The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomous areas of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. The representatives are members of parliament in their respective countries or areas and are elected by those parliaments. The Council holds ordinary sessions each year in October/November and usually one extra session per year with a specific theme. The council's official languages are Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish, though it uses only the mutually intelligible Scandinavian languages—Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish—as its working languages. These three comprise the first language of around 80% of the region's population and are learned as a second or foreign language by the remaining 20%.
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. Narrower definitions may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54°N, or may be based on other geographical factors such as climate and ecology. A broader definition would include the area of Europe north of the Alps.
Nordic folk music includes a number of traditions of Nordic countries, especially Scandinavian. The Nordic countries are Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.
Europe, the westernmost portion of Eurasia—is often divided into regions and subregions based on geographical, cultural or historical criteria. Many European structures currently exist. Some are cultural, economic, or political; examples include the Council of Europe, the European Broadcasting Union with the Eurovision Song Contest, and the European Olympic Committees with the European Games. Russia dominates the continent by both area and population; spanning roughly 40% of its total landmass, with over 15% of its total population.
The Lambda 10 Project is a national clearinghouse of information pertaining to LGBT issues in American fraternities and sororities. The organization works to heighten the visibility of out members, and offers educational resources related to sexual orientation and the fraternity/sorority experience.
The Norwegian Organisation for Sexual and Gender Diversity, formerly the National Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People is the main Norwegian member organization representing the interests of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons in Norway. It traces its history to 1949. Inge Alexander Gjestvang became president of the organization in 2020.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Iceland are very progressive. Iceland is frequently referred to as one of the most LGBT-friendly countries in the world. Same-sex couples have had equal access to adoption and IVF since 2006. In February 2009, a minority government took office, headed by Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, the world's first openly gay head of government in modern times. The Icelandic Parliament amended the country's marriage law on 11 June 2010 by a unanimous vote to define marriage as between two individuals, thereby making same-sex marriage legal. The law took effect on 27 June 2010.
Norway, like the other Scandinavian countries, is very progressive in regards to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights. In 1981, Norway became one of the first countries in the world to enact an anti-discrimination law explicitly including sexual orientation. Same-sex marriage, adoption, and assisted insemination treatments for lesbian couples have been legal since 2009. In 2016, Norway became the fourth country in Europe to pass a law allowing the change of legal gender for transgender people solely based on self-determination.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the Faroe Islands are relatively similar to that of Denmark. The progress of LGBT rights has been slower, however. While same-sex sexual activity has been legal in the Faroe Islands since the 1930s, same-sex couples never had a right to a registered partnership. In April 2016, the Løgting passed legislation legalizing civil same-sex marriage on the Faroes, recognizing same-sex marriages established in Denmark and abroad and allowing same-sex adoption. This was ratified by the Folketing in April 2017. The law went into effect on 1 July 2017.
Samtökin '78 is the national queer organisation of Iceland, which is an NGO dedicated to the interest and rights of lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, asexual, pansexual, transgender and intersex people in Iceland. The organisation provides education about LGBTQIA+ related matters, counselling and legal consultation for queer people in addition to running a youth club for young people that identify as queer and hosting open houses once a week intended for queer people and their allies.
LGBT movements in the United States comprise an interwoven history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied movements in the United States of America, beginning in the early 20th century and influential in achieving social progress for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and transsexual people.
The Nordic countries are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden; the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland; and the autonomous region of Åland.
Campus Pride is an American national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded by M. Chad Wilson, Sarah E. Holmes and Shane L. Windmeyer in 2001 which serves lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and ally student leaders and/or campus organization in the areas of leadership development, support programs and services to create safer, more inclusive LGBT-friendly colleges and universities.
The Nordic Quizzing Championships is a bi-annual quiz event in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Top quizzers from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Åland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are invited.
The following outline offers an overview and guide to LGBT topics.
The Nordic regional group of ENTSO-E is a synchronous electrical grid composed of the electricity grids of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the eastern part of electricity sector in Denmark. The grid is not synchronized with the Synchronous grid of Continental Europe, but has a number of non-synchronous DC connections with that as well as other synchronous grids. Gotland is not synchronized with the Swedish mainland either, as it is connected by HVDC.
The North European Women's Volleyball Club Championship is a volleyball championship for clubs from the Nordic countries. It was established in 2007 and is organised by the North European Volleyball Zonal Association (NEVZA). In addition to the Nordic countries other neighbouring countries may be invited such as Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and the United Kingdom.
