Facts about the association…

The Association Austria – Nordic Countries (VÖNL) was founded in 1999 on the initiative of Walter Schmidt with the aim of strengthening the cultural contacts between Austria and the Nordic countries and founding a Nordic Cultural Institute. But not only culture, but also nature, cities and life in one country attract interested people. In addition to cultural exchange, we would also like to see tourism as the focus of our work. Since the General Assembly on 16 November 2006, the countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have also been included in the Austrian-Nordic Association.

We want the wire to be north, and for the north the wire to Austria. The existing bilateral companies can and should use these connections for their objectives, since their objectives are also our objectives. The Association Austria – Nordic countries sees itself as an apolitical, independent association.

From 2001 to February 2017, former Austrian Foreign Minister Dr. Willibald Pahr was the President of VÖNL. Numerous awards from the Nordic countries document his ties with the North and we wanted to make use of this to create an important combination of people and business in the United Europe.

In the Annual General Meeting on 28 February 2017, Dr. Pahr handed over the Presidency of the Association to younger hands, to Mr. Dr. Arnold Kammel, Policy Advisor at the Cabinet of the Federal Minister for the EU, Arts, Culture and Media at the Federal Chancellery. For ten years, Mr. Kammel was Secretary General of the Association of Austrian – Nordic Countries, and was thus familiar with the philosophy of the Association. Through the Internet, the VÖNL tries to provide targeted information and contact addresses to people who are interested in the north.

Dr. Arnold Kammel, MA
President of the Association