Overview
- Location
- Iceland
- Website
Description
The Icelandic Red Cross
The Icelandic Red Cross was founded on 10 December 1924 and was named the Icelandic Red Cross. The name was changed to The Red Cross in Iceland at the Annual General Meeting in 2012 and the company now goes by that name.
Efforts were made to move the Operations of the Red Cross to Iceland, not least in order to promote nursing and support the national health system. Steingrímur Matthíasson, MD, and Þorbjörg Ásmundsdóttir, chief nurse at the forefront, were gunnlaugur Claessen and Sveinn Björnsson, the latter of whom also served as the first chairman of the association and later as the first President of the Republic of Iceland. The association has always pioneered health, social affairs and education, and numerous previous Red Cross projects are now operated by state Icelandic, municipalities and other parties. Since its inception, Red Cross volunteers have kept the company's work going, with more than 3,000 volunteers working in the local community around the country.
The International Red Cross relief efforts in Iceland cover thousands of survivors of disasters, infighting and poverty around the world each year. The Icelandic Red Cross plays a supportive role with humanitarian authorities, as other red cross and Red Crescent societies do in their own country. Organizational power, support, voluntary work and mutual understanding are a guiding principle for the company's successful work.
The Red Cross's domestic work is diverse, from emergency prevention, harm reduction and psychosocial support to first aid, the sale of reused clothing and assistance to refugees. The projects are carried out by volunteers who make the work of the Red Cross around the country possible.
On December 5, 2014, the Icelandic Red Cross Act and the Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal (115/2014) came into force, which can be read here.