To spread knowledge and enthusiasm about Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen’s lives and work, nearly 130 events are planned both in Norway and abroad during the year.
On October 10th, the Human Rights Defence Centre in cooperation with the Norwegian Institute and the Norwegian Embassy in Athens will host an event, celebrating Fridtjof Nansen mainly as a humanist and his role as High Commissioner for Refugees. The conferance will take place at the Academy of Athens, with Greek and Norwegian contributors. On October 11th, a Fridtjof Nansen bust will be unveiled in a park in central Athens. More information about the event will be available in September.
Nansen, 1889. Photo: L. Szacinski / owner: Nasjonalbiblioteket
Fridtjof Nansen who lived from 1861 – 1930, was a well known polar explorer, scientist, diplomat and international humanist. In 1988 he crossed Greenland on skies, and later on he tried to reach the North Pole with the polar vessel “Fram”. Even if “Fram” never reached the North Pole, his expeditions made him a celebrity both in his own country and abroad, and put Norway on the map as a polar nation.
Fridtjof Nansen also had great interest in politics, and in connection with the dissolution of the Union between Norway and Sweden in 1905, Nansen was sent as an emissary to present Norway’s case in London. After his stay here, Nansen was sent to Copenhagen to persuade the Danish prince Carl to become Norway’s king. Nansen was also Norway’s first ambassador to Great Britain 1906-1908. The most important diplomatic task during this period was to negotiate the Integrity Treaty of 1907, in which the major European powers promised to support Norway against anything that might threaten the country’s independence.
After returning to Norway after his time abroad, Nansen spent many years being a professor in zoology at Norwegian universities. The last 20 years of his life Nansen was very involved in humanitarian work, and in 1922 he became the first League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. For his effort with helping war prisoners and refugees around the world, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922.
Roald Amundsen, 1926. Photo: Nasjonalbiblioteket
Roald Amundsen lived from 1872-1928. He was the first explorer to reach the South Pole in 1911, together with 4 companions, 52 dogs and 4 sledges. This expedition was an incredible masterpiece of organization, and made Amundsen regarded by many as the foremost polar explorer of all time. Amundsen’s journey to the South Pole is counted as one of the most audacious expeditions in modern history. Amundsen also tried to reach the North Pole, and even if he didn’t reach the geographic destination, the geophysical data that were collected and interpreted have given this expedition the reputation of being one of the most important Arctic research expeditions of all time. Amundsen was also the first to take a ship voyage through the Northwest Passage, and he became an Aeronautical pioneer as the first one to cross the Arctic by air. He disappeared in June 1928 while taking part in a rescue mission.
For more information on the The Nansen-Amundsen-Year see the official web page. At the Fram Museum in Oslo you can see the boat “Fram”, and at the Ski Museum you can see Nansen’s equipment used on his expeditions. The Nobel Peace Center in Oslo shows the exhibition Transit, a photo exhibition about the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Fridtjof Nansen and refugees of today .