIBUTING TO THE GROWING ECONOMY.

Business.layout [P].indd 27

5/6/14 3:48 PM

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY

Fashion

Born in Stryn

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MOODS OF NORWAY

MOODS OF NORWAY, MAKER OF HIGH-END MEN’S AND WOMEN’S CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES, BEGAN IN THE NORWEGIAN COUNTRYSIDE AND NOW SPANS THE WORLD.

FOR YEARS, COLLEGE BUDDIES Peder Børresen, Stefan Dahlkvist, and Simen Staalnacke were told not to go into business with friends. But they felt it was just a matter of associating with the right people. Collaborating has worked out nicely for the Moods of Norway creators. The three discovered many things in common during college in Honolulu, Hawaii—Norwegian roots and dreams of traveling the world among them. After graduation, the budding entrepreneurs moved to Staalnacke’s hometown of Stryn, a western hamlet known more as a picturesque slice of fjordland than as the country’s cocktail-suit capital. They worked odd jobs, including stints at the disco, and began to create what they envisioned as a purely Norwegian fashion company, representing both the fun and the traditions of Norwegian culture, according to Dahlkvist. They looked at how people from elsewhere view Norway and tried to capture the intrigue in their designs. “People think of this as a small country that’s far away with blonde girls and expensive gasoline,”

N O R WAY T O D AY

Business.layout [P].indd 28

5/2/14 9:54 AM

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF ROGER FOSAAS/MOODS OF NORWAY

DID YOU KNOW?

Norway’s Olympic curling team gave a pair of its famous garish pants to King Harald V after the 2010 games.

he explains. “They think it’s exotic.” Moods of Norway highlights the exotic in its clothing and the recognizable hair color on its labels, some of which read: “Made in Europe by really really pretty blonde girls.” The cocktail suits for which the company has become known come in bright colors and patterns—merlot with hot-pink polka dots, blue-and-orange plaid, pastel florals, mint with powder-pink lining. Those familiar with the brand recognize them from a mile away. And though the creators work hard to keep from taking themselves too seriously, they know that a typical wardrobe can’t be comprised entirely of crazy items. So not every product borders on outrageous. The overall idea is to blend traditional representations of Norway with fun, exotic twists. More muted navy suits might come with bright or patterned lining; button holes on traditional light-blue dress shirts may be sewn in red. Or take the company’s logo: a hot-pink tractor. “If you ever go to Stryn in the Norwegian countryside—where we started the company and where a big part of the operation still is,” Dahlkvist says, “there are tractors everywhere.” He and his partners thought the plain piece of farm equipment could represent the place, but in order for it to represent the brand, it would need a splash of something distinctive and atypical—like pink paint. In 2003, with their brand identity established and their first collection designed, Børresen, Dahlkvist, and Staalnacke set out to grow the company organically. They sold their clothes to stores until their consumer following was large enough to justify independent shops. Today, Moods of Norway has eight stores in its home country and three in the US, and its clothes are sold in a smattering of other places across the world. The creators host events and employ guerilla marketing campaigns to increase intrigue, and their efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. In advance of the 2012 Olympics in London, Moods was asked to design and produce the Norwegian squad’s opening-and closing-ceremonies attire. The resulting red dresses and slacks and blue blazers were Moods’ creators rock their signature cocktail suits. such a hit that the same request came in for the 2014 winter games. Perhaps it was that the London clothes looked great, or perhaps the second call came because Moods brought its typical cheeky fun to the London project, including details like special “medal pockets” in each jacket that reminded competitors to earn some hardware to bring home. The same humor helped to shape the company’s design for Norwegian Airlines’ uniforms, released in fall 2013. Checklist socks remind flight attendants to pack their toothbrushes and buckle up, and interior labels say things like: “Made just for you by tall hunky blonde guys.” Today, the company boasts 400 employees and a presence in eight countries. As it expands into increasingly diverse markets, Dahlkvist is confident that the philosophy will remain the same. “We make happy clothes for happy people,” he says. “They’re fun to wear—you really can never be in a bad mood if you wear something this exotic.”

THEY KNOW FASHION

Moods of Norway isn’t the only Norwegian brand making a name for itself in the international fashion scene. These four are household names, too. 01 Epilogue by Eva Emanuelsen The winner of HENNE’s Nåløyet award for best fashion designer of 2013, Emanuelsen’s Oslo–based women’s line is known for her surprising use of fabric combinations. Online at epiloguebyeva.com. 02 FWSS A contemporary women’s brand that pairs laid-back flow with sophisticated structure, this two-year-old company has burst onto the scene from its Oslo headquarters. Online at fallwinterspringsummer.com. 03

Kristian Aadnevik Now based in London, the Norwegian–born Aadnevik’s edgy designs have earned repeat appearances on the pages of European Vogue, Elle, and many others. Online at kristianaadnevik.com. 04 Leila Hafzi The long-standing Norwegian staple has been known for sustainable and ethical material-sourcing since 1997. And Hafzi’s knockout gowns— wedding and otherwise—are made in her southwestern headquarters in Stavanger. Online at leilahafzi.com.

N O R WAY T O D AY

Business.layout [P].indd 29

5/2/14 9:54 AM

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY

Seafood Ambassadors of Fish THE NORWEGIAN SEAFOOD COUNCIL IS MARKETING ITS PRODUCTS TO THE UNITED STATES THROUGH A BOARD OF HAND-PICKED AMERICAN CHEFS.

» In the Nordic countries, we should change our consumption patterns in a more sustainable direction while also consuming less. « ELISABETH ASPAKER Minister of Fisheries

PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL PAIEWONSKY

THE NORWEGIAN–SEAFOOD TASTING MENU offered at Washington, DC’s Equinox last fall began with a risotto starring Norwegian red king crab. “It’s amazing,” chef Todd Gray says of the crab meat. “Alaskan king crab is also great, but the Norwegian red king crab is even sweeter.” Also on the tasting menu at Equinox—located just steps from the White House—were a deep-water Norwegian white halibut and a Norwegian salmon, crusted with riso nero. All this: Gray’s effort to introduce Norwegian seafood to his customers and spread the word of its quality around the US. Gray is a member of the Norwegian Seafood Culinary Board, a group of American chefs chosen by the Norwegian Seafood Council for their focus on seafood and sustainability and for using imported products in their restaurants. “In the late 1980s,” Gray says, “Norway’s salmon was the premium. I had a Norwegian distributor, but I wasn’t that familiar with Norwegian products generally, so I was curious to learn more.” His seat on the board has allowed him to do that. In the past year, Gray and ﬁve other chefs have immersed themselves in the Norwegian seafood scene. They’ve spent hours learning about, preparing, and tasting the country’s unique offerings—and teaching others in their industry about them. “We want to educate ‘seafoodies’ about the unmatched level of skill and painstaking care that goes into the way we raise and harvest our oceanfarmed salmon [and other seafood],” says Karin Olsen, who directs the Norwegian Seafood Council’s work in the US. The creation of the board, which she oversees, makes that possible. In July 2013, Gray and the others spent ten days in Norway learning about farm raising, local cooking techniques, and more. They toured the fjords that line Norway’s coast and visited kitchens and salmon and halibut farms. They learned that farmed salmon from Norway spend a year in protected tanks on land before they’re transferred to spacious ocean pens, all the while being monitored carefully by high-tech systems. At the farms, which Gray recalls as “immaculate,” the visiting chefs were encouraged to hold and touch the ﬁsh and feel and even taste their feed. The group was introduced to Norwegian chefs, who prepared the seafood from their native country “a gazillion different ways,” using local ingredients that Gray hopes to import to his own kitchen one day.

N O R WAY T O D AY

Business.layout [P].indd 30

5/2/14 9:54 AM

DID YOU KNOW?

There are more than 50,000 islands off the Norwegian coast.

PHOTOGRAPH BY OLIVER BRACHAT/NORWEGIAN SEAFOOD COUNCIL. ILLUSTRATIONS BY BROWN BIRD DESIGN

After returning home, the chefs introduced Norwegian tasting menus in their restaurants, met with other local chefs to share what they’d learned, and added more Norwegian products to their regular menus. One particularly unique product? Skrei—a seasonal variety of Norwegian cod that can only be caught between January and April. Called the “Norwegian miracle” because its availability during the winter allowed people to live so far north, Skrei is identified by a required brand tag placed on the forward dorsal fin. Despite its popularity—or rather, because of it—only 10 percent of the total supply is permitted to be caught each year, which promotes sustainability. In January, the board members and ten other chefs convened in New York to learn from a Norwegian pro how to prepare the unique fish. They’re meant to pass the techniques along to chefs in their home markets. Created in 1991 by the Ministry of Fisheries, the Norwegian Seafood Council publishes statistics about the worldwide seafood market, distributes information on trade conditions, quotas, and tariffs, and markets Norwegian seafood products to the world. Headquartered in Tromsø, the council has branches in 13 countries, and the creation of the board further expands its reach in the United States. The board is slated to grow in 2014, to include a wider geographic range of chefs who can be easily reached by Norwegian imports. Regular events will include training sessions, roundtable discussions, and other gatherings where chefs, farmers, and nutritionists will glean information from board-member experiences. According to Gray, the opportunity to develop new dishes using new ingredients is the real draw. “It’s always about the product,” he says. “We’re just looking for the best in the world.” Fish like halibut have long been an important part of the Norwegian diet.

NORWAY’S SEAFOOD STATS

31,000,000 Norway provides more than 31-million meals’ worth of seafood to the world each day.

9 7. 5 % Norwegian law requires salmon to take up less than 2.5 percent of an aquaculture facility’s volume—meaning each facility is 97.5 percent water.

140 More than 140 countries import Norwegian seafood.

1 Norway is number one worldwide in compliance with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s code for responsible fishing.

6.4 The carbon footprint of oceanfarmed Norwegian salmon is 6.4 pounds, compared to beef (66.1 lbs), pork (13 lbs), and chicken (6 lbs) produced in Europe.

N O R WAY T O D AY

Business.layout [P].indd 31

5/2/14 9:54 AM

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY

HOW TO START A BUSINESS IN NORWAY Norway’s entrepreneurial credentials make it an attractive option for American startups.

EVERY DAY, Evan Andriopoulos provides cutting-edge technology that connects businesses across the globe. Andriopoulos’s IT company, which turns smartphones, tablets, and computers into video-conferencing centers, could have started anywhere. But he didn’t choose the United States, Great Britain, Germany, or any of the other so-called IT startup capitals of the world when he began planning to open his doors—he chose Norway. “There were no barriers to entry. It was easy,” says Andriopoulos, CEO of Easymeeting. “It was also easy to ﬁnd skilled people in IT and customer service.” More and more American IT startups are coming to the same conclusion, especially as Norway rolls out programs such as the Nationwide Seed Capital

Fund, an $84-million initiative to help new international IT startups in Norway. “We will use every opportunity and the instruments available for us to, step by step, make it easier to own and run businesses in Norway,” says Monica Mæland, Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry. “This is good for Norwegian industry, and it makes sure that the global market has easy access to worldleading Norwegian technology and innovations.” Such programs aside, Norway is no slouch when it comes to entrepreneurship and startups— IT or otherwise. Worldwide, it ranks ninth in ease of doing business, according to the World Bank and International Finance Corporation’s 2014 Doing Business report.

With Europe’s second highest per-capita GDP, Norway also ranks among the most entrepreneurial countries in Europe, according to a 2013 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report. The Nordic region (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland) represents a $1.7-trillion economy, the tenth largest in the world, says Vidar Keyn, who heads the commercial section of the US Embassy in Oslo. Today, almost half of Norway’s GDP is connected to international trade. And in an increasingly global economy, more and more international companies are establishing a presence in Norway. “It’s an exciting market,” Keyn says. “There’s a lot of opportunity here for US entrepreneurs.” Among them are the fastexpanding sectors of energy, information technology, defense

Need a hand starting up? The official Norwegian investment agency provides a range of services and a network to help foreign companies establish and run their businesses in Norway. invinor.no INVEST IN NORWAY

THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN NORWAY The independent networking and information organization assists its 220 Norwegian, American, and other member companies. amcham.no

Business.layout [P].indd 32

PHOTOGRAPH BY OJO IMAGES/ALAMY

US EMBASSY IN NORWAY Offers reports and services hoping to increase business and trade between Norway and the US. norway. usembassy.gov

5/6/14 3:48 PM

DID YOU KNOW?

Siri means “beautiful woman who leads you to victory” in Norwegian. In 2007, Norwegian-American Dag Kittlaus invented the voice-operated intelligent personal assistant, Siri, before selling it to Apple in 2010.

PHOTOGRAPHY OF LUND BY BERIT ROALD/NTB SCANPIX

Kristin Skogen Lund (right) heads Norway’s national employers’ association, NHO.

and aerospace, maritime, and electronic health solutions, he continues. Many firms in these sectors boast a global presence, making the market even more attractive. “You’re not just reaching the Norwegian market,” Keyn explains. “You can piggyback on some of these global players that are in that sector.” Rather than a culture of private equity or venture capital, Norwegian startups can benefit from publicly funded research and grants like the Nationwide Seed Capital Fund. “It’s more of a partnership opportunity than an acquisition opportunity,” Keyn says. A bonus: Norway boasts a wealthy, early-adopter population that’s perfect for launching new technology. And when it comes to finding qualified labor, Norway is tough to beat. Norwegians are highly educated, and they typically

speak English and work efficiently. Despite accusations of high sick-leave rates and Fridays “at the cottage,” Norway actually tops the list of productivity measured in work hours/GDP. What’s more, international entrepreneurs such as Andriopoulos are often surprised at Norway’s simple business startup process. So what’s the most important thing startups need to be successful? The very essence of entrepreneurship: an appreciation for the nuances of the market. “Norway is open for investments from abroad. People with entrepreneurial spirits are welcome,” says Per Stensland, manager of Invest in Norway. “To launch a small to medium size enterprise in Norway is quite easy. To make it successful is of course another thing. Here, as elsewhere, you must do the homework.”

» Norway has exceptional technology and competence and is well suited for R&D because of close collaboration between industry and R&D institutions. The costs of setting up R&D activities are internationally competitive, and there is a well-developed system to protect intellectual property rights. « MONICA MÆLAND Minister of Trade and Industry

N O R WAY T O D AY

Business.layout [P].indd 33

5/2/14 9:54 AM

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY

Energy Sharing Best Practices on Energy Production THE LESSONS NORWAY HAS LEARNED DURING 40 YEARS SPENT PRODUCING OIL AND GAS COULD INFLUENCE DECISIONS IN THE UNITED STATES.

» The crown jewel of the trip was a chance to visit Ekofisk in the North Sea. It was an amazing experience. It was the first productive oil field for Norway and remains productive. It’s a testament to Norway’s stewardship. «

senator and Bush Foundation fellow studying Norway’s oil economy.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHAWNA NOEL WIDDEL/AP

RYAN TAYLOR Former North Dakota state

IN THE EARLY 1960s, Norway sought the expertise of US oil companies, while it worked to ascertain whether the Norwegian Continental Shelf held oil and gas deposits—deposits that would come to shape the Norwegian economy and drive its financial success. Today, the cycle has come full circle, as US officials visit Norway to better understand how to manage resources and employ new technologies in the energy industry. “We have a lot to learn from Norway and how it tackles oil and gas exploration and development,” says Ryan Taylor, a former North Dakota state senator who is studying Norway’s petroleum history as part of a Bush Foundation fellowship. “Norway has a real record of achievement in oiland-gas production but also in safety and protecting the environment.” Today, Norway ranks as the world’s third-largest gas exporter and the seventh-largest oil exporter. It’s also recognized for its technological innovation, safety, and environmental stewardship. The Norwegian government has long acknowledged the essential balance between developing energy resources and protecting the environment. “There is no single easy fix when addressing the twin challenges of energy and climate [change],” said Tord Lien, Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy, at the Autumn Conference 2013 in Oslo. “The task gets more demanding for each passing year. The world needs more energy, it needs cleaner energy, and it needs reliable energy supplies.” Norway has advanced cutting-edge energy and environmental technologies for decades. Developments have come in the field of hydropower—which accounts for 99 percent of Norway’s electricity—as well as offshore, deep-sea oil-and-gas drilling, osmotic energy, which generates electricity from salt water, energy generated through tides in sea beds, and carbon capture-and-storage, the process of storing waste carbon dioxide in underground formations for use as energy. “We need to share ideas, knowledge and experiences in order to find commercially viable solutions,” Lien said at a Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum in Washington, DC. “This requires cooperation and joint efforts from the industry, the research community, and governments.” Already, Norway is assisting more than two dozen developing countries in managing their energy resources through its Oil For Develop-

N O R WAY T O D AY

Business.layout [P].indd 34

5/2/14 9:54 AM

DID YOU KNOW?

Hydropower accounts for 99 percent of the electricity generated in Norway.

ment initiative. By sharing its expertise and experience, Norway hopes to aid countries in balancing economic growth and environmental sustainability. ONE OF THE PRIME FEATURES of Norway’s energy policy has been to move deliberately, both in terms of exploration and development and in its relationships with foreign energy companies. While its energy resources are vast, Norway has been careful to balance production with sustainability. In 2013, the World Economic Forum ranked Norway first globally in the management of energy resources. Using a measured process, Norway has slowly expanded its exploration from the North Sea to the Norwegian Sea and, more recently, to the Barents Sea. Norwegian firms and foreign oil companies have discovered a host of oil-and-gas fields, including Statfjord, Goliat, Snorre, Åsgard, Draugen, Snøhvit, Troll, Skarv, Ormen Lange, and the Johan Sverdrup. Most recently, ConocoPhillips and Total SA launched oil production from a new project that could provide continuity in oil supplies for four decades. Their Ekofisk South project uses innovative technologies to enhance recovery of oil and gas and is expected to produce as many as 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. It employs advanced extraction techniques, including injecting water and additives into reserves to force out additional hydrocarbons. Phillips Petroleum discovered the Ekofisk field, Norway’s first, in 1969, and it remains one of the largest ever found. The Greater Ekofisk Area is located in the southern part of the North Sea, some 300 kilometers (200 miles) southwest of Stavanger, Norway. Norway’s success in managing its vast resources stems, in part, from shrewd early moves, including a decision to negotiate treaties with the UK and Denmark that assigned territory in the North Sea before exploration began, dodging conflict over what country would own the resources once they were found. Astute partnerships with energy companies and a clear licensing framework for the underwater land have also helped. Today, there are 76 fields in production on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, which produced about 1.9-million barrels of oil daily in 2012 along with some 111-billion standard cubic meters of gas. The petroleum sector represented more than 23 percent of value creation in Norway’s economy in 2012, and oil production has added more than NOK 9000 billion to the GDP over the last four decades. A critical factor in the Norway management model that Taylor would like to see implemented in North Dakota is its uncompromising ten oil commandments, which serve as the foundation for Norwegian oil policy. Chief among those commandments is a prohibition against the flaring of exploitable gas, a problem associated with oil production globally. Taylor’s home state of North Dakota is experiencing an energy boom, the result of deep-well injections or fracking. Estimates indicate that recent shale finds in the Bakken and Three Forks formations could result in 20-billion

Ryan Taylor, right, visited the Ekofisk field to learn more about Norway’s processes, achievements, safety, and environmental protection in oil-andgas production. He hopes to bring this knowledge back to his home state of North Dakota, where the business is growing.

N O R WAY T O D AY

Business.layout [P].indd 35

5/2/14 9:54 AM

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY

» The activity level is high, and Norway ranks among the largest offshore markets in the world. We have a very competent industry and a research environment able to provide technological breakthroughs. «

barrels of recoverable resources. Taylor says that conservation and self-determination are two lessons that his home should absorb from Norway as it explores these resources. He hopes to turn his observations into workable policies for North Dakota’s state government. Taylor also says it’s important to note that Norway has struggled at times to safely explore and extract resources, but that its commitment to safety has never changed. He worries that hasty development of his state’s formations could lead to safety or environmental woes. “Norway had these kinds of problems and solved them,” says Taylor. “We need to learn from them.” “There are some parallels between the North Sea and the prairies of North Dakota,” he adds. “In both places, you’re in an environment you want to protect because of the key role it plays in daily life.” What makes Norway the envy of many oil-rich countries around the world is its intentional eschewing of short-term financial gain for longterm benefit. It created a sovereign wealth fund in 1990, which is financed through its stake in the petroleum fields, its taxes on the oil-and-gas industry, and dividends from its shares of Statoil, its largest oil company. At the end of 2013, the fund had NOK 5038 billion in assets ($850 billion USD) with 61.7 percent equities, 37.3 percent fixed income, and 1 percent real estate. The fund is one of the largest investors in the world, with shares in more than 8,000 companies and an average holding of 1.3 percent; holdings are highest in Europe, with 2.5 percent. It also has a reputation for ethical investing, refusing to invest in companies that have breached its policies on human rights and labor rights. “[Norway] decided that economic security for every man, woman, and child in Norway was a value worth achieving and protecting,” says Taylor. “It takes the long view, and it’s worked out. We should do the same.” Aside from wanting to replicate Norway’s stellar record in energy innovation, Taylor also believes the people of North Dakota will relate to the “Norway way” because of a shared heritage. “It’s really a compelling story of all these people who came to North Dakota from Norway,” he says. “They were poor and looking for opportunity, and they found it. Now we’re looking to manage our opportunities, and it makes sense to ask for help from Norway.”

TORD LIEN Minister of Petroleum and Energy

N O R WAY T O D AY

Business.layout [P].indd 36

5/2/14 9:54 AM

DID YOU KNOW?

tktktktktktktktktk The 472-meter Troll-A natural gas platform is the largest man-made structure to be moved. It is responsible for one-fifth of all gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf.

result of moral obligations and to protect our national interests.

Q& A WITH

BØRGE BR EN DE The new Minister of Foreign Affairs, who has years of experience in humanitarian and environmental work, shares his insight on Norway’s business growth and position in global affairs. You’ve previously served as the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Trade and Industry. How does your appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs differ from these positions? The responsibility is different. We see that it is increasingly difficult and dangerous to reach out to the people who are in greatest need, like those in Syria and South Sudan. These are two conﬂicts, humanitarian crises, and political processes that are of crucial importance for peace and security in their own regions and also globally. Simultaneously, in the Ukraine, in the heart of Europe, we are confronted with a serious violation of international law and a form of power politics that belongs in another era. As a foreign minister you have to respond to complicated and complex matters like these—as a

You’ve also worked for the Norwegian Red Cross, the World Economic Forum, and as the CFO of KB-entreprenør. Which experience best prepared you for your new position? I’ve learned something in all my former positions, about humanitarian work, leadership, economy, and communication, for example. What’s your favorite part about being the Minister of Foreign Affairs so far? It is the impact you can have on many crucial topics from Ukraine to trade policy. With pressing issues like climate change, job creation, and oceans coming up, there is enough to handle. On the humanitarian side it is Syria, Central African Republic, and not least South Sudan. Norway is known for its energy, gas, and oil, but high-tech development is also growing. How does the government help Norway compete globally in this area? There is a growing awareness that our prosperity and future growth depend on Norwegian companies succeeding abroad, on Norway being seen as an attractive country to invest in, and on our companies having good market access. That’s why the Foreign Service has adopted a strategic and more targeted approach to promoting Norway’s business interests abroad. Support provided by Norwegian agencies and government bodies will be better tailored to the needs of the business sector and focused on areas where there are opportunities for

growth. We will strengthen business expertise at our missions, so that they are able to provide better service. This has been a long-standing priority, but our efforts are now being further intensiﬁed. We will, in particular, strengthen our diplomatic presence in emerging economies. Why should countries and businesses look to invest in Norway? Norway is a politically stable, modern, and highly developed country with a fairly small population and a strong economy. The Norwegian economy is characterized by being open and mixed, with a combination of private and public ownership. Norway is a safe and relatively easy country in which to do business. According to the publication, Ease of Doing Business 2014 from the IFC and World Bank, Norway ranks ninth among the 189 countries listed in the category. Our business culture is based on Norwegian and Scandinavian work values and ethics. As a result, you will see little hierarchy, ﬂat structures, and informal communication. What are some of your favorite things to do when you’re not busy being the Minister of Foreign Affairs? Spending time with my family— my wife and two grown-up sons. Also reading a good book or working out. What do you love most about Norway? I’m very fond of the Norwegian nature, especially the mountains, and I love skiing in the winter and trekking in the summer.

N O R WAY T O D AY

Business.layout [P].indd 37

5/2/14 9:54 AM

» We face a paradox here: The melting ice cap opens up new commercial opportunities, but global warming is alarming—and bad news to all of us. With major opportunities come major responsibilities. Together we need to make sure that the development of these areas is both safe and environmentally friendly. « MONICA MÆLAND, Minister of Trade and Industry

PHOTOGRAPH BY GEIR A. GRANVIKEN/GETTY IMAGES

N O R WAY T O D AY

HighNorth.layout [P].indd 38

5/6/14 3:49 PM

HI G H NORTH THE ARCTIC IS FAST BECOMING THE HOTTEST PLACE IN THE WORLD TO BEâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;FIGURATIVELY, OF COURSE. AS NEW WATERWAYS EMERGE, OPPORTUNITIES FOR SHIPPING, OIL-AND-GAS EXPLORATION, AND MORE OPEN UP NOT JUST FOR COUNTRIES THAT BORDER THE ARCTIC BUT FOR DOZENS OF OTHERS AS WELL.

HighNorth.layout [P].indd 39

5/6/14 3:49 PM

HIGH NORTH

Arctic Frontiers Collaborating For the Future EACH JANUARY, LEADERS OF BUSINESS, POLITICS, AND SCIENTIFIC STUDY GATHER IN NORWAY FOR THE ARCTIC FRONTIERS CONFERENCE.

The Arctic Frontiers Conference is held annually in Tromsø, north of the Arctic Circle.

DON’T MISS!

Tromsø International Film Festival Each January, a cinematic spotlight joins the Northern Lights in Tromsø, as the town hosts the Tromsø International Film Festival. Inaugurated in 1991, the event draws movie makers and filmgoers to screen pictures from around the world. More than 100 films from nearly 30 countries are shown on Tromsø’s nine screens, including one that’s outside. Several awards are also presented—the Tromsø Palm, for example, goes to the best film from the North and attracts entries like Norway-made Nordlys Over Haldetoppen (pictured). In 2011, American director Darren Aronofsky won the Tromsø Audience Award for Black Swan.

PHOTOGRAPH OF NORDLYS OVER HALDETOPPEN COURTESY OF TROMSØ INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, SALVE DAHLE, now chair of the Arctic Frontiers steering committee, attended a meeting on the Svalbard archipelago. He and dozens of leaders from business and government with an interest in the Arctic region had gathered there to discuss its future, when a storm snowed them in for days. Dahle turned the impromptu lock-in into a workshop, his right-hand man at Arctic Frontiers Ole Øvretveit explains. He asked each delegate to discuss his or her hopes for the region, and the Arctic Frontiers conference was born. Now, the conference is held annually in Tromsø— often called the Arctic Gateway—more than 500 miles south of Svalbard across the Barents Sea but still inside the Arctic Circle. What began as a casual conversation is now a week-long gathering of about 1,000, split into two sections: one on science, the other on policy. “The conference started out with a very deep foundation in science,” Øvretveit says. “It has sort of evolved to become both science and social science because both are now important parts of the Arctic discourse.” Attendees discuss not only how climate change is altering the landscape of the region, for example, but also how businesses and governments should respond.

N O R WAY T O D AY

HighNorth.layout [P].indd 40

5/2/14 9:58 AM

DID YOU KNOW?

From May 20 to July 22, Tromsø experiences the midnight sun—24 hours of daylight.

NORTHERN LIGHTS FESTIVAL

PHOTOGRAPH OF ARTIC BY SVEIN WIK/ NTB SCANPIX; SIMONE BY MARIUS FISKUM/NORDLYSFESTIVALEN

Growing interest in the Arctic has pushed attendance at Arctic Frontiers to about 1,000.

Take shipping. Melting ice near the North Pole has increased dramatically over the last dozen years, and passage across the top of the world is now more feasible than ever before. Of course, businesses and governments from many countries would like to use the newly opened shipping lanes, but the process isn’t simple. Those attending Arctic Frontiers discuss how the shipping lanes could and should be regulated, who would be responsible for search-and-rescue efforts if they become necessary, and what kinds of implications there would be in the case of a spill. These are political, social, and economic questions, but their basis is in science. The conversations at Arctic Frontiers occur at that intersection. Says Øvretveit: “In the North Sea, we pretty much know that, if you have a spill here and wind from there, the impact will come in a given place. But [in the Arctic]… where conditions are changing, we don’t know what would happen.” Would spilled goods—oil or something easier to clean up—wash ashore in Norway, Russia, Greenland, or elsewhere? How would such a thing be dealt with in a frozen landscape with its sub-zero temperatures? At this year’s conference, themed “Humans and the Arctic,” these types of questions were addressed. So were questions about how economic development in sparsely inhabited areas of the far north would impact native populations. Overall, says Øvretveit, “Artic Frontiers is about how the rest of the globe is affecting the Arctic and how the Arctic can be seen as a measure of what’s happening on the rest of the globe.”

When the temperature dips below freezing in Tromsø and daylight is all but nonexistent, the city awakens with the mysticism of the Northern Lights and the world-class performing-arts festival that accompanies them. The Northern Lights Festival has been bringing musicians, dancers, artists, and visitors from around the world to the city each January for 27 years. In 2014, highlights included performances by Russian ballet company Bolshoi, opera singer Julia Novikova, and Broadway star Simone. Alongside internationally known names are performances by native Sami artists as well as some from Tromsø. Most performances are held indoors, but a few take place outside—and a performance at Svalbard was introduced this year. Says director Ulf Jensen, the festival creates “an interesting and stimulating environment for employees, their families, and students” in Tromsø, many of whom are musicians themselves.

Broadway star Simone performs at the 2014 Northern Lights Festival.

N O R WAY T O D AY

HighNorth.layout [P].indd 41

5/2/14 9:58 AM

HIGH NORTH

ARCTIC COUNCIL Once a small group of representatives from communities bordering the Arctic Ocean, the Arctic Council has quickly reached a new level of world influence both environmentally and economically.

TINE SUNDTOFT, Minister of Climate and Environment

The Arctic Council’s biannual meeting is an informal affair with serious implications.

PHOTOGRAPH OF SUNDTOFT BY BJØRN STUEDAL

» We want to have a generational perspective on our future policies. This planet we’re going to hand over to our children must be in at least as good a condition as when we took it over from our parents. «

THE WORLD IS PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION to the northern circumpolar region. Last May, at the biannual convening of the Arctic Council—the secretariat for which is headquartered in Tromsø, home to a substantial amount of arctic research—six new countries were added to the list of observer nations, doubling observer membership to 12. Their attendance illustrates a rapidly growing interest in the Arctic Council’s activities and in how its eight permanent members make decisions with increasingly global signiﬁcance. As Arctic ice melts, new waterways emerge, uncovering new energy resources. These developments mean that the need for protection, environmental assessment, and governance over the region is increasing dramatically. Though its meetings may be casual—members often show up in slacks and sweaters—the Arctic Council realizes the exceedingly important role it plays in protecting its indigenous people and its resources as the world focuses its eyes up north. Formally established by the Ottawa Declaration of 1996, the Arctic Council was created as a “high-level intergovernmental forum to provide a means for promoting cooperation, coordination, and interaction among the Arctic states.” Territory in the Arctic is required for membership—the eight qualifying nations are Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. The council

N O R WAY T O D AY

HighNorth.layout [P].indd 42

5/2/14 9:58 AM

DID YOU KNOW?

The Arctic sea ice has shrunk at an average area of 10 percent each decade since 1979.

PHOTOGRAPH OF SAMI BY ERIKA LARSEN

Indigenous populations are a focus of the Arctic Council. Photo by Erika Larsen as part of Sami—Walking With Reindeer. deer.

meets every six months, and chairmanship is passed from country to country every two years. Canada currently holds the leadership position, which it will transfer to the US in 2015. This year, China, India, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea joined France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom as observer nations. Each observer holds an economic and environmental interest in the region. Much of the Arctic Council’s focus is on environmental issues. It discusses climate change and its effect on Arctic ice, biodiversity monitoring, and oil pollution and spill prevention. It also tackles issues surrounding the health and well-being of the indigenous people of the Arctic, several groups of whom hold permanent-participant status in the council. Its several working groups have produced a number of studies and reports since the council’s inception, and the larger group has passed two mandated agreements: a uniﬁed search-and-rescue operation and a coordinated effort to prepare for and respond to possible oil pollution. The council is currently working on about 85 projects, covering everything from climatechange adaptability to mental-health issues affecting northern populations. During a recent meeting of the Council’s Task Force on Arctic Marine Oil Pollution Prevention, a US delegate described the value of the Arctic Council’s collaboration. “The Arctic states are confronting the common challenge of balancing economic opportunities with the imperative to prevent oil pollution,” he said. “There is much to be gained through a sharing of experience, expertise, best practices, and other information.”

In Picturres Erika Larsen, a magazine m photographer since 2000, spent more than four years living among the Sami people in Norway—not just photographing them, but also cooking, cleaning, sewing, and working alongside her subjects. It was more than just a photography project for Larsen: She was looking for a people who truly lived within their environment and who fully embraced nature, and she found it in the Sami. Her resulting work was featured as part of a National Geographic book and exhibit, Women of Vision: National Geographic Photographers on Assignment, available at shop.nationalgeographic.com.

N O R WAY T O D AY

HighNorth.layout [P].indd 43

5/2/14 9:58 AM

HIGH NORTH

Arctic Research SEVERAL OF THE ARCTIC’S TOP MINDS ARE STEADFASTLY WORKING TOGETHER TO ENSURE SMART MANAGEMENT AND GROWTH IN THE POLAR REGION.

JAN-GUNNAR WINTHER, Director, Norwegian Polar Institute

AS THE ARCTIC MOVES further and further into the global spotlight, some of Norway’s brightest researchers—about 300 of them from 20 independent institutions—are building the foundation that will handle this newfound interest. These researchers are part of the High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment, the Fram Centre for short, located in Tromsø. (The name is a tribute: The Fram was a ship used by explorers Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup, Oscar Wisting, and Roald Amundsen during their Arctic and Antarctic expeditions long ago.) With expertise in the natural sciences, social sciences, and technology, Fram researchers are working on issues ranging from energy to shipping to reindeer herding. And the secretariat of the Arctic Council is housed alongside them in the Fram Centre. The Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment runs the Fram Centre and determines its priorities. Currently, those are five flagship research programs, covering the melting of sea ice, the effects of climate change on coastal ecology, ocean acidification, climate change’s effects on terrestrial ecosystems and indigenous people, and the impacts of hazardous substances on human health. “Knowing more about climate development in the Arctic will have a great impact on understanding how the region will develop and how to manage it,” says Jan-Gunnar Winther, chair of the Committee of Institutional Directors at the Fram Centre and director of the Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram’s largest member institution. With increased funding, Winther expects the Fram Centre to double in size in the next few years. It’s necessary, he says, given the rapidity of environmental change and the growing global interest in the area. “Strong global warming will increase accessibility and make it easier for commercial activity,” Winther explains. “We need to be prepared for quite a significant increase in activity over a large variety of sectors.”

PHOTOGRAPH OF WINTHER BY ELIN VINJE JENSSEN; FRAM CENTER COURTESY OF RONALD JOHANSEN/ITROMSØ/FRAM CENTRE

» We need to be prepared for quite a significant increase in activity over a large variety of sectors. «

N O R WAY T O D AY

HighNorth.layout [P].indd 44

5/2/14 9:58 AM

Svalbard’s average summer temperature is about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Its winter average? 10 degrees.

DID YOU KNOW?

NORTH POLE 80°N

SVALBARD

MAP BY POLYGRAPH; RENDERING OF VAULT BY GLOBAL CROP DIVERSITY TRUST; PHOTOGRAPH OF VAULT BY HÅKON MOSVOLD LARSEN/NTB SCANPIX

NORWAY

ARCTIC CIRCLE

The seed vault costs $9 million.

The Svalbard vault can store up to 4.5-million seeds. In 2010, a delegation of US senators delivered seeds from some of North America’s hottest chili peppers.

SEEDS OF HOPE Just 800 miles from the North Pole, on the archipelago of Svalbard, the world’s only global seed vault stands guard against the unknowns of the future. The 750,000 seeds inside—from corns to malting barley to sorghum, among thousands of plants— represent a backstop against the world’s ongoing loss of biodiversity. If seed stocks disappear elsewhere, because of disease, disaster, or unrest, the Svalbard facility will be able to help farmers and planters rebuild. In addition to possessing the right climate for such a global treasure, Norway was chosen to house the vault in part because its international partners trusted its political and social stability. It doesn’t claim ownership of the seeds it contains, which remain the property of their depositing institutions. Paid for entirely by Norway’s government and designed to withstand missile and nuclear attacks and rising sea levels, the underground vault is carefully maintained at around 0 degrees Fahrenheit. New additions to the four-year-old vault are accepted just a few times a year; among the 25,000 seeds added in 2012 were thousands from Syria, which worried that its civil war might destroy its native stocks. While many countries, like Syria, have seed banks of their own, developing countries— which regularly face political instability or environmental challenges—have especially welcomed the Svalbard facility, built into the permafrost of the island of Spitsbergen. Ensuring that the genetic diversity of the world’s food crops is preserved is important to the reduction of hunger and poverty in developing countries.

N O R WAY T O D AY

HighNorth.layout [P].indd 45

5/2/14 9:58 AM

HIGH NORTH

Explorers Ellesmere IN THE SPRING OF 2013, TOBIAS THORLEIFSSON AND JOHN HUSTON RETRACED A JOURNEY ACROSS ELLESMERE ISLAND TAKEN 111 YEARS AGO BY NORWEGIAN EXPLORER OTTO SVERDRUP.

Tobias Thorleifsson, left, and his team spent 65 days trekking across Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JOHN HUSTON

THE PILE OF ROCKS WAS BARELY waist high, a mere bump on the vast Arctic landscape. But it was in the right place—just where Norwegian explorer Otto Sverdrup’s detailed description from 111 years earlier placed it. Rock piles of this nature, called cairns, were built by explorers in Sverdrup’s time as navigational markers and places to leave messages. Was this the one that Sverdrup built to mark the northernmost point reached on his second Fram Expedition early in the 20th century? A small international team thinks so. The group found Sverdrup’s “lost cairn” on May 12, 2013, day 43 of their 65-day trek across Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic that retraced his steps. Sverdrup is all but unknown today even in his homeland, overshadowed by compatriots Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen. But between 1898 and 1902, he led one of Norway’s greatest scientific endeavors, mapping more than 150,000 square kilometers (93,000 square miles) of the Canadian Arctic. “Sverdrup never knew how to sell himself or tell his story,” says Arctic adventurer and historian and Oslo resident Tobias Thorleifsson. “He was a modest man, a true Norwegian, which didn’t serve him well.” As a result, his cairn is sometimes credited to American Robert Peary, who left a note there in 1906, four years after Sverdrup’s exploration. Peary—best known for his 1909 race to the North Pole—was unhappy about the unassuming Norwegian’s exploration of North America, according to Thorleifsson. He once argued with Sverdrup over who had discovered the island next to Ellesmere, but experts sided with Sverdrup, who named the island Axel Heiberg. Now Thorleifsson, Sverdrup’s countryman, has joined forces with American John Huston to raise the profiles of both Sverdrup and Ellesmere Island and to advocate for climate-change education. The two led the more-than600-mile New Land 2013 expedition last year, which followed parts of Sverdrup’s 1901 and 1902 spring routes. Also on the team: Canadian adventurer Hugh DaleHarris, South African filmmaker Kyle O’Donoghue, who lives in Norway, and four Inuit dogs. Each human team member—on skis—worked in tandem with a dog to pull a sled, an activity known as skijoring. All the while, they filmed and blogged about their experience. “We’re traveling at the same pace with sled dogs through the same area Sverdrup traveled,” says Huston, a veteran of the first American unsupported expedition to the North Pole. “It really allows me to sympathize and to get on the skis and in the boots of people who are our heroes.” In 1898, Sverdrup and 15 others sailed off on the Fram,

N O R WAY T O D AY

HighNorth.layout [P].indd 46

5/2/14 9:58 AM

DID YOU KNOW?

The Arctic Circle is located exactly 66° 33’ N, which stands for north of the equator.

PHOTOGRAPH OF ARTIC COURTESY OF JOHN HUSTON; SVERDRUP COURTESY OF WIKICOMMONS

Each man on Thorleifsson’s team worked with an Inuit dog to pull his sled.

a three-masted schooner built for icy extremes. For four years, they were cut off from the rest of the world, living off the area’s abundant wildlife. The New Land 2013 team used a satellite phone to transmit stories and photos as they retraced Sverdrup’s steps, guided by his journal and subsequent book. They told about an unspoiled paradise—an island the size of Great Britain, corrugated by mountains, fjords, and bays and populated by wolves, polar bears, and other animals. They also found an environment changed in ominous ways. The Arctic is two degrees Celcius warmer today than it was when Sverdrup made his trip, and nearly 70 percent of the multi-year ice there has melted in the past three decades. Sverdrup traveled almost exclusively on layers of ice built up over several years; the 2013 team traveled mostly on first-year ice created following summers when much of the Arctic is now open water. In addition, Sverdrup could extend his sledding season until the end of June, but snow cover on land has decreased so substantially in the past few decades that the 2013 trip had to end the first week of June. Climate change is a major concern in Norway, says Thorleifsson, an educational consultant for the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment. So he is using the expedition to draw people into the science surrounding the issue. He visited 20 schools before the journey and again in the fall, and schools throughout the country were invited to follow the blog. Two one-hour programs also aired on Norwegian television in December. In addition to stunning scenery, the film that resulted from Thorleifsson’s journey is highlighted by the quest for Sverdrup’s cairn on the northern coast of Ellesmere. After its discovery, Huston transmitted an online dispatch, and the team celebrated with a bit of Scotch, Thorleifsson recalls. And finding the cairn wasn’t the only thing worth celebrating. “We can never prove that we found Otto Sverdrup’s cairn,” Thorleifsson says. “The great powers—Britain, the United States—were all doing expeditions in this region, but Sverdrup unlocked the key to the geographic discovery of it.”

» There was something in the congealed scenery around us so truly grand, so homogeneous, and the spring air brought with it such a feeling of promise that it made one’s heart warm within one. « OT TO SVERDRUP, Explorer

N O R WAY T O D AY

HighNorth.layout [P].indd 47

5/6/14 3:49 PM

V I S I T N O R WAY

Visit Fjordland

PHOTOGRAPH BY ZHUOKANG JIA/GETTY IMAGES

The fjords call visitors to explore their beautiful landscapes by car, on foot, or on showshoes or skis.

NORWEGIANS’ GENUINE LOVE for visitors shapes the art, architecture, food, wilderness, and adventurous attitude of their beautiful country. They’ve even built roads—1,150 miles of them called the Tourist Routes—that are specifically designed to show you some of the wildest and most beautiful areas in Norway. These 18 winding routes lead to secret chasms, remote waterfalls, precipitous bridges, vertical drops into opalescent fjords, old museums, mythical troll paths, and hidden hiking trails you’d never find on your own. For example, the Trollstigen road (the Troll’s Ladder), open since 1936 and steeped in history, climbs through the lush, green valleys and ancient, silent waters of fjord country. It makes 11 hairpin turns and includes viewing platforms that allow you to walk out onto the cliff sides and look down at curling paths and the majestic Stigfossen waterfall. The road follows stunning Geirangerfjord, which appeared on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2005. All 18 of Norway’s magnificent Tourist Routes were designed by people whose love of nature takes root in their bones. But visiting Norway is about far more than driving. Many of these roads take you through Fjord Norway. The breathtaking scenery, as varied as the roads themselves, calls out to you to go further and pursue your own adventure. Winter in Norway is perfect for thrillseekers. It’s a time for slicing down pristine mountains on skis in the northern twilight, hiking through brisk air to granite platforms that jut out over the fjords, trying a hand at ice-fishing, or strapping on a pair of snowshoes. And afterwards, visitors follow the roads back to snug hamlets and curl up with glasses of mulled wine by the fire. Norway is inviting you over, and you’ll feel welcome on every road and path and with every breath of the clean, wintry Northern air. Fjord Norway—you have to be here to believe it!

N O R WAY T O D AY

HighNorth.layout [P].indd 48

5/2/14 9:58 AM

HIGHWAY IN NORWEGIAN

NOW ON BLU-RAY™ AND DIGITAL HD

Nonstop to Norway New York JFK - Oslo

from / one way

206

incl. taxes

* Fares are based on one way incl. taxes and charges. Restrictions and baggage fees may apply. Subject to availability. Travel period: January 2015.

DISNEY’S FROZEN - INSPIRED BY NORWAY The nature and culture of Norway inspired the setting for Disney’s magical adventure Frozen, complete with ice, snow, castles, mountains and fjords. Explore Norway and you’ll return to nature with breathtaking scenery and the freshest of mountain air. In this dramatic and unspoiled playground, you’ll find lots of exciting activities. Be amazed at the wonderful places to stay, historic cities, vibrant culture, and excellent cuisine. Norway is a unique adventure, an experience that will stay with you forever. For more information visit www.visitnorway.com/frozen

@VisitNorwayUSA Photos: Steve Røyset, Bjørn Eirik Østbakken/visitnorway.com, Bergen Tourist Board / Robin Strand - visitBergen.com

VIEW OF THE REINE FISHING VILLAGE, LOFOTEN ISLANDS, NORWAY Photograph by Johan Berge/Visitnorway.com