Arneshreppur gives Icelandic a chance

The community center in Trékyllisvík in Árneshreppur in the Strandir region was lively during the weekend when the „Give Icelandic a Chance“ campaign was presented. According to Ólafur Guðsteinn Kristjánsson, coordinator of Icelandic studies at the University Centre of the Westfjords, the goal of the campaign is to raise awareness about the process of learning Icelandic and how we as a society can contribute to people's progress in Icelandic by giving learners the opportunity to use the language on as many occasions as possible. The aim of the campaign is to promote increased opportunities for people to use Icelandic in the widest and most diverse way possible, so that those who learn the subject, no matter where they are, receive the support and understanding of those who are native speakers. The campaign is supported by the University Centre of the Westfjords, the Center for Lifelong learning and the municipality of Ísafjörður.

The presentation was from 13:00-15:30 and started with an introduction of the University Centre of the Westfjords . Then the campaign "Give Icelandic a Chance" was presented, where videos were shown, badges were distributed and t-shirts with the inscription "I speak Icelandic" were sold. After that, the diploma program “Icelandic for practical purposes” taught at the University of Iceland was presented.

Sædís María Jónatansdóttir, a member of "Give Icelandic a Chance" and staff at the Center for Lifelong learning in the Westfjords, presented the Center’s courses and specifically discussed distance learning with an emphasis on Icelandic courses.

Attendance at the community center was good and there was great interest in what was presented. The event will hopefully lead to a contact in this area of the Westfjords who would like to help organize future "Give Icelandic a Chance" events there.