Inspiring Women SUMMER 2020

A Club Inspires: AWC Oslo
The American Women’s Club of Oslo, Norway, in FAWCO’s
Region 2, celebrated its 85th anniversary last fall. Here club
president (and Inspiring Women Social Media Manager)
Berit Torkildsen tells us more about the club and what life is
like living in Oslo:
The first American Women's Club (AWC) meeting in Oslo
was a luncheon given in September 1934 by Mrs. Thomas
Bevan, wife of the American General Consul, who invited
14 American friends to hear a talk by the president of the
American Women's Association of Vienna. In February
1935, a constitution and bylaws were approved and
monthly dues were adopted. The group met in each
other´s homes until January 1936, when a permanent
meeting location was found at Teatergata 7. A library of
shared books was an important focus of the meetings, which were held regularly until the
German occupation of Norway in April 1940, when the Club ceased officially to exist. The few
American women remaining in Oslo met informally in their homes, sharing their limited food and
offering mutual support. The library was carried to the meetings in two battered suitcases.
After liberation in May 1945, membership
began to increase. The Club was
reorganized and in September 1947, the
Oslo Chamber of Commerce became its
new headquarters. Also that year, the AWC
Scholarship was established and fundraising
for a philanthropic purpose became
an important aspect of club activity.
Today our membership of 140 women is
composed of primarily of American women,
but up to 25% of our membership can be
women from other countries. Many of our
long-standing members came here
because they fell in love with a Norwegian AWC Oslo Zoom Board Meeting
and decided to live in Norway. They
established families here, and many of their daughters have now joined the club as first
generation Norwegian-Americans. We also have members who arrived here to further their
education, and have enjoyed it so much that they too have stayed. Finally, there are those who
arrive because of work.
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