"And the World Will Live as One"
October 11, 2026
Photographs: EFÍ and Pétur Fjeldsted.
The President takes part in the closing event of "Samtal".
The President delivered the opening address at the event in Harpa and thanked the many people who had contributed to organizing "Samtal".
A recording of the event in Harpa is available on YouTube. A part of the event is in English.
Learn more.
The President of Iceland, youth representatives, and Icelandic choirs participated in a presentation of the results from the "Samtal" (Dialogue) project at Harpa Concert Hall. Artificial intelligence, social media, and the future of education were topics of great interest to the participants.
Yesterday afternoon, hundreds of Icelanders across the country sat down to discuss the question: What kind of society do we want to create together? The results were presented at an event at Harpa Concert Hall between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. A large crowd attended the event, which was also livestreamed.
The President delivered the opening address, thanking everyone who had participated in "Samtal" as well as the large group of volunteers and organizations that had contributed to making the project a reality. She said:
"In the lead-up to 'Samtal’ held yesterday, I have often said that hope grows through active participation. Today, I would like to add that hope also grows when we choose dialogue over division, and when we collectively nurture love and peace. Although we who live here are different and view the world through different eyes, we all share the same home base—the society we build together and for which we bear shared responsibility."
Next, Embla Bachmann, Kári Einarsson, and Lísa Margrét Gunnarsdóttir presented the results of "Samtal". They noted that artificial intelligence, social media, and education were topics of great interest to the participants, and that many had discussed the great value of sitting down with others to exchange views.
Six choirs participated in the program: the Kársnes School Choir, the Reykjavík Girls' Choir, the Aurora Chamber Choir, the Children's Choir by the Pond, Brothers of the Mountains, and the Reykjavík Men's Choir. The choirs' repertoire included "Þakkarbæn," "Heimahöfn," and "Dona nobis pacem," while the program concluded with a moving performance by all the choirs of John Lennon's "Imagine"—performed in an Icelandic translation by Þórarinn Eldjárn titled "Að hugsa sér."
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