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We now do video conferences !
The UHI video link and Lesley It's official – with the help and assistance of Elaine Morrison of the UHI last week's 'Great Green Danes' was beamed around the UHI network from Edinburgh. Well done! The notes, photos, powerpoint presentation and over 2 hours of audio from the meeting are also now available here.
Venue details for ‘Iceland Strikes Back’ meeting announced
Details of the venue location at Edinburgh University have been finalised. An additional speaker Sigrun Davidsdottir has been confirmed and all up to date details are available here.
Events 2013
More events are on their way – in the meanwhile – join the Nordic Horizons Facebook group or follow us on Twitter @nordichorizons .
Nordic Welfare – a DIY Guide
Professor Jon Kvist, Centre for Welfare State Research, University of Southern Denmark Wednesday 28th November 2012 Venue: Old College – Lecture Theatre 175 (far right corner of old quad opp Blackwells on South Bridge) Edinburgh University Time: 18:00 – 20:00 “From the land of Lego and fairytales we bring you the building blocks to create your own welfare systems. What is it about the Nordic welfare model that makes it stand apart and achieve both economic and social goals?” Prof Jon Kvist has not only posed the question – he will try to answer it at a time when Scotland is considering constitutional change which might bring a Scottish welfare system closer. Jon will give a run-down of the social investment policies in the Nord...Read More
The Rest & Be Thankful – Nordic Solution
The Rest & Be Thankful road is closed for the 5th time in 5 yrs. I reckon about 40k people in Argyll and Bute are facing a detour of 100 mile plus. In peak tourist season vital business may just go elsewhere – and it isn’t even winter yet!! But in this morning's Radio Scotland interview the local councillor didn’t even utter the T-word — tunnel. Maybe that’s because government ministers have made it clear that option is too expensive. Even though in Norway it's the automatic thought for communities a fraction of the size cut off annually in Scotland. I wonder how long people in Lochcarron near Kyle will have to ship their kids by boat across the loch to school before the rail and road link is permanently fixed there. Their website suggests the “ad hoc” arrangements have a...Read More
Building Cabins and Building Character: A Knowledge Exchange event at the Scottish Parliament
Over seventy people crammed into Committee Room One of the Scottish Parliament last Friday to listen to two experts in different elements of the Norwegian outdoor experience talk about their own approaches to it and what this could entail for Scotland. Delegates from the 2012 Nordic Research Network conference, hosted by the Scandinavian Studies section at the University of Edinburgh, and members of the public heard from literary scholar Dr Ellen Rees and outdoor educationalist Dr Ralf Westphal about different aspects of Norway’s famous tradition of friluftsliv (outdoor life). To continue reading – click here.
Size Matters by Lesley Riddoch and Paddy Bort
"The process of centralisation of governance has gone further in Scotland than in other countries. Highland Council, to take the most striking example, covers an area the size of Belgium with a population the size of Belfast. Councillors need to drive hundreds of thousands of miles a year to connect with fellow councillors and citizens in their council area. Despite such herculean efforts, many remote communities feel neglected and disenfranchised. That is “damaging democracy and economic development in Scotland,” writes Rob Gibson MSP in the introduction to ‘Small Works’. This consultation document proposes a major shake-up of the Highland Council, and Gibson has made the task his “personal priority” for this parliamentary session. “We have a situation in my constituency, where counc...Read More
STOP PRESS – 31 tickets left
The North Sea oil spill has made our High North debate horribly topical all of a sudden. So has the news that Statoil’s latest North Sea oil discovery (in Aldous Major South) is the biggest in 20 years. So is the Far North safe in Nordic hands? Do the Norwegians have systems ready to close down leaks more quickly than the British sector and less secretive oil companies – if not can they honestly say Arctic drilling is safe or ethical? Rune Rafaelsen of the Barents Secretariat says “All industrial activities have a risk for accidents. For the people in the North it is a challenge to minimize the risks. But the answer for the people of the High North must be economic development.” Anna Kireeva of Bellona says “Such spills can happen anywhere, and Norway is not an exception — no oil com...Read More
Is the far north safe in Nordic hands? – More details
Is the far north safe in Nordic hands? 13:30 – 14:30, Committee Room 1, FREE. The Arctic region contains a high proportion of the world’s fish stocks, includes important breeding grounds and has huge untapped supplies of oil and gas. The Norwegian government is pledged to exploit natural resources without harming this precious environment. On the 150th anniversary of the birth of explorer Fridtjof Nansen, the Chief Secretary of the Barents Secretariat, Rune Rafaelsen will outline Norway’s ambitious plans for human, natural and safe energy development in the High North, challenged by Anna Kireeva from the environmental group Bellona. The debate will be chaired by Lesley Riddoch, — co-Director of Nordic Horizons. Tickets are free but must be booked. Bookings open in “early July” ...Read More