Tournier, Barbara (eng.)
Mar 24th, 2011 by Charlotte Haug
Barbara (IIEP) writes:
Very happy birthday Gudmund!
It is with very fond memories that I remember when I first started working at IIEP/UNESCO and how my name slowly evolved from ‘blue eyes’ to ‘pipi longstocking’! It was fun working with you, as well as prestigious. I remember your long working hours, and yet your unwavering good mood and availability that always used to impress me, along with the simplicity and humility with which you related to the people around you.
I wish you all happiness on this important day and for those to come.
Barbara- yes: it is true that I adopted Frank Sinatra’s famous nickname Ol’ Blue Eyes to address her: Her eyes are even bluer than his.
But Pippi Longstocking was more apt: Barbara, like Astrid Lindgrens famous fictional figure Pippi (translated to more than 60 languages!), is imaginative, unconventional, nicely sassy and sanguine – and with herculean strength. Barbara could as easily lift a project as Pippi lifted her horse.
So she was a cherished part of the young-Turks at IIEP who made all the difference for IIEP’s and UNESCO’s work on HIV/AIDS – who could stand all the work and counter the many frustrations with an unfailing good mood.