The Icelandic Canadian - 01.10.2002, Page 8

50
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 57 #2
to enable them to tour Canada.
The story continues to unfold. Doug
Rognvaldson from Edmonton will be visit-
ing Iceland in October to acquaint
Icelanders with his family's way of making
spinning wheels; and he is to be followed in
March next year by aboriginal story teller
Ruth Christie, a descendent of John
Ramsay, a friend of the early settlers to
Canada. In the fall of 2003, the multi-tal-
ented Martha Brooks will be in Iceland
performing jazz vocals with her trio as well
as reading from books she has written for
teen-agers.
A by-product of these initiatives was
the belief that the talent emerging within
Canada should be given the opportunity to
display their wares to all of us here at
home. So, we now have the North
American Youth Exchange program about
to take hold, under the capable hands of
INL Cultural and Youth Director Leslie
Bardal. The first participant, Ross Snashall,
a visual artist from Calgary will be touring
in the summer of 2003.
All of these gestures to promote
Icelandic culture within Canada and the
U.S and to promote Icelandic-Canadian
culture to Iceland come at a price. In order
to place the program on a firm footing, the
Cultural Exchange fund was set up under
the umbrella of the Canada Iceland
Foundation so that it can make grants to
artists for this important work. Donations
from individuals, groups and corporations
have been and are still much sought after
and are publicly recognized. There is also
the added incentive for donors in qualify-
i Harvard, MP
vood St. James-Assiniboia
Chair, Northern &
Western Caucus
3050 Portage Ave.
/innipeg, MB R3K 0Y1
Ph: (204) 983-4501
Fax: (204) 983-4728
vww.johnharvard.com
Room 774 Confederation Bldg. • Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Ph: (613) 995-5609 • Fax: (613) 992-3199
harvaj@parl.gc.ca
ing for a credit for taxation purposes.
All of us within the Canadian Icelandic
community have been fortunate to receive
the moral and financial support of many
donors here and in Iceland. Icelandair has
been a good friend from the beginning.
Others who have generously contributed
have included the Iceland Ministry for
Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of
Education, Science and Culture, the
Canada Iceland Foundation, the Canada
Council for the Arts, the Canadian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Leica
Cameras, and individual INL chapters. The
continuing success of these exchange pro-
grams does, however, depend in great part
on support from individuals and local com-
munity groups. Without a continuing
financial commitment from everyone, pro-
grams for the future will not be assured of
success. Your support is necessary because
Icelandic-Canadians have such a strong
heritage to admire and protect. Our place
within Canada and the U.S is unique.
When viewed on a numerical scale, our
numbers may be seen as small but, when
we are seen, and see ourselves from the per-
spective of our cultural significance, we are
large on the map of North America.
If you would like to support the pro-
gram, please contact Gail Einarson-
McCleery, Director, International Visits
Program, 84 Morningside Avenue,
Toronto, Ontario M6S 1C9, icegem@com-
puserve.com 416 762-8627 or make out a
cheque to Canada Iceland Foundation Inc.
marked “Re Cultural Exchange Fund” and
forward to Iris S. Torfason, 617
Shawinigan Dr. S.W. Calgary, Alberta T2Y
2Y6.