Different Languages - Same Speech

Different Languages - Same Speech

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Project Meeting - Iceland



Next stop - Iceland

Iceland or Republic of Iceland, is a European island  in the north of Atlantic Ocean on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The country has a population of  320,000 and 103,000 km2 total area.

Reykjavík is the capital and the largest city in the country. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active. The interior mainly consists of sand fields, mountains and also glaciers. The Gulf Stream warms Iceland and it has a temperate climate despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. The settlement of Iceland began in AD 874 when the chieftain Ingólfur Arnarson became the first permanent Norse settler on the island.Others had visited the island earlier and stayed over winter. Over the following centuries, Norsemen settled Iceland, bringing with them slaves of Gaelic origin. From 1262 to 1918 Iceland was part of the Norwegian and later the Danish monarchies. Until the 20th century, the Icelandic population relied largely on fishing and agriculture. Industrialisation of the fisheries and Marshall Aid brought prosperity in the years after World War II. In 1994, Iceland became party to the European Economic Area, which made it possible for the economy to diversify into economic and financial services.




 Iceland has a free market economy with low taxes compared to other OECD countries, while maintaining a Nordic welfare system providing universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens. Iceland has been one of the wealthiest and most developed nations in the world. In 2010, it was ranked as the 17th most developed country in the world by the United Nations' Human Development Index, and the fourth most productive country per capita. In 2008, political unrest occurred as the nation's entire banking system systematically failed. Icelandic culture is founded upon the nation's Norse heritage. Most Icelanders are descendants of Norse (particularly from Western Norway) and Gaelic settlers. Icelandic, a North Germanic language, is closely related to Faroese and some West Norwegian dialects. The country's cultural heritage includes traditional Icelandic cuisine, poetry, and the medieval Icelanders' sagas. Currently, Iceland has the smallest population among NATO members and is the only one with no standing army.