Sigurður Atli Jónsson, CEO of Kvika, and Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector of the University of Iceland, signed today a sponsorship agreement between Kvika and the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages.

“This collaboration is part of Kvika's corporate social responsibility initiative. We want to create better ideas for Iceland in the international community, and we do this by cultivating foreign languages. Good ideas need good words, which can only exist through good language skills,” says Sigurður Atli Jónsson.

The three-year agreement is a renewal of the previous sponsorship agreement, signed in November 2013. Kvika will support the Institute with ISK 1 million per year for the next three years.

A total of eleven firms signed sponsorship agreements with the Institute. The signing took place in the University's ceremonial hall, with Vigdís Finnbogadóttir and a number of guests in attendance.

The other sponsoring firms are Alvogen, Arion Bank, the Blue Lagoon, Icelandair Group, Íslandsbanki, Íslandshótel, Landsbankinn, N1, Radisson Blu Hótel Saga, and Reginn. The subsidies from the firms total ISK 33.5 million over the term of the agreements.

The subsidies will be used for the Institute's day-to-day operations in connection with the development of the World Language Centre – Vigdís International Centre for Multilingualism and Intercultural Understanding, which will function under the aegis of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The activities of this international knowledge centre are intended to honour Vigdís' work on behalf of languages and global culture and to continue her pioneering efforts in the international scene as UNESCO's first and only Goodwill Ambassador for foreign languages.