Report of the AGM and Conference of the Federation of Danish Associations in Canada

As you know, our Club is a member of the Federation of Danish Associations in Canada and each year and Annual General Meeting & Conference in a different location. This year the meeting was held in Winnipeg May 24-26, hosted by the Manitoba Danish Canadian Club of Winnipeg. My wife, Lynn and I attended this meeting and really enjoyed visiting Winnipeg. As our club has agreed to host the Federation AGM next year, it was important for us to be at these meetings. 2019 marks the 800th anniversary of the Danish flag, Dannebrog and is also the 400th anniversary of Jens Munk's visit to what is now called Churchill, Manitoba, sent by Christian IV to find the Northwest Passage.

Winnipeg chose to host this year since Jens Munk overwintered in Manitoba. The Danish Ambassador to Canada. Thomas Winkler attended the meetings and gave a very interesting talk and slide presentation on the 'Arctic, Past, Present & Future' during the "Ambassador's Reception" on the first evening of the conference. The following morning was the AGM for the Danish Canadian National Museum in Dickson, Alberta. After the short meeting, we were bused to Winnipeg City Hall where we were met by their Mayor for a formal ceremony at which the Mayor and the Ambassador raised the Danish flag in front of City Hall. The Mayor invited all of the conference attendees inside for a tour of the council chambers and Mayor's office followed by a lovely buffet lunch in the atrium. That evening, a social was hosted at the hotel by the Danish Canadian National Museum group with a "silent auction" as well as a "live auction" to raise a few dollars to support the museum.

The Federation AGM was held Saturday morning and was followed by a self-guided tour of the Canadian Museum of Humanity. The building is an impressive work of modern architecture and the displays in the museum were fascinating testament to the humanity of people throughout history. Saturday evening, the Federation hosted a formal dinner/dance at the hotel and was enjoyed by all.

Sunday morning we were bused to the Winnipeg Zoo for a most interesting tour. We saw lots of Polar Bears, Grey Wolves, Muskox, etc in a very large area (acreages), unlike the typical cages we are used to seeing in most zoos. For lunch, we were bused to the Scandinavian Cultural Centre of Winnipeg where we were treated to a fabulous Smørrebrød buffet and entertainment provided by their Scandinavian Dancers with music by their own 12-member band, all in full costume. Once lunch was finished, I gave a short (tourism) talk and slide show on the sights of Nanaimo to encourage everyone to come to our Conference next year. The Conference finished up with the Manitoba Club passing the Federation Flag and "trophy plaque" to me for next year's meetings.

Next year in Nanaimo, we will continue the saga of Jens Munk, because in the Spring of 2020, he headed back to Denmark. We currently have formed a "host committee" for next year, but there are still a few positions we'd like to fill, so if you are interested in helping out in any small way, please call me. We have a very exciting agenda in the works and would encourage our own members to attend as many events as possible. We are designing the program in a way that will make it easy for our members to participate.

~ Submitted by Tom Hedekar