Celebrating Nordic Day
The Nordic flags will once again be fluttering outside the Storting this year. Thursday 23rd March is Nordic Day, when Nordic collaboration and the Helsinki Treaty – signed in 1962, and often described as the constitution of the Nordic region – are marked and celebrated.
The Nordic flags at Løvebakken. Photo: Morten Brakestad/Storting.
The birth of Nordic cooperation dates back to the years immediately following World War Two. It was hoped that, as a group, the Nordic countries would be able to foster security and preserve peace and democracy. As the years have gone by, this collaboration has grown so that it now covers a wide range of political fields. Today’s vision is for the Nordic area to be the most sustainable and integrated region in the world by 2030.
This year, it is Norway’s turn to hold the Presidency of the Nordic Council. The Council’s 75th session will be hosted by the Storting in the autumn.
Nordic Day is being marked in many ways throughout the region. The Storting is involved in several of these:
Breakfast meeting: “With war on our doorstep, where do the Nordics go?”
The Storting is one of the organizers of a breakfast meeting on the topic of Swedish and Finnish NATO membership and Nordic cooperation. Among those taking part are Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt; Jorodd Asphjell (Labour Party), the current President of the Nordic Council; and Hårek Elvenes (Conservative Party), a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee.
Meeting of the Nordic parliamentary presidents
President of the Storting Masud Gharahkhani has invited the other Nordic parliamentary presidents to take part in a digital meeting to mark the day. Among the items on the agenda will be Nordic support for Ukraine.
Chatting to Nordic school classes
Several of the Nordic Council’s members will meet and chat to pupils from different Nordic upper secondary schools. The conversation is a means of testing how well those taking part understand each other’s languages, while also giving everyone the chance to discuss issues that are close to the heart of Nordic young people. The organizer of the event is Foreningen Norden, an NGO for the promotion of Nordic cooperation.