The Icelandic Basque Centre opens in Djúpavík
On Saturday, September 20th, the Icelandic Basque Centre was formally opened with a celebratory ceremony. The Centre is located in Djúpavík in Strandir and is a collaborative project of the Icelandic-Basque Association, Albaola in Spain, Haizebegi in France, Hotel Djúpavík, and the University Centre of the Westfjords. It tells the story of the Basques and their interactions with Icelanders. The Basques were present in Iceland for whaling for several years, most famously when they suffered a shipwreck while whaling in Reykjafjörður in 1615.
The opening of the Basque Centre in Djúpavík is the result of the Basque Centre Project, funded by Creative Europe, a European Union program. The aim of the project was to establish a permanent exhibition to communicate the shared cultural heritage of the two small nations, the Basques and the Icelanders, and to support cultural and research-related activities and workshops based on this heritage. Its purpose is to commemorate the shared history of Icelanders and Basque whalers, as well as to promote activities related to sustainability issues connected to the sea and small, remote communities that relied on fishing for their livelihood.
In 2024, the University Centre of the Westfjords received the Jules Verne grant, which supports scientific and technological cooperation between Icelandic and French partners and is part of the Basque Project. The grant was managed by Dr. Catherine Chambers, Research Manager and soon to be Director of the University Centre of the Westfjords, and Dr. Denis Laborde, ethnographer at the French National Centre for Scientific Research. The project focused on exploring the shared cultural heritage and maritime heritage of Iceland and the Basque Country, highlighting its role in sustainable community development.
Attending the opening of the Basque Centre were, among others, the French Ambassador Guillaume Bazard, the Spanish Embassy representative María Luisa Marteles Gutiérres del Álamo, and Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, former President of Iceland, who officially opened the exhibition. Staff and students of the University Centre also attended the opening, and Dr. Catherine Chambers together with Alex Tyas, former student of the University Centre and manager of the Jules Verne project, gave a talk explaining the University Centre’s involvement. Masters students of Coastal Communities and Regional Development at the University Centre of the Westfjords joined as part of the course “People and the Sea”, together with their teacher Dr. Eduard Nedelciu and academic director Randall Morgan Greene. Among other activities, the students had the opportunity to sit down and discuss the project with Skúli Gautason, Cultural Representative of the Westfjords Development Agency, and Ólafur J. Engilbertsson, Chairman of the Icelandic-Basque Association.
