Dear Members,
As your newly elected President, I thank you for your confidence in me! It is a daunting task with great responsibility that I take on. The new Board shall do its very best to ensure that the running ofthe Forum will continue smoothly. I think we have a great team with both experienced and new members.
The first of December marks the beginning of Advent and the beginning of the festive season with Christmas lights and candles. When you live in the North, you learn to compensate for the darkness.In my house, we light candles even for breakfast! Our Christmas Meeting is another opportunity to come together, to meet new people, strengthen old friendships, and maybe for a while forget about the turmoil and confusion around the world.
In the months ahead, the Board needs to find a new Treasurer and replace the very expensivecontract that we have with Styreweb Regnskap AS until the end of January. We must decide whether or not we will be able to continue with the plan that we had before December 2024; i.e using only Styreweb and someone from the Forum or an external consultant who can monitor and extract the monthly financial statements and other essential documents that we need to function properly.
We do have a great team of competent committee leaders and dedicated members who will help us promote friendship and understanding among cultures. Being together and sharing experiences iskey to that. The committees are the backbone of our organisation, and they have a super line-up for us in spring! As your President, I will try to participate in as many activities as I can.
Please note that the first Monthly Meeting of 2026 will start on the second Monday of January, which will allow members to come back and recuperate from their holidays. As we all know,holidays – albeit great fun – can be rather exhausting.
Best wishes for a joyous holiday season!
Elizabeth S. Rasmussen President