Celebrating the Constitution abroad

Nearly 150 different events to celebrate the bicentenary of the Norwegian Constitution will be held by our missions abroad in 2014.

The first event of the year took place in Platz des Kieler Friedens in Kiel on 14 January, and marked the 200th anniversary of the Treaty of Kiel. It was attended by President of the Storting Olemic Thommessen, State Secretary Bård Glad Pedersen and 400 other Norwegians. In early February, Queen Sonja opened a Christian Krogh exhibition in Copenhagen, and later that month, the President of the Storting took part in a bicentenary event in South Africa in connection with the country’s 20 years of freedom and democracy celebrations.

These are just three examples. Bicentenary events organised by the missions abroad will continue throughout the year with the most intense activity in April and May.

A golden opportunity
Celebrating the bicentenary of the Norwegian Constitution in places like Jakarta, Rio de Janeiro, Nairobi, or Sofia may not seem quite as obvious as celebrating in Eidsvoll. Nevertheless, many missions abroad have decided to arrange events.

The bicentenary of the Norwegian Constitution is a golden opportunity to highlight issues such as the rule of law, democracy and human rights that are key topics in Norwegian foreign policy. The Embassy in Ottawa, for example, is arranging a seminar on human rights and democracy. The Norwegian Mission to the EU and the Embassy in Brussels will hold a debate on constitutional processes in the wake of the Arab Spring. And the Embassy in New Delhi in will hold a media seminar on key aspects of the Constitution.

You can find more information about international events to mark the bicentenary in the event calendar and the attached overview (Norwegian only).

• See more about the celebration at the Storting's web site (the Parliament)
• Review of the activities abroad (in Norwegian)