The Iceland Design Center is proud to present the upcoming DesignMarch taking place 24–27 of March, bringing the awakening of spring and the growth in Icelandic design.

Make sure not to miss the opportunity to participate in the unique atmosphere in Reykjavík during the Reykjavík Arts Festival, which brings joy and delight to Iceland's residents and guests in May each year.

The study also shows that around 6% of the labour force is employed by the creative industries, which makes the creative class"one of the most populous in the country.

The Icelandic Literature Fund and The Writers' Union of Iceland accept applications for grants for translators of Icelandic literature. Applicants selected will be granted a two to four weeks stay in Gunnarshus in 2011.

Iceland's Minister of Finance, Steingrimur J. Sigfusson, discusses the status and positive signs to be seen in Iceland's economy in a new article, Rising from the Ruins.

Johanna Sigurdardottir, Prime Minister of Iceland, is second on Time magazine's top ten list of female leaders in the world.

International conference on the effects of the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland on aviation. The conference is organized by Keilir Aviation Academy in cooperation with the President of Iceland, the Icelandic Ministry of Transport, the Civil Aviation Administration, ISAVIA, the Icelandic Meteorological Office, Institute of Earth Sciences at University of Iceland, Icelandair, ICAO, IATA, ATA, AEA, the US Embassy in Iceland and the Russian Federations Embassy in Iceland.

The Snorri Sturluson Icelandic Fellowships are granted to writers, translators and scholars (not students) in the field of humanities from outside Iceland, to enable them to stay in Iceland for a period of at least three months, in order to improve their knowledge of the Icelandic language, culture and society.

On 29 June 2010 Pétur J. Eiríksson, chairman of Portus announced that the official opening of Harpa concert hall and opening concert by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra would take place on 4 May 2011. The opening concert will be conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy.

The volcanic eruption in the glacier Eyjafjallajokull in South Iceland is continuing but Icelandic civil protection authorities have the situation as regards public response fully under control.

SÍM - The Icelandic Association of Visual Artist runs 2 residency apartments situated in 2 different places in Reykjavík. The residencies are applicable for Icelandic and foreign artists and the length of the stay is 1 -3 month. The Apartment / studio is now open for applications for the period July through December 2010.

For information, news and updates regarding the Icesave issue and current financial circumstances in Iceland, please visit The Icelandic Government Information Centre on Iceland.org/info

The Government of Iceland has decided to hold a national referendum on the so-called Icesave legislation, following broad consultations with both coalition and opposition parties as well as employers' associations and labor unions. The referendum is expected to take place late February.

The President of Iceland has declined to sign a law authorising a state guarantee for repayment of loans provided by the UK and the Netherlands to the Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund, intended to cover payment of the minimum deposit guarantees to depositors in the UK and Netherlands branches of the failed Landsbanki Íslands hf. Despite the President's decision, the government of Iceland remains fully committed to implementing the bilateral loan agreements and thus the state guarantee provided for by the law.

"The Nordic countries have every opportunity to be world leaders in innovative and climate-friendly energy. Investments in environmental technology and the sustainable use of energy resources will also create positive opportunities for growth," the Icelandic Prime Minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir, told a press conference held by the Nordic prime ministers on Thursday.

The Nordic prime ministers fully support Iceland and are committed to helping the country out of its economic crisis, they told a press conference at the Blue Lagoon after their meeting on Thursday during the two-day Nordic Globalisation Forum.

Gylfi Magnússon, Iceland's Minister for Business Affairs, reiterates in an Interview with the German newspaper, die Welt, that the Icelandic Government will honour its legal obligations abroad; the assets of Kaupthing Edge in Germany will almost certainly be sufficient for paying off depositors.

The Seminar on Security Prospects in the High North, hosted by the Icelandic Government, took place in Reykjavik on 28 -29 January to address emerging challenges as global warming affects the Arctic region.

As a modern globalised economy and an active participant in EU´s single market, Iceland was among the first to become seriously hit in this unprecedented financial crisis.

Speech given by H.E. Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Minister of Foreign Affairs Defence, November 27, 2007. Association for Western Co-operation, Reykjavik, Iceland