The Royal Correspondent

On December 13, 2011, H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway was in Tromsø (known as the gateway to the Arctic Ocean) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, arrival to the South Pole.  Per the official website for the royal house of Norway, Kongehuset:

Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen were prominent public figures who contributed to building Norway’s national self-esteem and brought the country international recognition in the period after the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden. In his remarks at the Stortorget market square, Crown Prince Haakon emphasised the importance of the role they played:

‘Amundsen and Nansen were the true heroes of a free Norway in the years after it gained its independence in 1905. Amundsen’s achievements helped to form our national identity and to carve out Norway’s position as a polar nation. We have good reason to celebrate today.’

The centennial celebration in Tromsø featured a tightly packed program, with Crown Prince Haakon attending a number of events. First the Crown Prince visited Gyllenborg school, where he viewed a display of the schoolchildren’s works on polar history. Many schools have conducted polar history projects this year, a selection of which will be exhibited at Tromsø City Hall.

Polar history

A photography exhibition depicting Tromsø as the Arctic capital and the point of departure for expeditions and other polar activities had been set up in Erling Bangsunds Square. There the Crown Prince viewed photographs illustrating segments of Arctic Ocean history that have been little known until now.

The Crown Prince also attended author Tor Bomann-Larsen’s informal lecture on Roald Amundsen and his achievements.

Helmer Hanssen was one of the four men who accompanied Amundsen to the South Pole point. Hanssen, who lived most of his adult life in Tromsø, was honoured with a monument that was unveiled outside Polaria, an Arctic-themed attraction centre housed at the Fram Centre. The work of sculptor Per Ung, the monument depicts Hanssen and his dogsled in bronze.

The polar parade departed from Polaria at 6:15 pm and arrived at Stortorget market square for the celebration’s main event.

Via satellite from the South Pole

A crowd was gathered at Stortorget, where the Crown Prince gave his speech before contact was made with the South Pole.

With the help of satellite transmission, the audience was able to see and hear Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Director of the Norwegian Polar Institute Jan-Gunnar Winther send their greetings and congratulations to Norway directly from the South Pole.

Winther is a participant of the Norwegian Polar Institute’s Centenary Expedition “South Pole 1911-2011”, which has followed Amundsen’s route to the South Pole point. The South Pole is in the same time zone as New Zealand so the centennial anniversary was commemorated earlier than in Norway, with the unveiling of a bust of Roald Amundsen carved in ice, among other things.

To watch a video please click here. 

To learn more about Roald Amundsen click here.

Source and photo courtesy of: Kongehuset

On December 13, 2011, His Majesty King Harald and H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway were at the Oslo Cathedral where they participated in the Royal Guard’s Church Parade.  Upon their arrival the royal duo were greeted by Dean Olav Dag Hauge, Lieutenant Colonel Andreas Søbstad and  Maj. Kenneth Henriksen.

Source and photo courtesy of Kongehuset.no

Recently, H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway ended his four-day visit to Nepal where he meet the United Nations Development Program staff and the President of Nepal,His Excellency Dr Ram Baran Yadav.  The heir to the Norwegian throne is the United Nations Development Program’s Goodwill Ambassador… in case you were wondering.  Per the official website for the royal house of Norway:

The day’s program began in the early morning when the Crown Prince and the Administrator of UNDP, Ms Helen Clark, were given an introduction to activities to improve Nepal’s preparedness for dealing with natural disasters.

Enhanced preparedness against earthquakes

Nepal is among the countries in the world most susceptible to natural disasters. Many lives are lost to floods, earthquakes and extreme weather each year, and the situation is being exacerbated by climate change. The country sits on a fault line between the Asian and Indian continental plates, making it extremely prone to earthquakes.

A major earthquake in the vicinity of the capital of Kathmandu could cost the lives of up to 100 000 people and reduce a substantial portion of the city’s buildings to rubble. Action is being taken to reduce the city’s vulnerability by enhancing contingency measures, raising awareness and introducing more stringent building regulations. UNDP is assisting the Nepalese authorities in these efforts.

Crown Prince Haakon and Ms Clark were accompanied on a guided “earthquake vulnerability walk” through the old city of Kathmandu. The situation in this densely populated area is representative of the problems that could arise throughout the city if disaster were to strike.

Meeting with the President

Later Crown Prince Haakon and Ms Clark met with the President of Nepal, His Excellency Dr Ram Baran Yadav. The Crown Prince took the opportunity to congratulate the President on Nepal’s excellent progress towards meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals. A physician by profession and the former Minister of Health, President Yadav has actively supported the endeavours to achieve these goals.

Meeting with local UNDP staff

Crown Prince Haakon concluded his visit to Nepal with a meeting with local UNDP staff. In his remarks, the Crown Prince thanked them for their extensive efforts and praised them for their achievements. He also praised the constructive dialogue and cooperation with the Nepalese authorities.

Source: Kongehuset

H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway is currently in Kathmandu, Nepal along with United Nations Development Program member Helen Clark.

On November 22, 2011, the heir to the Norwegian throne, who is a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador, spoke with students from the Bheri Technical School as well as at the University of Kathmandu.  Per the official site for the royal house of Norway, Kongehuset:

In 1996 broke out civil war in Nepal. Nepal’s communist party fought against government forces until the ceasefire was signed in 2006. Important factors in the reconstruction work is now underway, is working on a new constitution and re-integration of former soldiers.

Return to community

At the Bheri Technical School received former soldiers who were very young when the fighting, vocational training. Crown Prince Haakon and UNDP head Helen Clark was among other things, meet a group of young adults who have received education and training through the school, and today runs his own business. Two had their own beauty salon, a driver store, while the other four runs workshops respectively bicycles, motorcycles and mobile phones.

The Crown Prince and UNDP manager learned more about how they felt about their situation and the training they had received, and how they saw the future in a peaceful civil society.

Spoke about the Millennium Development Goals

After meeting with the former soldiers, the Crown Prince went to the University of Kathmandu, where he held talks on the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Millennium Development Goal No. 1 – is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Objective sets a number of objective, namely that you should have the proportion of people living on less than one dollar a day, from 1990 to 2015.

The eight MDGs are:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Ensuring primary education for all
3. Empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Reduce maternal mortality
6. Stopping the spread of HIV / AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

Crown Prince Haakon gave the approximately 240 students in the audience an introduction to the world in general and Nepal in particular, stands in relation to meeting targets by 2015. There is a need for increased and prolonged efforts at several points, but Nepal seems to reach more of the goals: Infant mortality rates are already significantly reduced, and fewer women die in childbirth. The work of primary education for all is also making good progress. The greatest uncertainty is related to goal number seven on a development that is sustainable for the environment.

When it comes to the overall goal of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, Nepal has reduced the proportion of the population living below the poverty line from 42% to 25% between 1995 and 2010.

Reception

A reception organized by UNDP locally closed the day’s program. Here the Crown Prince the opportunity to meet many of UNDP’s partners in Nepal. The Crown Prince gave a short speech in which he lifted up the good examples of concrete results, he has been watching during the last few days visit. source

To learn more about the United Nations Development Program please visit their official website here. 

Source: Kongehuset.no

H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal on November 21, 2011 to begin his four-day official visit to the Himalayan country.  As the United Nations Development Program’s Goodwill Ambassador, the crown prince, along with the Administrator of the United Nations Development Program and Chair of the UN Development Group, Helen Clark, and a large delegation, will visit Nepalgunj to inspect UNDP-supported governance and livelihoods programs as well as:

…meet with officials from the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) to discuss about private sector development.

 Crown Prince Haakon is expected to meet members of the CA´s Indigenous Peoples´ Caucus, and the Blue Diamond Society and will address students at Kathmandu University.

The delegation is expected to underline UNDP´s commitment to Nepal and the organization´s support to the country during the current post-conflict transition period. source

To view photos please click here. 

Photo courtesy of: Yahoo News/Reuters

On November 14, 2011, H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway was at the Nobel Peace Center to attend the presentation of the “Role Model of the Year” award.

Per the official site for the royal house of Norway:

Miss Cecilia Dinardi received the ‘Role Model of the Year’ award for her work and strong commitment to the welfare of children and asylum seeking children.

Through its involvement in many arenas is award winning a big role model for other young people who want to get out of a difficult situation. I am deeply impressed by the efforts of the prize winner, said Minister of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion, Audun Lysbakken who presented the award.

To view a photo from the event please click here. 

Source and photo courtesy of: Kongehuest.no

On October 27, 2011, Their Majesties King Harald V and Queen Sonja along with H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway attended the annual gala dinner for the Norwegian Parliament held at the royal palace in Oslo.  Unfortunately, H.R.H. Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway did not attend.

To watch a video as well as to view photos please click the links below:

• VIDEO 
• Gallery One 
• Gallery Two
  

Photo courtesy of: Siste.no

On October 25, 2011, H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway was in Berkeley, California (an area familiar to the crown prince.  He received his M.A. in Political Science from this awesome university) to participate in the opening of the 2011 Transatlantic Science Week (TSW).

So what is TSW?  It is an annual event that is organized by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington, D.C. which is:

… designed to increase transatlantic cooperation in research, innovation and higher education. Alternating between Washington, D.C., and other U.S. cities, the conference meets this year for the first time on the West Coast. UC Berkeley is the initial stop, with sessions moving later in the week to Stanford University, the IBM Research-Almaden laboratory, NASA Research Park and Google. source

During today’s event the heir to the Norwegian throne gave a speech.  Other notable speakers included Graham Fleming, UC Berkeley vice-chancellor for research and professor of chemistry, and Wegger Strommen, Norwegian ambassador to the United States.

Later in the afternoon Crown Prince Haakon visited the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art where the Norwegian architecture firm, Snøhetta, is currently designing a new building that will be apart of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. According to the official website for the royal house of Norway:

Crown Prince Haakon met with representatives from the museum, the Fisher art collection and Snøhetta at a luncheon where he learned more about the plans for the extension. Afterwards the Crown Prince was given a guided tour of the collection by the curator Laura Satersmoen.

Then it was off to the Norwegian Seamen’s Church to celebrate its 60th anniversary. Soon, it was time to meet with representatives from the Norwegian software company, Meltwater, in Silicon Valley:

During his visit, the Crown Prince learned more about Meltwater’s journey and what the future holds for this type of software and the services Meltwater offers. The Crown Prince was also given a presentation on the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology. Founded in Ghana in 2007, this philanthropic foundation teaches young Africans the skills they need to start their own software companies in an international market.

Crown Prince Haakon ended his day back at his old stomping grounds at UC Berkeley where he visited the International House … his old dorm house on campus.

To view photos from today’s events please click here and here.   

Crown Prince Haakon gives a speech (begins at the 14:00 mark)

Meltwater Group welcomes Crown Prince Haakon of Norway

Sources:  Berkeley.edu and Kongehuest

Photo courtesy of: Daylife/Reuters and thank you to the Meltwater Group for sending me the links to your photos and video!  :)

On October 24, 2011, H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway arrived in northern California to begin his three-day official visit to the area.  This afternoon the heir to the Norwegian throne attended the inauguration of Innovation House in Palo Alto, CA. So what is Innovation House?  Well, it provides office space for Norwegian start-up companies in Silicon Valley.

Tomorrow, Crown Prince Haakon will attend the opening of Transatlantic Science Week 2011 in Berkeley, CA where he will give a speech in front of hundreds of guests.  He will also visit an art museum, attend the 60th anniversary of the Norwegian Seaman’s church in San Francisco, attend a meeting with the Meltwater Group in Silicon Valley, and much more.

To view photos from today’s event please click here. 

Photo courtesy of: Daylife/Reuters

On October 11, 2011, T.R.H.s Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway visited the Work Institute in Buskerud, Norway.  Per the official website for the royal house of Norway, Kongehuest:

Work Institute is a place of learning for young people in secondary school age. They have every year between 170 and 200 participants in the four departments project in Buskerud. The training is practical and is about helping young people to find direction in life. At the institute are working out the method called Appreciative Inquiry.

Appreciative Inquiry (AI)

AI is a dialogue-based method based on positive feedback. In all proposals and all the people’s strengths and positive elements, which can be lifted up and strengthened. The Institute wants to help young people to achieve their goals and dreams through positive reinforcement and assistance in the process.

Crown Princess had an introduction to the methodology of the day, and also took part even in groups where they had come closer to young people – what they dream about, how they work and different challenges.

Activities at the center

The department also offers a variety of activities, and the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were among other things, the hall where young people can engage in skateboarding and BMX.

Work Institute in Drammen has seven different workshops where training takes place. The visit ended in a mechanical workshop where youngsters can try out various tasks such as welding and metal work, turning, car repairs and car care. Two of the students presented their road map – a list of dreams and goals – which are central to the way the program in the department.

Crown Princess’ funds

Crown Princess’ funds looking to pick up young people who for various reasons at risk of falling off. Selected projects receive financial support and invited into a knowledge network whose purpose is to share experiences and expertise across the projects.

Labour Department is one of four projects that receive support from the Fund in Innvær four year period.

This is the first time Crown Princess Mette-Marit visited the center, while the Crown Prince was on his second visit today. source

To view photos please click here and here to view another video along with photos.

Source: Kongehuest