The students of Peace and Conflict Studies for this semester got a unique opportunity on 23rd February 2017 when the ambassadors of the Nordic countries to India decided to visit us. It was very much a once in a lifetime opportunity for us. For them to come down from Delhi and meet us was a huge privilege for us as it gave us the opportunity to ask them questions about the relations between India and the Nordic countries and their experiences of working in India.

The five ambassadors who visited us were H.E. Mr. Peter Taksoe Jenseno -the ambassador of Denmark, H.E. Ms. Nina Irmeli Vaskunlahti – the ambassador of Finland, H.E. Mr. Thorir Ibsen – the ambassador of Iceland, H.E. Mr. Nils Ragnar Kamsvag- the ambassador of Norway and H.E. Mr. Harald Sandbery – the ambassador of Sweden. We took time out the day before they visited us to think about the kind of discussion we could have with them. It made us realize how wonderful this opportunity was to speak to people who are in a position of power from which they can initiate change.

The day of their visit, Samrat Schmiem Kumar and Elida Kristine Undrum Jacobsen, who have both been working with Kulturstudier for many years now introduced the course to the ambassadors with the help of presentations to give them an overview of the program and its activities. After this, we got the chance to speak to the ambassadors. We had many questions to ask them and the session went on for more than an hour. We asked them about the work the embassies do in India, educational opportunities in the Nordic countries for Indians, their experience of working in India and the international policies of their respective countries. The visit ended with a group picture of all of us with them. It was an enriching day for us as we got to know about the work that they do and the change that embassies can bring about with the right direction and cooperation.