Mensa Norway prepares to launch Icelandic branch

Mbl.is reports that Mensa Norway is preparing to establish an Icelandic branch of the international organisation for people in the top two per cent for intelligence. The group currently has 11 members in Iceland.

“Mensa was founded in 1946, after the Second World War, so we are celebrating our 80th anniversary this year,” Fredrik Strandabø, executive director of Mensa Norway, told mbl.is.

Strandabø said Mensa’s founders wanted to bring together highly intelligent people to discuss how to prevent further wars. They had seen that the Treaty of Versailles, signed after the First World War, had failed to prevent another war just over two decades later.

Mensa has members in more than 40 countries, with a combined membership of more than 160,000, Strandabø said. Countries seeking full membership in Mensa International must have at least 250 members.

Because Iceland does not yet have enough members for an independent national branch, its activities will initially come under Mensa Norway. The Norwegian organisation received permission several years ago to conduct intelligence tests on behalf of Mensa International, and had planned to begin operations in Iceland in 2020. That plan was disrupted by “the virus from China”, Strandabø said.

If membership in Iceland reaches 250, the Icelandic branch can apply to become an independent national organisation rather than remain under Mensa Norway.

Mensa Norway was founded in 1978 and organises professional and social gatherings around the country, allowing members to meet and exchange ideas. It had about 3,000 members at the end of last year, and membership is growing.

The organisation also arranges lectures and supports research, including work on the education system and ways to prevent unwanted practices such as children avoiding school. Mensa also operates funds in individual countries that provide grants to researchers and university students.

Strandabø said Mensa offers people who feel isolated a safe place to meet others. He said representatives would travel to Iceland next Thursday for a founding meeting and would support the Icelandic organisation so it could organise events for members. Intelligence tests are also planned in Akureyri and Reykjavík.