Join us for the 2018 Leadership Conference to be held August 15 in Bloomington, Minn., and prepare to Motivate—Maximize—Mobilize to benefit your community and your lodge. Conference participants will leave with new resources and tactics to build awareness of their lodge and its activities and will be inspired by volunteer success stories and ideas to take back to their communities.
Sign up today for the Leadership Conference and learn more about the 2018 International Convention at the convention website. All are welcome!
About dugnad
The Norwegian term “dugnad” dates back centuries and is widely recognized as a cultural tradition of shared work among neighbors. Here at Sons of Norway, volunteerism within members’ local communities has been embraced since our founding in 1895, and it continues to play a huge role in lodge activities today.
The term dates back centuries, but over time has grown to represent a way of life or social expectation to help one’s local community. Dugnad typically occurs around holidays and during the change of seasons, and occurs in neighborhoods, apartment buildings, summer cabins and even at schools or places of work. The custom was originally started as a way to complete big tasks like roofing or haymaking, but today dugnad has evolved to mean unpaid voluntary work done by a group for local, national or international causes. The custom is so ingrained in Norwegian culture that “dugnad” was voted Norway’s 2004 word of the year.