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New Club Presidents For 2010/2011 at Region Meeting
with Region President
Group of Soroptimists in Bergen with National Dress
Nordic Days was attended by Eva Tyson SI Dunfermline, Scotland Region South
An excerpt from her report of the weekend:
Last weekend I was so lucky being able to attend the Nordic Days in Bergen, Norway. The very able President of the Norway
Union Edle Utaaker is a member of the Bergen club, hence the venue. Although the Nordic days are attended by the Nordic
countries, there were others from further afield eg Russia, Germany, Italy and me from Scotland the only member from SI/GBI.On the Friday evening, we attended a civic reception in the Haakonshall, dating from the 13th century. I was particularly interested in this building, because when it was built, Scottish masons were brought over to Bergen to help with the construction. Saturday was our working day, as it were, with the two themes, climate change and human trafficking. An internationally known expert Prof. Eystein Jansen gave us the grim facts. What I liked about his lecture, was that it was factual and objective, no emotive language, no histrionics, the stark truth was there in front of us. Any doubters in the audience that humans are an intregal part of climate change, must surely have been convinced, as he concluded ," Focus on the facts, we have only one place to go".
Human trafficking was dealt with from the perspective of Bergen and what the city does to improve what is now a huge problem. It seems almost an intractable problem, because although Sweden and Norway have made it illegal to buy sex, this has reduced the number of prostitutes in the streets, but they have just gone underground in flats and that makes it so much more difficult for the police to handle. There are other forms of trafficking, which was a bit of an eyeopener. The gala dinner on Saturday evening was so colourful , in that a large number of the Norwegian Soroptimists wore national costumes. Just as we in Scotland can spot who belongs to which clan depending on the tartan worn, so each costume or as it is called "bunad" can spot from what part of Norway the bunad hails. The Bergen bunad is just beautiful, but then I am biased in that I was born and brought up in Bergen.
 Eva Tyson represented Scotland South Region as silent observer at the International Board meeting August 2009. Photo shows her with the newly elected International President Hanne Jensbo. On the right The 2008/09 Region President from the Dunfermline club
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