The statistics of museums in Norway, that are published annually, are among the best in Europe. They are not only fully compatible with the Standard Questionnaire, but even more detailed. If all the countries participating in EGMUS would have data of comparable quality, the task of EGMUS would be rather simple. We could finally fulfill our main ambition: to arrive at a comparable, reliable statistics of the museums in Europe.

The excellent quality of the Norwegian data is largely the achievement of one person: Karen Marie Ellefsen. In the annual meetings of EGMUS she is usually the first to present the recent results, always apologizing about the deficiencies of her English. A complete nonsense: Karen speaks and writes excellent English. But it is typical for the kind of person she is: civilized and extremely modest. To such an extent, that it is sheer impossible not to like her.

Therefore it is not only Karen's expertise, but perhaps even more her personality, which the other EGMUS participant are going to miss greatly, after her retirement from the Norwegian Council of Culture - and subsequently from EGMUS- which took place this spring. Karen was a most active participant in EGMUS-work and, due to her voluntary engagement to bring forward our common European project; she is a shining example of how to work together without personal intentions. Although there is no doubt that Karen will followed by another excellent expert from Norway, he or she could never replace her charming person.

The members of the EGMUS wish Karen Marie Ellefsen many happy years with her husband, child and grandchild.

Thank you so much for your excellent collaboration and the privilege we had to work together with you. We will miss you dearly.

En lang og lykkelig liv, Karen!