03 July 2015
ECRE is pleased to announce Thorfinnur Omarsson as its new Head of Communications. Thorfinnur has worked in the field of media and communication for over 20 years, as a TV-host, Radio, and Web- and Newspaper reporter. He has also been a press and communication officer in Ministries and International Organisations.
For years, Thorfinnur was the Director-General of the Icelandic Film Centre and was, as such, a Board member of several European film bodies. Later, during the ceasefire agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil tigers, he became the principal spokesperson for the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in Colombo. He has also worked in the Academy, as the Director of Media and Communication Studies of the University of Iceland. More recently, he was the spokesman for the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Iceland during the most turbulent period of the Icelandic economic crisis, and later the Editor-in-Chief of one of the country’s most popular news websites.
In Brussels, he was the Public Information Officer for Caritas Europa, an ECRE member, for the past four years.
Thorfinnur was educated in France, where he also worked as a correspondent. He has an advanced degree in Journalism and European Affairs from communication establishments in Paris and a diploma in French from Paul Valéry University in Montpellier. Later he studied the Global Economy, and holds an MSc in International Business from universities in Reykjavik, Iceland, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Along with the Scandinavian languages, Thorfinnur speaks English, French, Spanish and German.
“Thorfinnur – or Thor, as he prefers to be called at the office – comes to ECRE with vast experience in communication, journalism and the film industry in different corners of the world, oftentimes dealing with very challenging situations and working with different forms of media,” stated Michael Diedring, Secretary General of ECRE. “Building upon the excellent work of Ana Fontal, his predecessor, I am sure Thor’s experience, global mindset and engaging personality will assist us in giving a stronger voice to those in need of international protection and will provide valuable support to our overall mission to protect and advance the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons through the establishment of fair and humane European asylum policies and practices.”
At ECRE, Thorfinnur Omarsson is responsible for developing and coordinating ECRE’s communication strategy. He deals with media enquiries and other requests for information, manages ECRE’s presence in social media and is editor of the Weekly Bulletin. As Head of Communications, he manages the communication team and coordinates the ECRE Media Officers Network. Thorfinnur gives interviews to the press, facilitates press contact with the Secretary General or other colleagues, and may represent the organisation on certain occasions.
This article originally appeared in the ECRE Weekly Bulletin of 03 July 2015. You can subscribe to the Weekly Bulletin here.