In 1925 a historical encounter between Greenlanders and Icelanders took place, when around 90 Greenlanders visited the Icelandic Westfjords and stayed for a few days on their way to the settlement Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresbysund) in north-eastern Greenland. This year the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute is showing an exhibition with photographs from the encounter and on May 10th an open seminar will be held in Veröld Vigdísar (Reykjavík) with speakers from Iceland, Denmark and Greenland, who address different aspects linked to the encounter, its links with Danish colonialism and the memories of it.
Today the relationship between the West Nordic neighbors Iceland and Greenland is high on the agenda in both countries and the diplomatic, cultural and political ties are getting stronger than ever. This is, however, a very recent development and many Icelanders and Greenlanders have begun ask themselves why such close neighbors know so relatively little about each other and have had limited contact. Speakers from Iceland, Greenland and Denmark are getting together in Reykjavík in May to shed light on the three countries’ shared history and the memories and future perspectives that help us understand aspects of the nature of the neighborship. The speakers will also discuss political and cultural dimensions in today’s relations between Greenland and Iceland and between Greenland and Denmark – and especially how cultural differences and the political history affect the lives of citizens who participate in cross-cultural entrepreneurship and collaborations.
All are welcome and admission is free.
Ann-Sofie Gremaud 