Teachers of Icelandic at universities abroad gathered in Reykjavik from June 11 – 14 for their annual meeting.

Issues concerning the teaching of Icelandic to foreign university students and teaching materials that promote the use of Icelandic in academic studies, translation, and research were discussed. In particular, the role of Icelandic teachers at universities abroad in training new translators and scholars was highlighted, the importance of these students as representatives of Icelandic language and culture in diverse contexts in the future.

Every three years, the meeting takes place in Reykjavik. This is to give teachers the opportunity to reconnect with the Icelandic language and culture and to visit institutions and museums that promote Icelandic history, art, culture, and education.

The programme

The meeting’s programme was varied. The Director General of the Ministry of Culture, Innovation and Higher Education opened the meeting. Guests from Canada were invited to give a presentation to mark the 150th anniversary of ‘New Iceland’ as well as to present the long tradition of teaching Icelandic at the University of Manitoba, and the ambassador of Canada to Iceland gave a speech on the importance of cultural ties between the two countries. The Icelandic teacher in Taiwan was also invited to participate online and introduce the Icelandic courses offered by the local university.

Afterwards, the Icelandic teachers gave presentations on the state of teaching in their respective countries. A symposium on teaching Icelandic abroad was organised as part of the meeting, where new books were introduced along with a new project on an Icelandic–Czech online dictionary.

Visit to Bessastaðir

The group of teachers was invited to visit the President of Iceland at Bessastaðir, where they thanked the President for supporting the Icelandic language worldwide. Currently, the Icelandic authorities support the teaching of Modern Icelandic at seventeen universities in Europe, North America and Asia.

The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies oversees the teaching on behalf of the Icelandic government.