Akranes

The Eurobus' first stop was in Akranes where Rannís experts held an event about EU funding opportunities provided through Icelandic participation of EU programmes such as Horizon, Creative Europe, Erasmus+ and many more. The event was held in the town's innovation centre, Breið - Þróunarfélag. During the visit, the EU Ambassador met with Mr. Valgarður Lyndal Jónsson, the chair of the Akranes town council and discussed EU funding to impactful projects in the town, as well as the future development of the town and its considerable population growth in the past few years.

In Akranes alone, the European Union has contributed some 2.6 million EUR to local projects involved in EU programmes since 2000. This funding has been distributed to projects involving kindergartens, elementary schools, universities, as well as to research and innovation projects.

The second stop of the Eurobus was in Blönduós. There, a presentation about EU programmes and EU funding opportunities was held in the town's community centre. Ambassador Ganslandt was warmly welcomed by the Mayor of the town, Mr. Pétur Arason. The Ambassador visited the Icelandic Textile Centre, where she was able to admire local textile art and contribute to a tapestry project which has been in the making for over 13 years. Once completed, the art piece will depict important moments of the region's history as described in the Vatnsdælasaga.

As in other Eurobus stops, Ambassador Ganslandt had a chance to speak with local residents about EU-Iceland cooperation, learn about local success stories of EU funded projects, such as the Textile Centre, and learn more about the region's history.

The third stop was in Sauðárkrókur, where Rannís invited residents to listen to presentations about EU funding opportunities over some soup and freshly baked bread in a local café, Kaffi Krókur.

Ambassador Ganslandt visited the Icelandic Regional Development Institute (Byggðastofnun) where she received presentations about Icelandic regional development policies and development projects managed by the institute across the country.

The fourth stop was in Akureyri. An event about EU funding opportunities and local success stories was held in the town's beautiful culture centre, Hof. Ambassador Ganslandt visited the University of Akureyri, which has been an active participant in EU educational and research programmes. There, Ambassador Ganslandt met with the university's Rector, Ms. Áslaug Ásgeirsdóttir, and her team.

Ambassador Ganslandt participated also in the Eurobus visit to Reykjanesbær where an event about EU funding opportunities was held in Fjörheimar, community centre.

The President of the Town Council of Reykjanesbær, Ms. Guðný Birna Guðmundsdóttir and Mr. Halldór Karl Hermansson, Harbour Master, received Ambassador Ganslandt and Deputy Head of the EU Delegation, Mr. Samuel Ulfgard, at the Town Hall to discuss the town's expansion and population growth, the volcanic eruptions in Reykjanes peninsula and its impact on local communities.