The Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce will celebrate its centennial with a gala dinner in New York City on Wednesday, October 7, 2015. Honored guests will include their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, along with Norway’s ambassadors to the United States and the United Nations.
Norway became an independent nation in 1905 and quickly became both a close ally and a significant trading partner of the United States. The special relationship between the two countries was cemented by the presence of hundreds of thousands of Norwegians who had settled in the United States in the preceding decades.
The need to foster and protect Norwegian-American trade was quickly recognized, and the Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce (“NACC”) was established for that purpose in September 1915. Since then, as Norway has risen to its position as a dominant force in the fields of petroleum and finance, the NACC has played various roles promoting Norwegian-American trade, and providing a forum, through its chapters nationwide, in which companies and individuals with interests in Norwegian-American commerce can interact and pursue common goals.
The 100th Anniversary of the NACC will be celebrated at a gala dinner in New York City on Wednesday, October 7, 2015. Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit will be in attendance, and honored guests will also include Norway’s ambassadors to the United States and the United Nations.
At the gala dinner, the incomparable actress Liv Ullmann will be presented with the NACC’s prestigious Nora Award for Women of Achievement. The award, whose only other recipient to date has been Her Majesty Queen Sonja of Norway, takes its name from the strong-willed female character, Nora, in Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House.
Also at the gala dinner, the Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce Trade Award will be presented to Innovation Norway, which has successfully been assisting Norwegian businesses and entrepreneurs as they seek to establish themselves and prosper in the United States.
“We are of course proud to celebrate the NACC’s 100th Anniversary,” says Ole Christian Schroder, NACC’s current president, “and very grateful for the attendance of the Royal Couple and other dignitaries as well as for the opportunity to present our organization’s awards to such deserving recipients. It should be a wonderful evening!”