Outer island conference highlights ways to improve living conditions

Participants identified many ways to improve living conditions on the outer islands at a conference organised by the Outer Islands Association in Klaksvík over the weekend, KVF reports.

The conference ended on Sunday with a political panel discussion, where participants shared ideas and said there was goodwill to make progress. Símun Gullaksen, a tenant farmer on Fugloy, said little had changed so far this century. However, transport improvements can bring some outlying areas into the central region at a stroke, which he said was positive for those communities.

Gullaksen said politicians should not only advise municipalities and island residents on what to do, but also set their own goals and take action. Eva úr Dímun, a tenant farmer at Dímunargarður, said she valued the conference, particularly its skills-development workshops. But she said there was not enough willingness to develop the outer islands’ potential for producing high-quality food.