Norway and The American-Scandinavian Foundation
Internet Resources
- Norway Online Information Service (N.O.I.S.) - Royal Norwegian Embassy, Washington, D.C. and Norwegian Consulate General, New York
- The Nordic Pages on Norway
Norway has been an active and integral part of The American-Scandinavian Foundation since the organization was established in 1910. H.M. King Harald V has graciously served the Foundation's Patron from Norway since 1991.
ASF's sister organization in Norway is The Norway-America Association (Norge-Amerika Foreningen).
Exchange Activities
Over the years, more than 27,000 young Americans and Scandinavians have participated in ASF's exchange programs of study, research and practical training. Collaborating in this effort in Norway is The Norway-America Association.
Fellowships
For the 2007-2008 academic year, the ASF granted a total of $203,000 in funding to 13 Norwegians for study and research in the United States. The ASF awarded $49,000 to six Americans for study in Norway during the 2007-2008 academic year. The ASF has awarded more than $1 million in support of students and scholars from Norway since 1993.
Training
Each year students and young professionals come from Norway to receive practical on-the-job experience in the United States, in fields such as law, shipping, and media design.
Lectureships
The ASF provides annual funding for a U.S. college or university to host a visiting lecturer from Norway for one semester. Recent and current visiting lecturers from Norway are:
- Dr. Ingeborg Kongslien (University of Oslo), to be hosted by the Department of Scandinavian Studies at University of Wisconsin at Madison
- Dr. Jozef Pacyna (Norwegian Institute for Air Research) to be hosted by the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University
- Dr. Daniel Heradstveit (Norwegian Institute of International Affairs), hosted by Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
- Professor Noralv Veggeland (Department of Social Sciences at Lillehammer University), hosted by the Center for Public Policy and Administration at the University of Massachusetts.
Scandinavian Review
The Foundation's journal presents articles in English on contemporary Scandinavian culture and society. Recent articles related to Norway include:
- Ibsen’s Legacy: Making the Theater Matter
- Ibsen on Film
- Terje Vigen: An Idealist Triumph
- Remembering Tore Gjelsvik
- My Norwegian Uncle
- An Ibsen Chronology
- Challenges and Prospects in the Arctic
Public Projects
The ASF also brings cultural programs to an audience beyond Scandinavia House through funding for public projects throughout the U.S. and Scandinavia. Recent programs supported by the ASF include:
- Multi-media exhibition (visual art, sound, dance) White Noise, which involves the collaboration of Norwegian artists Lise Bjørne, Janine Magelssen, Øyvind Jørgensen and Nils Olav Bøe at Art League Houston, Houston, TX.
New York City concert tour by the Bergen Youth Chamber Orchestra featuring the work of Edvard Grieg, to mark the centenary of his death. - Production of Henrik Ibsen’s Wild Duck, produced by the Nationaltheatret and directed by Eirik Stubø at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, NY
- Performance of Norwegian musicians, the Sinikka Langeland Quartet, at the Nordic Roots Festival in Minneapolis, MN
- Exhibition and workshops by Norwegian artist Käthe Øien, in conjunction with the annual Ibsen Fest in Lanesboro, MN
Programs at Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America
Current and recent programs at Scandinavia House related to Norway include:
- A celebration of the works of Edvard Grieg with Grieg and the Romantics: Keyboard Conversations with Pianist Jeffrey Siegel and Ole Böhn: Grieg’s Violin Sonatas, as well as a theater performance by Rolf Stang “My Name is Grieg, Edvard Grieg.”
- A lecture series on Henrik Ibsen and Ibsen on Film, a film series including films such as The Lion, The Wild Duck and An Enemy of the People.
- Sinikka Langeland Trio, vocalist performs improv-oriented jazz renderings of poems by Hans Børli.
- New films from Norway are regularly shown as part of the ASF film program. Recent Norwegian screenings include: Comrade Pedersen, Love Me Tomorrow and Izzat.
Cultural Awards
The ASF’s Cultural Award is presented to individuals whose achievements have significantly furthered understanding between the United States and the Scandinavian countries. Norwegian recipients include Thor Heyerdahl, explorer; Gerhard Heiberg, President of the Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee; Liv Ullmann, actress and director; and Gunnar Sønsteby, WWII resistance hero.
Translation Prize
ASF awards an annual prize for the finest English translation of prose or poetry by a Nordic author born after 1800. Winners for translations from Norwegian include:
- William Halverson for excerpts from The New Water by Roy Jacobsen.
- Frankie Shackelford for an excerpt from The Ferry Crossing by Edvard Hoem.
- Roger Greenwald for poetry by Tarjei Vesaas.
- Kirsten Seaver for an excerpt from Love's Comedy, a play by Henrik Ibsen.