The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.2000, Blaðsíða 2

Many members of the Icelandic community were present at the offi-
cial launch of the V.I.P. (Valuing the Icelandic Presence) Millennium
Campaign on February 25, 2000, at the University of Manitoba. On this
auspicious occasion, Bjorn Bjarnason, the Minister of Education, Culture
and Science of the Government of Iceland, and Horour Sigurgestsson,
the Chief Executive Officer of the Eimskip Shipping Lines, presented the
first installment of an unprecedented $1,000,000 pledge to the cam-
paign. Receiving the pledge were Emoke Szathmary, president of the
University of Manitoba, and T. Kenneth Thorlakson, campaign chair.
The "Icelandic Presence" at the University of Manitoba comprises
one of the finest Icelandic library collections in North America, as well as
a Chair and Department in Icelandic Language and Literature devoted
to excellence in scholarship. This “presence” is in a unique position of
combining academic and community interests in the field of Icelandic
studies. Funds raised by the V.I.P. Millennium campaign will renovate
and modernize the Libraries' Icelandic collection area to provide an
appropriate environment for rare texts in the collection and for reading
and study rooms. They will also go towards an endowment to enhance
the collection and an endowment for the professorship in Modern
Icelandic and Icelandic-Canadian studies.
For over six decades, the Icelandic communities in North America
and Iceland have demonstrated a strong commitment to the preserva-
tion of their language and rich literary heritage through their generous
support of the Department of Icelandic Language and Literature and
the Libraries’ Icelandic collection at the University of Manitoba. Financial
contributions are needed to continue and enhance these world class
resources. Every gift is important in making the campaign vision a reality.
Please send your gift today to the address indicated below. Cheques
should be made payable to the University of Manitoba; credit card
donations are also accepted. Your contribution will be acknowledged
with a receipt for income tax purposes.
For more information about the V.I.P. Millennium Campaign or about
other gift arrangements, please contact: Sandra Stewart, Campaign
contact, c/o 170 Continuing Education Complex, The University of
Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2.
Telephone: (204) 474-6367 Fax: (204) 474-7583
Toll Free: 1-800-330-8066
E-mail: Sandra_Stewart@urmanitoba.ca