Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
ICELANDIC FESTIVAL OF MANITOBA
Gimli Park
Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2024, 2:00 p.m.
(please check against delivery)
Fellow Manitobans and friends of a great festival and a proud community, welcome to the formal program of the 2024 Icelandic Festival of Manitoba.
As we gather to celebrate Manitoba’s Icelandic community and its history and heritage, we acknowledge that we are gathered on Treaty 1 territory. Manitoba is located on the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabe, Anishininew (ANISH-IN-INEW), Cree, Dakota, Dene and Nehetho (NE-HET-HO) Nation and on the homeland of the Red River Métis and northern Manitoba includes lands that were and are the ancestral lands of the Inuit.
As Manitobans, we respect the spirit and intent of treaties and treaty making and remain committed to working in partnership with First Nations, Metis and Inuit people in the spirit of truth, reconciliation and collaboration.
The people of this province have for generations been proud of Manitoba’s cultural diversity. This festival – the second oldest ethnic festival in North America – has been an important part of that celebratory spirit since 1890.
This year, we celebrate a century of the Fjallkona (FEE-ALL-KHONA)– the Maid of the Mountain who presides over this event at acts as the incarnation of the festival and this community’s links to Iceland.
ince 1924, women in Manitoba’s Icelandic community have been honoured for their roles in building, nurturing and leading communities here in Gimli, in this festival’s former home of Winnipeg and throughout Manitoba.
A century of remarkable women have been recognized this way.
- Women who have held families and communities together during war and depression and during times of rapid change and growth.
- Women who have changed their community and their world.
- Women who have made a better world for the generations that followed them.
It’s worth keeping in mind that, when the first Fjallkona was selected at this festival, leadership positions in business, government and other organizations were virtually off-limits to women. Canada had only just recently elected its first women to Parliament.
And it’s worth noting as well that Iceland – the country personified by the Fjallkona – has been a world leader in opening doors to leadership for women. Our North Atlantic neighbour has had not one but two women elected president. Perhaps later this year another woman will attain that position in another nearby country.
It would be stretching things a little to suggest that one hundred years of Fjallkonas have had a direct role in breaking glass ceilings.
But surely, getting into the habit of honouring women for their work, their vision, and their passion for community has inspired women and girls to dream and to reach for the top in whatever field they choose.
I thank the Icelandic Festival of Manitoba for a century of inspiring Manitoba’s women. And to all who support this festival as volunteers, sponsors or staff, thank you for enriching our province and enhancing our culture and quality of life.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwich. Shalom
