The American-Scandinavian Foundation
Encyclopedia
The American-Scandinavian Foundation, (ASF) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 foundation dedicated to promoting international understanding through educational and cultural exchange between the United States and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

, and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

. The Foundation's headquarters, Scandinavia House
Scandinavia House - The Nordic Center in America
Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America is The American-Scandinavian Foundation's cultural center in midtown Manhattan dedicated to preserving the history of the Scandinavian and Nordic countries' cultural impact in the United States through a wide variety of exhibits and programming...

, is located at 58 Park Avenue
Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....

, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

About the Foundation

The ASF was founded in 1910 by the Danish-American industrialist Niels Poulsen. It is a publicly supported non-profit organization that carries out an extensive program of fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...

ships, grants
Grant (money)
Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...

, trainee placement, publishing, membership offerings, and cultural activities.

The Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustee
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...

s of individuals from the United States and Scandinavia, representing diverse interests yet linked by personal or professional ties to the Scandinavian countries. The five Nordic Heads of State
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...

 serve as the organization's patrons
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...

.

Exchange activities

More than 26,000 young Americans and Scandinavians have participated in ASF's exchange programs
Student exchange program
A student exchange program generally could be defined as a program where students from secondary school or university choose to study abroad in partner institutions...

 of study, research or practical training. Many of its alumni have gone on to leading positions in business, government and the arts. The Foundation cultivates enduring academic, professional, and personal ties between the U.S. and the Nordic countries.

Fellowships

Each year the ASF awards more than $800,000 in fellowships and grants to individual students, scholars, professionals, and artists - either Scandinavians studying or conducting research in the United States or Americans studying or conducting research in Scandinavia.

Training

The Foundation's training program enables young Americans and Scandinavians living abroad to receive practical working experience in fields such as engineering, shipping, law, finance, agriculture and technology.

Language classes

Language classes at Scandinavia House are offered and accredited through New York University's School of Continuing and Professional Studies. For registration information, call New York University at (212) 998-7171 or visit New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

 foreign languages page.

Cultural programs

The ASF presents a wide range of cultural programs at Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America, including art and design exhibitions, films, concerts lectures, and children's programs representing all facets of Nordic culture.

Public project grants

Through its public project grants, the ASF funds a wide variety of programs that bring American and Scandinavian culture, art, and thought to public audiences. Grants are awarded to arts and educational institutions adding a Nordic focus to their programming, as well as to smaller organizations with a more regional focus. In 2005–2006, 65 projects throughout the U.S. and Scandinavia received $250,000 in total funding. In 2006–2007, an additional $221,000 was awarded to 62 projects.

Publishing

The American-Scandinavian Foundation's quarterly journal, Scandinavian Review, is the oldest publication of its kind in the United States. It covers all aspects of life in contemporary Scandinavia with an emphasis on areas in which Scandinavian achievement is renowned: art and design; industrial development; and commercial, political, economic, and social innovation. Leading journalists and writers on both sides of the Atlantic participate in the challenging task of making Scandinavia better known and understood. The magazine offers readers information about the five Nordic countries that is rarely found in the American news media.

The Foundation occasionally publishes books.

Scandinavia House - The Nordic Center in America

The American-Scandinavian Foundation's cultural center, Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America, is located at 58 Park Avenue, between 37th and 38th streets in midtown Manhattan. It offers art, design, and historical exhibitions; films; concerts; lectures; and children's programs illuminating the contemporary vitality of the Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden). Designed by architect James Stewart Polshek, Scandinavia House also offers a shop and cafe. It opened to the public in 2000.

Diplomatic missions

  • List of diplomatic missions of Denmark
  • List of diplomatic missions of Finland
  • List of diplomatic missions of Iceland
  • List of diplomatic missions of Norway
  • List of diplomatic missions of Sweden

See also

  • Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
    Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
    Carl XVI Gustaf is the reigning King of Sweden since 15 September 1973, succeeding his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf because his father had predeceased him...

     (patron
    Patronage
    Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...

    )
  • Harald V of Norway
    Harald V of Norway
    Harald V is the king of Norway. He succeeded to the throne of Norway upon the death of his father Olav V on 17 January 1991...

     (patron
    Patronage
    Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...

    )
  • Margrethe II of Denmark
    Margrethe II of Denmark
    Margrethe II is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1972 she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margaret I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375-1412 during the Kalmar Union.-Early life:...

      (patron
    Patronage
    Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...

    )
  • Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
    Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
    Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson is the fifth and current President of Iceland. He has served as President since 1996; he was unopposed in 2000, re-elected for a third term in 2004, and re-elected unopposed for a fourth term in 2008. He is the longest-serving left-wing president in the history of...

      (patron
    Patronage
    Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...

    )
  • Tarja Halonen
    Tarja Halonen
    Tarja Kaarina Halonen is the incumbent President of Finland. The first female to hold the office, Halonen had previously been a member of the parliament from 1979 to 2000 when she resigned after her election to the presidency...

      (patron
    Patronage
    Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...

    )
  • Princess Benedikte of Denmark
    Princess Benedikte of Denmark
    Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, , , is the second daughter of King Frederick IX of Denmark and Ingrid of Sweden...

      (honorary trustee
    Trustee
    Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...

    )
  • Princess Märtha Louise of Norway
    Princess Märtha Louise of Norway
    Princess Märtha Louise of Norway is the only daughter of King Harald V and Queen Sonja. She is fourth in the line of succession to the Norwegian throne, after her brother and his two children.-Early life:...

      (honorary trustee
    Trustee
    Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...

    )
  • Martti Ahtisaari
    Martti Ahtisaari
    Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari is a Finnish politician, the tenth President of Finland , Nobel Peace Prize laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work....

      (honorary trustee
    Trustee
    Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...

    )
  • Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
    Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
    Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland is the heiress-apparent to the Swedish throne. If she ascends to the throne as expected, she will be Sweden's fourth queen regnant .-Early life:...

      (honorary trustee
    Trustee
    Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...

    )
  • Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
    Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
    Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is an Icelandic politician who served as the fourth President of Iceland from 1980 to 1996. In addition to being both Iceland's and Europe's first female president, she was the world's first democratically elected female head of state...

      (honorary trustee
    Trustee
    Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...

    )

External links

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