Tentative Program for The FK South-South Forum

Geiranger 9-11 September

Saturday 9 September

 

0600	Breakfast and check-out
0700	Departure of hired buses outside the hotel
0745	Arrival Oslo Airport Gardermoen (OSL)
	FK Staff will guide participants through check-in
0920	Departure SK 4446 for Ålesund airport (AES)
	Note: Only complimentary coffee/tea served on the plane
1015	Arrival Ålesund airport
1045	Buses depart for Ålesund City, the Aksla Mountain and Fjellstua viewpoint
1115	Light refreshments at the Fjellstua restaurant
	Welcome to the FK South-South Forum 2006, by Helge Espe, Deputy Director General in FK
	Practical information, by Jorunn Stokkeand Ine B. Dalseg
	Welcome to Ålesund city, by Mayor
	Introduction to historic city walk, by Ålesund Promotion
	Click here for more information about Ålesund
1200	Ålesund guided city walk in groups of 25, organized by Ålesund Promotion
	The walk will be easy and include a stop at either the Ålesund Museium og The Art Noveau Center of Norway. Optional bus guided tour.
	Luggage shall be left in the bus, which will bring it to the harbour.
1330	Departure of ship MS Fjord Ålesund from Ålesund harbour
	Lunch aboard the ship
	We stay inside the archipelago-waters will be easy –no risk of seasickness!
	Guiding provided by local historian Mr. Arild Flydal during voyage, on the history, economic and social development of the Norwegian fjord communities
1600	Arrival Geiranger harbour. Transfer to the Union Hotel, and check-in
	Click here for information about Geiranger
	Click here for information about the Union Hotel
1700	Conference Hall
	Coffee, tea, ice water
	Welcome to Geiranger and the Union hotel, by Sindre Mjelva
	Welcome address by Chairperson of the Board, Mr. Per Kristian Lunden
	Introduction to the south/south forum 2006, By Helge Espe
1730	Furniture, strawberries and tourism - Opportunities and Challenges in a small fjord community
	by Mr. Arne Sandnes, Mayor of Norddal Municipality/Member of the FK Board. Hereunder: -World Heritage site and the threat of trees and bushes -Seasonal labour and its effects on the municipal economy -Youth and the future (interview with young Marita from a sheep farm) -The threat of a Tafjord tsunami
1830	Closure of afternoon’s session
	Optional display of veteran cars
2000	Buffet dinner
2200	Night club with bar and dance orchestra (optional)

 

 

Sunday 10 September

 

0830	Development of economic and social standards in Norway By hirstorian, Andreas Aase
1000	Coffee, tea, ice water, cake
1030	Development of women’s access to power in Norway
	Contributor to be confirmed
1200	Buffet lunch
1300	Community visits in groups with guides, including:
	- A summer farm, with local serving at the farm - The Fjord Center - The Hydro-electric power station - The Church
1430	How can we recruit a larger proportion of women to our south/south programs?
	What are the bottlenecks to be resolved?
	By Fikre and Sacha, FK Regional Directors, and their teams
1600	Coffee, tea, ice water
1630	Exchange of personnel: Well paid tourism or real benefit for the organizations?
	Sharing of experiences
	By Fikre and Sacha, Regional Directors, their teams, and selected partners
1800	Closing
	Community visits in groups with guides:
2000	Buffet dinner
2200	Night club with bar and dance orchestra (optional)

 

Monday 11 September

 

0745	Buses depart from Geiranger
1200	Lunch stop at Rondane Spa
1600	Arrival Oslo Airport Gardermoen (OSL)

 

Goodbye and thanks to all

 

 

Some notes of good advice:

 

Luggage must at all times be carried by the travelers themselves in and out of hotels, trains, ships and buses. Porter services are virtually non-existent in Norway.
– it is therefore highly advisable to travel light and to have a suitcase with wheels.

 

The south/south forum will include some outdoor activities. It is recommendable that participants bring shoes suitable for some walking, and carry along a warm sweater as well as a wind/rainbreaker, and a cap. The weather on the west coast is always unpredictable.

 

Norway is generally considered an expensive country by many visitors. Fredskorpset covers all travel, food, lodging and sightseeing expenses during the trip up till the participants’ arrival at Oslo Airport on Monday afternoon 11th  September. However, incidential expenses such as f. ex. drinks in the hotel night club have to be covered by the participants themselves. There will also be only moderate FK provision of alcoholic drinks during the dinners, and none during the lunches.

 

Participants should change money or draw the Norwegian cash they need at an ATM (“Minibank”) before departure for Ålesund. Note that foreign notes and coins including $ and Euro generally are not accepted at points of purchase. VISA cards, however, are accepted almost everywhere.

 

Smoking is not permitted in Norway inside any building which has public access. This includes all public and private offices, hotels, restaurants and bars, shops and shopping centers, airports and stations etc. as well as planes, trains and buses. Smokers have to go outside the entrance doors of these buildings.

 

Keeping time is important in Norway. Trains, planes, buses and ships are expected to run on the advertised minute, and they do not wait for latecomers. In general, meetings also start within a couple of minutes of the advertised time. During the south/south forum we have an extensive programme, and we will start all events according to schedule. It is of course particularly important for participants to catch the early morning bus from the hotel to the airport at 0700 on Saturday, September 9th. Also beware that the 24 hour time notation system applies. Example: 5.30 PM is given as 17.30. The common date notation is dd/mm-yyyy.

 

Dressing style in Norway is generally informal/casual at almost all times if not specifically stated otherwise in f.ex. a formal invitation.

 

The social norms in Norway are also informal at almost all times. In general, people are called by their first name only, regardless of any formal rank or social position. Addresses such as occupational or educational titles, or Sir/Madam, are not used. Even Mr. and Mrs./Ms. went out of use many decades ago, as did the polite forms of the pronouns. A south participant commented recently on a homecoming seminar after one year here: “In Norway you never know who is the boss”.

 

The general food/meal habits in Norway are different from most other countries. Both breakfast and lunch are usually short breaks with cold sandwiches only, while the day’s longer, hot meal (the dinner, usually eaten at 5-6 PM), is accompanied by potatoes rather than rice.

However: In the Union Hotel, there will be a wide choice of both hot and cold dishes at all meal times. While the boat lunch pack will be simple and sandwich-based for practical reasons, there will be a choice of two hot dishes for lunch at Rondane spa. There will be a vegetarian alternative for all meals, and rice will be available except at the boat lunch. Particular Norwegian specialties which may be sampled by the participants include smoked salmon and other fish varieties, as well as the brown goat cheese.

 

Be sure to book your ticket to Norway to and from Oslo Airport Gardermoen (OSL), not Oslo Airport Torp (TRF).

 

The arrival at Oslo Airport Gardermoen on Monday afternoon 11th September is scheduled so as to be convenient for departures to the big European transfer airports such as London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris etc. Participants hence should be able to connect directly to a night flight home. Participants who wish to stay on in Norway have to do so at their own expense, and cannot count on assistance from Fredskorpset to make arrangements.