Newsletter February 2012

From the Ambassador February 2012
	This is my first winter in Greece. As most Norwegians, I may miss skiing right outside my doorstep and playing in the snow with my children, but not scraping ice of windscreens and having to remove snow in order to find the mailbox. Read more >

Snowboarders gathering for championship in Oslo
	Wintersport in Norway is not only about cross country skiing. In February, Oslo will be the venue for snowboarders! The World Snowboarding Championship (WSC) will organize halfpipe, quarterpipe and slopestyle events.Read more >

Grants to Greece and Cyprus

Norway provides grants to Cyprus and Greece through the EEA and Norway Grants. The agreement for the 2009-2014 financial period with Cyprus was recently signed in Nicosia. In Greece, the launching of the asylum and immigration fund, and the NGO fund stakeholders meeting took place in Athens in December. "The benefits of the grants extend both ways" says Xeni Anastasiou of the Norwegian Embassy. "Both the donor and beneficary states gain from increased cooperation." Read more >

The Norwegian Ambassador presents his credentials in Cyprus
	The Norwegian Ambassador to Greece and Cyprus, H. E. Sjur Larsen presented his credentials to the President of Cyprus, H. E. Dimitris Christofias on January 11th. Read more >

A High Tech Collaboration
	Norwegian consultancy company "Computas" and Greek "Space Hellas" recently implemented the visa administration system N-VIS in collaboration with the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "We are pleased to collaborate and develop new solutions" says CEO of Computas Trond Eilertsen. Read more >

Cultural calender
	Take a look at our cultural calender to learn more about Norwegian related activities in Greece in February.Read more >

Norway launches new international trade portal
	On www.nortrade.com, the new gateway to Norway for international companies and organizations, you can get updated information of over 8000 Norwegian companies that deal in export, import or other forms of international operations. Read more >

Quiz
	Maria Zygorakis was the winner of our last quiz. Congratulations! What do many Norwegians do in winter while snow and ice cover large parts of the country? They go skiing! This year Oslo hosts the world championship in snowboarding, and we ask for the dates when it is taking place. Please send your answer to emb.athens@mfa.no and you can win a CD.Read more >

Editors: Gunhild Guldseth and Øyvind Hokstad

Norway - the official site in Greece
Royal Norwegian Embassy in Athens Vas. Sophias Avenue 23, 106 74 Athens Phone: 0030 210 72 46 173 Fax: 0030 210 72 44 989 E-mail: emb.athens@mfa.no	Embassy Opening hours Monday-Friday 10:00-13:00 Immigration services Tuesday and Thursday 10:00-13:00