Swedish bulletin spring 2012 by Swedish Bulletin

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bulletin YOUR INSIDER’S GUIDE TO SWEDEN, STOCKHOLM & GOTHENBURG

SPRING 2012 SEK 50

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| TRAVEL | Gourmet

bulletin YOUR INSIDER’S GUIDE TO SWEDEN, STOCKHOLM & GOTHENBURG

A high-speed train for the Nordic climate

SPRING 2012 SEK 50

Dear Readers,

”

Swedish Bulletin marks the centenary of Raoul Wallenberg’s birth by focusing on the Swedish diplomat who, through his courageous efforts, saved the lives of countless Hungarian Jews in Budapest during the Nazi occupation of World War II. Articles include a look at his illustrious family tree by David Bartal, the memoirs Kate Wacz and - a touching interview with Wallenberg’s sister, Nina Lagergren. S P R ING I 2012 P UBLI S HED BY SWEDISH BULLETIN HB R E S P ON S IBLE P UBLI S HE R AND C HIEF EDI T O R TERESA IVARS LANGUAGE EDI T O R M AT T L U D LO W LAURA POINTING C OVE R J a c k M i k rut, S c anpi x R aoul W allenberg M emorial in L iding ö , S weden . L ittle girl play ing around the “ R aoul W allenberg B rie f c ase ” s c ulpture by U lla and G ustav Krait z

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Swedish Bulletin’s feature interview in this issue is dedicated to the of new US Ambassador to Sweden, Mark Brzezinski, as we welcome him and his family to Sweden. In addition to marking the centennial of the birth of a great Swede from history we shall, this spring, rejoice in the birth of what will undoubtedly be a great Swede for the future. Baby Princess Estelle, Daughter of Princess Victoria and heir to the Swedish throne was born in the early hours of Thursday 23rd February to jubilation from a proud family, and nation enraptured with the story. Estelle is the first baby to be born to the Bernadotte dynasty in thirty years. Swedish Companies puts focus on how, in the tough economic climate, ingenuity from individual entrepreneurs is filling the void left by big money investors and corporations with Linda Winroth and Pelle Halling leading the way in the renewable resources market with their ReThink Design and 4CYCLE companies respectively. Staying with the theme of ingenuity we explore SKF, a company that built up a global reputation from a single idea, in Christina Linderoth-Olson’s piece, SKF – A Century in China. Forgetting the woes of the world economy why not splash out on some of Stockholm’s best organic produce this spring at Cajsa Warg, and who knows, you may end up regularly attending one of their numerous night cooking classes. A must see for me would have to be the exhibition by notorious and eclectic Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who’s disdain for the current Chinese regime has meant them placing him under house arrest – unable even to attend his own debut in Stockholm’s Magasine 3. Further information can be found within. Swedish music is proving an important, not to mention lucrative cultural export, a view shared by Trade Minister Dr. Bjorling. As part of three new regular columns in Swedish Bulletin, Christian von Essen, editor of music blog Skivkoll.se, will guide us to some of the very best new Swedish music. In addition to this Swedish Bulletin will publish a Swedish Artisan feature in each issue in 2012, and a column from self-taught food lover Eleonora von Essen who has worked as a freelance food writer, editor and recipe creator for seven years. Pytte, as she’s known, lives in Stockholm and loves to host dinner parties but doesn’t’t like to spend too much time in the kitchen. So as we say goodbye to those cold winter nights, Swedish Bulletin provides art & culture information for a pleasant transition into the bright new year ahead, including an exploration of Stockholm’s Archipelago’s, a must for any keen explorer this summer. Information on tours operated by Waxholmsbolaget to the archipelago can be found within.

info@swedishbulletin.se w w w. s w e d i s h b u l l e t i n . s e

www.gronataget.se © Swedish Bulletin. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any format or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopies, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Teresa Ivars Publisher and Chief Editor

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swedish FOCUS

PEOPLE

EDUCATION

MUSIC

ina Lagergren - An insider’s view from Raoul N Wallenberg’s sister on his lifes work.

Luleå University of Technology

56 Talented & Swedish national acts making waves

Raoul Wallenberg’s diplomatic family tree

SWEDISH COMPANIES

Sweden for life

18 Kate Wacz tells us of her memories from when

she was a young girl saved by Raoul Wallenberg

48 The spirit of Raoul Wallenberg emanates from his birthplace

54 The Raoul Wallenberg room at Stockholm’s Armé Museum

FEATURES

stelle - Sweden’s Future Queen - Sweden E welcomes H.R.H Estelle Silvia Mary

10 American Ambassador Mark Brzezinski brings

his experience to the US embassy in Stockholm

S P R ING 2 0 1 2

The XPats - The American Club of Sweden

22 IVL Sjöstadsverket: Working to ensure the

SWEDISH TRAVEL

Serenity on Stockholm’s Steps

24 Trafikverket - Gröna Tåget; Modern technology

Treehotel - Getting off the ground

ART & CULTURE

future of the world’s water

makes high-speed train travel possible

S weden - The operations centre for Uddeholm which was established over 350 years ago.

30 From Trash to Treasure - 4Cycle 34

SFK - a centtury in China

inansinspektionen - Sweden’s Financial F Advisor

TUR - Reinventing the travel trade fail

Weiwei finds freedom in Stockholm

An exhibition of emotional experience

52 Eugène Jansson - Poetry in Brilliant Blue 68 Sweden’s Cottage Industry Grows - Spotlight on Re Think Design

around the world this year

FASHION

ge before beauty - The mature model A revolution

GOURMET

here taste matters - Cajsa Warg - you can find W everything you need for perfect contemporary life.

ytte’s Food - Cured Salmon shots with chive P panna cotta recipe

SWEDISH DIARY

What does retirement truly mean?

S P E C IAL FEA FO TC UU RS E

Estelle Sweden’s Future Queen Sweden welcomes H.R.H Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary, Sweden’s newest princess born at Karolinska Hospital in the small hours of February 23rd 2012. T E X T: E L I Z A B E T H D A C E Y- F O N D E L I U S

42 shots of salute resounded across Riddarfjärden at noon that same day to welcome the arrival of baby Estelle.The official notification came earlier in the day from the Office of the Marshal of the Realm, which proclaimed, “We are delighted to announce that H.R.H Crown Princess Victoria gave birth to a daughter on Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 4.26 am.”

he princess, who remained unnamed for her first day, sent the Swedish media into overdrive, with everyone across the country talking about the royal baby. Even those Swedes who were reluctant to be called Royalists were pleased by the news. Boel Stier was nearby when the salute was fired and said, “I’m not a fan of the monarchy but it’s always nice to greet the arrival of a little one to the world.” Another observer, Fredrik Engvall, remarked on the birth, saying it was just what the monarchy needed following a tumultuous year of scandal around the royal family. “I am pleased to hear good news about Swedish royalty in general. There hasn’t been too much of that lately.” On the day of the birth the traditional princess cake, a marzipan covered creamy cake, sold out almost immediately in bakeries across Sweden, with everyone happy to celebrate the arrival of a new heir. The birth of a daughter will secure the female dominance of the Swedish throne for decades to come. Sweden’s laws on royal succession were reformed in 1980 after the birth of male heir apparent, Prince Carl Philip. The amended constitution now practices equal primogeniture, which means that the crown is

passed to eldest child regardless of gender. This officially made Princess Victoria the crown princess and the new heir apparent. Also, rather indicative of a modernised royal family, Prince Daniel, the father attended while his wife gave birth, he also cut the umbilical cord. He emerged just hours after the birth to announce the good news to a rejoicing Swedish nation. Looking very dapper despite a long night he charmed his audience, displaying his overwhelming emotional joy having become a father. Prince Daniel and his princesses left Karolinska Hospital at 1pm on the same day to return home to Haga Palace for continued rest and recovery and the wonder of becoming new parents. It was Friday, the day following the birth, when the proud grandpa, King Carl XVI Gustav, announced the princess’s name. Sweden as a nation is indeed rather jubilant and enthralled by the arrival of this royal bundle of joy.

Congratulations to Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel on your beautiful daughter from the team at Swedish Bulletin. 9

FEA T U R E IN T EFO R VIE C UW S

he recent commemoration of 100 years since the birth of Raoul Wallenberg - the Swedish diplomat and honorary American citizen who gave his life in saving thousands of Jews during World War II - provided a moment of reflection on shared sacrifice and transatlantic ties between Sweden and the United States. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton together penned an opinion piece in the New York Times on Wallenberg’s legacy, and a chestnut tree in his honour will soon be planted on the grounds of the American Ambassador’s residence in Stockholm. Raoul Wallenberg’s spirit of public service and sacrifice resonates powerfully with Mark Brzezinski who became the United States Ambassador to Sweden in November last year. His grandfather, Tadeusz Brzezinski, served as a diplomat in the foreign ministry of Poland, he is recognized as a rescuer by the state of Israel for issuing Polish passports to Jews in Leipzig that enabled them to safely leave Germany in the 1930s. “Public service has been without a doubt the highest calling in my family,” says Ambassador Brzezinski, whose father Zbigniew Brzezinski - recognized as one of the leading American foreign policy statesmen of his generation - served as National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter. Foreign policy and diplomacy therefore runs deep in the Brzezinski family, with the Ambassador’s career being no exception. He holds a PhD in political science from Oxford University and also served in the National Security Council during the Clinton Administration and advised Barack Obama during his election campaign. Perhaps the most important qualification for his current assignment as Ambassador to Sweden, however, is his background as a lawyer with extensive experience in the private sector. “I am a product of the business community,” he says, citing commercial diplomacy as one of the main priorities in his capacity as US Ambassador. This entails much more than simply promoting bilateral trade. “Economic statecraft is the buzzword at the State Department right now. It’s about jobs, but also about how global business can transfer certain values that we share with Sweden in terms of fairness and transparency.”

A family tradition of foreign policy and public service American Ambassador Mark Brzezinski brings experience from a broad background in private industry and international affairs to the US Embassy in Stockholm and the blogosphere. T E X T AND P HO T O S : E R I C PA G L I A

A prime example is global efforts to combat corruption. “My work as a lawyer specialised in anti-corruption and anti-bribery - a signature focus of the Obama administration,” says Ambassaor Brzezinski. The Ambassador cites security as another crucial area of cooperation. “The United States is profoundly grateful for the relationship with Sweden in the key challenges we face together in places like Afghanistan, Kosovo and Libya,” he says. Sweden’s significant moral authority, and the material assistance it provided to the Libyan effort were important factors in the successful outcome, according to Ambassador Brzezinski. Moreover, he considers the way in which the Libya crisis was managed a key accomplishment of the Obama presidency thus far, in which the United States served as a catalyst for collective action but where many other partners, including non-NATO

countries like Sweden, made substantial contributions. “The way Libya was handled shows how much we can do when friends join us on shared challenges,” says Ambassador Brzezinski as he reflects a reshaped role for the United States in international affairs under President Obama. Despite growing discussions in the media of a “pivot to Asia” in US foreign policy, the Ambassador emphasises that the increasing importance of Asian countries as economic and geopolitical partners does not come at the expense of America’s traditional allies in Europe.

“It is incredibly important at this moment to convey to our European friends the bedrock foundation of the transatlantic relationship for American engagement with the world,” he argues. “This is based on many years of friendship and working together with a unity of purpose and shared sense of threat and opportunity. Relations with Sweden should be seen in that context, and the United States embassy is trying to convey the importance of this relationship, which is in word and in deed.” Ambassador Brzezinski has a particular passion for environmental issues, and identifies the Arctic as a region where the effects of climate change have already become evident. The US embassy is working closely with Sweden during the current Swedish chair of the Arctic Council. “We are incredibly excited about Sweden’s leadership position as chairman of this important institution at a time of real interest in the Arctic,” says the Ambassador. He recently travelled to the cities of Kiruna and Jokkmokk within the Arctic Circle, a trip he shared via social media.

“Social media is for the modern diplomat what the diplomatic pouch was for the diplomat of 40 years ago”, he says. “It is a way of connecting to a particular generation and demographic, and to transfer information instantaneously; especially since some of the challenges we face today require us to move quickly.”

FEA T U R E IN T E R VIE W

The US embassy has a strong presence on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr,Youtube and the embassy’s own environmental blog SAGA. In addition, Ambassador Brzezinski and his wife Natalia are themselves avid bloggers with Mrs Brzezinski blogging for the Huffington Post, and the two together sharing their experiences in Sweden via the Brzezinski Blog. Mrs Brzezinski’s often blogs about her observations of family life in Sweden, which the Brezinskis are themselves immersed in as they are raising their daughter in Stockholm.

“Family life is held sacred here,” says Mrs Brzezinski, “Coming to Sweden from a very fast paced Washington D.C. has been really healthy for us. When it gets dark at 3pm in the winter, we can wind down, play with our daughter; we are spending so much wonderful family time while we are here.”

Mrs. Brzezinski is also impressed by the Swedish social infrastructure for families with young children and the role this plays in promoting gender equality, as she continues – “I am very interested in women’s issues, and the extensive day care system and support for women in Sweden is admirable. It allows me to feel secure having my daughter in a fantastic preschool, which in turn enables me to pursue other things that make me a better mother.” The Ambassador and his wife are excited to be representing the United States in this year of election, when the American political system attracts even more international attention. “This is a great year to be an ambassador because of what is happening in the United States. It’s a very healthy process where ideas and policies are tested, and we are looking forward to observing and interpreting what is happening in America for our Swedish friends,” says Ambassador Brzezinski.

Visit Lidingö – The healthy island

Brzezinski Blog: http://blogs.usembassy.gov/sweden/

www.lidingo.se Springtime in Lidingö, Stockholm. Surrounded by the sea – the legendary birthplace of Raoul Wallenberg turns into a spectacular display of vibrant blue.

FO C U S

“Let Raoul be an inspiration and let’s give meaning to his courageous actions to save so many others.”

aoul Wallenberg was a man of conscience. Nina Lagergren recounts her memories of the time he took on the mission to save thousands of lives from the Nazis in 1944-45.

“On his way to Budapest, he dropped by Berlin to visit me, but stayed only part of the time as he wanted to get on with his task. In order to arrive in Budapest sooner, he hopped on a train although no seats were available.” He had a deep sense of how little time there was left for Hungray’s Jewish population in July 1944, and for Wallenberg every minute was crucial. Protected by a Swedish Diplomatic passport and financed by the US Refugee War Board, the young Wallenberg used his creativity and determination to save the lives of many of the remaining Jews in Budapest. According to his sister, upon his arrival in Budapest, he hired over 400 people to work in the safety of his offices – provided housing (safe houses) and also arranged soap and food for people in the ghetto. He was an “enormously capable doer” and he set up hospitals, schools, soup kitchens, and a special shelter for 8,000 children whose parents had already been deported or killed. In January 1945, after the Nazis were driven out following a bloody battle with the Soviet Army, the city descended into mayhem. Raoul Wallenberg sought out the Soviet Commander in order to create a safe situation for the Jews of Budapest during the chaotic occupation. When doing this, he was captured by the Soviets and taken to Lubjanka Prison in Moscow where he disappeared. Since then, despite an international outcry, the true reasons for his arrest and detention have never been established. Nor has it been possible to access the records of what happened to him during his brutal incarceration. Raoul’s early life sewed the seeds of his courageous deeds. His father died before Raoul was born and his maternal grandfather shortly after. His paternal grandfather, Gustav Wallenberg, became his mentor and confidant. A well-travelled Swedish diplomat, Gustav wanted Raoul to have a greater than a privileged life in Sweden and transformed him into a citizen of the world.

Nina Lagergren During this centennial year of Raoul Wallenberg’s birth, as the world celebrates his values of humanitarianism and courage, is it not now time to honour this man of conscience with the truth behind his disappearance and demise? His sister, Nina Lagergren, is one of the many people who have never stopped searching. T E X T: L A U R E N D Y E R A M A Z E E N

P HO T O : D A V I D FA L K

Nina recounts, “His grandfather wanted him to have a nontraditional education. He wanted him to work more with people.” She also states that in his younger years he took care of his mother and grandmother. He was funny and caring towards his siblings and he could always turn a situation around. “He could turn a difficult situation into humour that all could share, even as a child he kept his family smiling... Raoul always showed compassion toward others.” When he was a young man in Swiss boarding-school, he took a young Hungarian under his wing and protected him from being bullied. He travelled extensively from France to the US to Haifa in Israel. Possessing a gift for languages, he was able to converse with Jewish refugees arriving in Haifa from Europe between 1935 and 36, and he was able to learn of the horrible

events that were unfolding there. Wallenberg became more acutely aware that his true interest lay in helping people directly. Nina points out that the heroic actions of another Swede, Elsa Brändström, had a great influence on Raoul Wallenberg. Brändström was the daughter of a former Swedish ambassador to Russia beginning with the reign of Tsar Nicolas II. She was moved to action as a result of witnessing first hand the horrors of conflict and the harsh treatment of refugees and prisoners of war when in 1915, she visited Siberia for the Swedish Red Cross in order to administer basic medical treatment to the POWs. After World War II, she started to raise funds for children in need in Germany, and as a result, organisations like CARE International were formed. Wallenberg, like Brändström, believed in the rights and dignity of all humans, during a time when this was not internationally sanctioned (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was not adopted until 1948).

Nina Lagergren has worked extensively to keep the morality and humanity of her brother’s deeds alive, to be passed on to the next generation. In 2004, when Raoul Wallenberg became an honorary citizen of Hungary, Nina received the award and asked for a school to be founded in his name. In fact there are now a significant number of schools around the world dedicated to teaching young children the values of compassion, courage and human dignity. Stockholm has its own Academy of Young Leadership run by Anna Belfrage, which focuses solely on leadership training for young people through Wallenberg’s belief that “Whoever saves one human life, is as if he saved the world.” There are schools named after him in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Germany, Sweden, Uruguay,Venezuela and the US. In the famous Raoul Wallenberg School in Brooklyn, New York, the sentence “One man can make a difference” is written over the door. Wallenberg has been given honorary citizenship in countries like Canada, Israel, Hungary and the United States. In 1985, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick, speaking on the fortieth anniversary of Raoul Wallenberg’s arrest, said Wallenberg “has become more than a man, more even than a hero. He symbolizes a central conflict of our age, which is the determination to remain human and caring and free in the face of tyranny. What Raoul Wallenberg represented in Budapest was nothing less than the conscience of the civilized world.”

To learn more about Raoul Wallenberg and special events for 2012 see below. www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Society/Government-politics/ Facts/Raoul-Wallenberg/ www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/15163 www.facebook.com/pages/Raoul-Wallenberg/31981558556

Raoul with his grandfather Gustav

FO C U S

100 years of Exellence

Raoul Wallenberg’s Diplomatic Family Tree T E X T: D A V I D B A R TA L

Countless numbers of people across the world are aware of Raoul Wallenberg’s acts of courage in saving the lives of up to 100,000 Jews in Budapest during the closing days of World War Two. The centennial of his birth has been marked in 2012 by memorials, ceremonies and celebrations in almost every major city in the Western World.

Yet another of Raoul’s older relations, Ebba Bonde (previously Wallenberg), used her privileged status to organise aid for European refugees and children who were racially persecuted during the war.

One of Raoul Wallenberg’s early role models was his paternal grandfather - Gustaf Oscar Wallenberg (1863–1937) - the Swedish Ambassador to Tokyo. Because his father died before he was born, Raoul’s grandfather became something of a substitute father.

Behind the scenes the two brothers Marcus and Jacob regularly and covertly shared important political and military intelligence with the British. They were among the first to warn of Nazi plans to invade Denmark and Norway for example, and it was they who informed the British of the scheduled German operation Barbarossa in Russia in the summer of 1941.

allenberg is often depicted as an “accidental” diplomat of sorts. Relatively few people are aware that Raoul was heir to a unique family tradition of diplomacy expressed over many generations. Many members of the Wallenberg clan have played a significant and dramatic role in modern Swedish history, particularly in the realm of foreign policy.

Another of Raoul’s ancestors was his father’s uncle, Knut Wallenberg (1853–1938), a serious-minded banker who served as Swedish foreign minister during World War One. In the wake of The Great War, yet another Wallenberg - Marcus Sr. - helped negotiate plans for the financial reconstruction of Hungary and Austria when working as a member of the League of Nations Finance Committee. Raoul’s godfather Jacob Wallenberg (1892-1980) had a particularly colourful quasi-diplomatic role during the Second World War. He negotiated Sweden’s terms of trade with Germany. At the same time, Jacob’s younger brother Marcus “Dodde” Wallenberg (1899-1982) helped negotiate Sweden’s terms of trade with Great Britain.These unusual parallel trade negotiations carried out by the two brothers helped keep neutral Sweden just that, neutral and detached from the conflict.

At the conclusion of World War Two, the reputation of the brothers was tarnished - in the USA primarily - when it was revealed that they had secretly conducted a business deal that attempted to conceal the German ownership of several subsidiaries of the Bosch Corporation. Paradoxically, the Wallenberg’s principal connection to the Bosch Corporation was Jacob Goerdeler, an anti-Nazi industrialist who was executed for his role in a plot to kill Adolf Hitler. Although Raoul Wallenberg was on the periphery of the family’s powerful financial and industrial dynasty, there is no doubt that he was heir to its legacy of diplomatic expertise. Raoul, along with numerous family members, used his considerable skills as a public servant and negotiator in remarkable and sometimes clandestine ways during one of the darkest periods of European history. The circumstances surrounding Raoul’s death are still unclear.

IT WAS THE 24TH OF FEBRUARY 1912 WHEN THE ELEGANT DOORS OF THE STRAND HOTEL OPENED FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. The Strand’s “Roof Garden” opened and Stockholmers gained an aerial view of the city from an entirely new vantage point. To make your own experience at this historical Stockholmer point, visit our site and see the special rates at:

radissonblu.com/strandhotel-stockholm

FO C U S

ate Wacz was one of the many children saved by the courageous Raoul Wallenberg. Her brother, Gustav Kadelburger, was fifteen at the time and one of many messengers for Wallenberg – the young messengers were an integral part of Wallenberg’s operation as they could get around the city on foot relatively unnoticed and unopposed. Kate’s family - a Swedish steel distributor - lived under the protection of Wallenberg and the Swedish Legation in Budapest. “When the Soviets arrived, during the Siege of Budapest, people said it was like Stalingrad – fighting across the Danube between Nazis and Soviets. Buda was the hilly side; that was where the Swedish Embassy was. Wallenberg moved his offices on the Pest side in 1944. He had offices and buildings that he bought to house people and keep them safe.” Wallenberg designed the ingenious Schutz-Pass - a protective Swedish passport that he issued to as many Jewish residents of Budapest as possible. He was able to convince both the Hungarian and Nazi authorities that not only were these documents valid, but some could be used for several people. In addition, the Swedish Red Cross issued protective letters through Professor Valdemar Langlet and Kate’s cousin was one of many to escape the authorities as a result of this. Even nuns in the cloister were involved and Papal Nuncio Angelo Rotta on behalf of The Vatican. Help also came from members of the Swiss, Spanish, El Salvadorian and Portuguese Consulates. Some people were even able to give documents away to family and friends, as there was a surplus.

Kate’s Story Memories of a young girl saved by Raoul Wallenberg T E X T: L A U R E N D Y E R A M A Z E E N

P HO T O S : D A V I D FA L K

In January 2012 Kate was awarded the prestigious Centennial Wallenberg Award during the inaugural ceremony for Raoul Wallenberg Year in Budapest, which involved both the Swedish and Hungarian Foreign Ministries and the Hungarian Raoul Wallenberg Association. Kate is also extremely proud that she influenced her friend, the late Ulf Björlin, to compose the symphonic work Portrait of Raoul Wallenberg which premiered on April 25th 1990 in the Royal Poinciana Concert Hall in Palm Beach, Florida. It attracted a packed audience including royalty and film stars and it is Kate’s sincere wish that it will be performed again.

“He was so elegant. I remember I was standing with my mother and I looked up at him. He looked to me like a god.” Kate Wacz at age 12

Ambassador Per Anger was Secretary to the Swedish Legation in Budapest during that time. He wrote of Wallenberg in his book, “he was a clever negotiator and organizer, unconventional, extraordinarily inventive and cool-headed . . .” Together Anger and Wallenberg “often literally snatched people from transports and death marches” which were prevalent. Kate’s mother gave each of her children a cyanide pill to take if they were captured. By the last days of the Siege, it was mainly the women and children who had survived. Kate, her mother and brother were taken from their Swedish safe house in Pest with 280 others to Arrow Cross Headquarters (The Hungarian Nazis). It was then that they were taken to the general ghettos. Kate recalls, “ . . . but luckily someone had negotiated not to exterminate the large ghettos before the Russians took over.” Kate goes on to re-tell how the Nazis weren’t the only ones to be feared, “That side of the city where we were ‘Liberated’ by the Soviets on Jan 18, 1945. The Soviets came to the Pest side first; they were told they could rape and pillage”. Outside the Budapest Synagogue, there is a Memorial to the Jewish Martyrs. Resembling a weeping willow, it bears the names of the victims on its branches. “If it had not been for Raoul Wallenberg, I would have been a name on one of the branches,” declares Kate. The Raoul Wallenberg Association started in Sweden in September 1979 – Kate became a member and then a spokesperson, orating from the perspective of a survivor. She has travelled extensively relating her experience as a young girl in the grips of war and emphasising the need to keep Wallenberg’s spirit alive.

R a o u l Wa l l e n b e r g i n h i s l a t e t e e n s

S W EDI S H C OM P ANIE S

IVL Sjöstadsverket: Working to ensure the future of the world’s water

Stockholm provides the perfect setting for a unique and internationally known research and development facility aiming to meet the global future challenges in the field of wastewater purification. T E X T: C H R I S T I N E D E M S T E A D E R

P HO T O S : T O R B J Ö R N L A R S S O N A N D L A R S - G U N N A R L I N D F O R S , C O U R T E S Y S J Ö S TA D S V E R K E T

rom the top of Henriksdalsberget, on the cusp of the Stockholm city limits, is a magnificent view of the Swedish capital - a place often marketed as “beauty on water.” It is a fitting backdrop to Hammarby Sjöstadsverket, a centre for industry and education to collaborate on new breakthrough technologies at a time when clean water is fast becoming a precious commodity in many parts of the world. “The situation is dramatic,” says Östen Ekengren,Vice President of Sjöstadsverket, “People are rapidly moving to the cities, most of which are close to the sea and are using too much of the ground water. In China the ground water

level can go down up to one metre per year and this cannot go on forever.” Radical change is needed to improve the way many regions are using water. Sjöstadsverket is a platform to develop new advances for this purpose and, by implementing and installing their proven methods, promotes the export of Swedish environmental technology. The facility was inaugurated in 2003 in line with the expansion of the Hammarby Sjöstad residential area, a neighbourhood built with a green ethos and a number of ventures to promote environmental living. Originally owned by Stockholm Water, it was sold in 2007 to a consortium comprising of IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and

The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) for just one SEK. “The price was just a symbol,” Ekengren adds, “it was bought with a promise to develop research from within Sweden and abroad with investment costs of around 35 million SEK.” Sjöstadsverket has the possibility of recovering wastewater from the Hammarby Sjöstad residential area, which has no surrounding industry, and pass new treatment technologies through it. Examples include treating and disposing of pharmaceutical residues and minimising the problems of phosphorous flowing out to seas, lakes and rivers.

IVL V i c e P r e s i d e n t M r. Ö s t e n E k e n g r e n

“Our goal is to double the amount of research (taking place), so we are in negotiations to raise more funding and involve more companies,” Ekengren states. “We can’t just work on a national level we need to look at it from a global perspective to develop the right solutions. The need is so high and we have the capability to start more projects to make a real contribution to the development of the future treatment plant.” “On top of that we can produce energy,” Ekengren says, “Many countries incinerate all the sludge which uses energy and ends up as ashes, which you cannot use for anything. By producing biogas you get a fuel that you can produce electricity from or use as a fuel for buses as is done in Stockholm and other Swedish cities.”

Sjöstadsverket currently houses around 20 PhD students from KTH preparing thesis work and regularly welcomes foreign researcher groups. Around 1,000 visitors per year come to study and learn at the facility, which has a European network and keen interest from India, China and South America. It houses a successful combination of basic and applied research as well as company product development.

For more information: www.sjostadsverket.se 23

S W EDI S H C OM P ANIE S

The invisible solution for an environmentally sustainable waste handling

Gröna Tåget Modern technology makes high-speed train travel the green alternative for a sustainable future. T E X T: E R I C PA G L I A P HO T O S : C O U R T E S Y O F G R Ö N A TÅ G E T

weden has set ambitious goals for reducing its emission of greenhouse gases, the majority of which come from the transport sector. Achieving these goals will remain an elusive notion as long as airline and road traffic continue their upward trajectory. However, the recently published results of a major research and development programme known as Gröna Tåget – the Green Train - offers a way to ride the rails towards a low carbon and sustainable future for Scandinavia and beyond.

would consume less energy than the SJ 2000 even though the top speeds of Gröna Tåget are higher,” according to Dr. Oskar Fröidh, an engineer and project leader of Gröna Tåget at the Royal Institute of Technology. With top speeds of 250 km/hour when compared to today’s SJ 2000 maximum of 200 km/hour, Gröna Tåget would greatly reduce travel times on some of the busiest medium and long distance routes within and across the Nordic countries.

Gröna Tåget combines innovation and environmental awareness - two cultural traits the Nordic countries are renowned for. Through a consortium of private companies such as Bombardier, and public authorities that include Vinnova and the Swedish Transport Administration, as well as the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and Chalmers in Gothenberg, the Gröna Tåget programme strives to reduce the environmental impact of long distance travel. It plans to do this by increasing the appeal of trains over high-polluting modes of transport such as automobiles and aviation.

Even higher speeds could be attained if investments were made in further upgrading or replacing existing rail lines. “New high-speed lines could be built in congested corridors to relieve capacity on the conventional main lines. The newly available capacity could be used for more freight and regional passenger services,” says Dr. Fröihd, “The high-speed line enable very short travel times, but is a huge investment. Upgrading conventional lines for higher speeds with car body tilting trains such as Gröna Tåget is an initially cheaper investment, and could also be a complement to high-speed lines if the latter are built later on,” he says.

To achieve this goal, Gröna Tåget has developed a suite of technological solutions that will significantly shorten travel times, improve passenger comfort, and reduce ticket prices by increasing capacity with widebody train cars. This will be undertaken in conjunction with plans to better adapting rail transport to the harsh winter conditions encountered in the North, thus leading to fewer delays and cancellations. “Gröna Tåget on upgraded conventional tracks could have up to 30% more passengers than today’s SJ 2000 express trains, and

In an era of escalating fuel costs and concern over climate change, the traditional romance of train travel takes on new meaning as the modern marvel of Green Train technology points towards a future of high speed and environmentally friendly rail transport.

Our automated waste collection system removes waste in residential areas, large-scale catering establishment as restaurants and airports, city centre and hospitals in over 30 countries. Instead of being transported by lorries through the city, waste travels by air - underground. This invisible solution contributes to a better environment on a local and global level. Envac has developed an international presence with 36 offices across 21 countries in Australia, Europe, North and South America, the Middle East and Asia. Envac - a sustainable contribution to the city environment

To learn more about Gröna Tåget and access the final report of the programme, visit www.gronataget.se

Envac AB, Fleminggatan 7, 112 26 Stockholm, Sweden, Phone +46 8 785 00 10, www.envacgroup.com 25

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Development from a Customer’s Perspective

Sweden – The Operations Centre T E X T: B O O R U N D Q U I S T

P HO T O : C O U R T E S Y O F U D D E H O L M

Established nearly 350 years ago, the tool steel producer Uddeholm has long been associated with knowledge, innovative spirit and high quality Swedish steel. Generations of skilled craftsmen and professionals have laid the foundations for present day products, which are exported all over the world.

ddeholm’s rich heritage began in 1668, central Sweden, where Johan Karlström set up a hammer mill and foundry in Stjärnsfors. Since then, Sweden has been the base for all Uddeholm production, research and development. Found in over 100 countries, Uddeholm is currently a world leader in the production of tool steel, supplying in excess of 100,000 customers. New markets have been established in the emerging world largely due to their own sales channel, ASSAB, which was founded in 1945. New clients include areas of South- East Asia and industrial giants China. This global trade network has been an asset of ever-increasing importance, enabling to provide customers with service, technical support and new solutions wherever they choose to locate their tool manufacturing.

Pioneering Processes

Automotive Strength

Uddeholm is a great pioneer in tool steel processes. Powder steel from Uddeholm is considered the cleanest powder metallurgy tool steel on the market and typical applications are found in the automotive industry. Another very important area is ESR tool steel where Uddeholm is a world leading supplier. Typical ESR applications are steel for tools that produce lenses, mobile phones and other cutting edge electronics.

Uddeholm supplies steel for a broad range of industries, but the automotive industry is by far the most important. With 1500 different tools required to build a car, the links between car manufacturers, suppliers to the automotive industry and Uddeholm are indeed strong.

In recent years, Uddeholm has focused on long-run die casting production and the importance of a good property profile for the dies. Continued growth depends, to a large extent, on the greater use of die castings in the automotive industry, where weight reductions are becoming increasingly important. The superior properties of the tool steel can also be utilised in machine components and other applications that go beyond the traditional. Uddeholm Component Business is a concept that offers more advanced materials for a range of areas including the motor racing industry.

Consequently, Uddeholm has built a reputation as the world’s most innovative steel producer, and in our R&D department, over 40 engineers work in one of Sweden’s most advanced laboratories with the goal of supplying our customers with the best performance product, and subsequently, remaining a market leader by developing new steel grades. We have made it a point of honour to be a leader in the technological development of tool steel and to widen the application of the product. And trust us; as one of the world’s leading suppliers of tooling materials and related services, Uddeholm is expecting to excel in future years with their unique product and service package.

Years ago Uddeholm launched their own global package for automotive manufacturers, with the aim to shorten lead times and reduce costs for the customer.The Uddeholm Automotive Tooling Concept looks at each stage of the supply chain starting with the needs of the die and mould manufacturer, to the tool user, through to the final recipient of the components. The demand for more advanced materials is constantly increasing and today advanced high strength steel (AHSS) is the leading material in modern design solutions, particularly in the automotive industry. As a result, Uddeholms AB have cooperated with AHSS producers in research and development in order to create a higher standard and harmonized yield and so achieving the right tooling solution for the Advanced High Strength Steel.

S W EDI S H T R AVEL

We l c o m e a b o a r d Enjoy the archipelago view aboard one of our traditional Steamboats

Serenity on

Stockholm’s Steps Welcome aboard with Waxholmbolaget, and take a quintessentially Swedish tour on a quintessentially Swedish boat. P HO T O : M A G N U S R I E T Z

enuine archipelagos exist in very few corners of the world and it happens to be Stockholm, which boasts the largest. Beginning in the centre of the city at Strömkajen, where Waxholmbolaget boats are moored, it stretches mile after mile out into to the Baltic. Some 30,000 islands and skerries are passed along the way, which gradually shift in character the farther out we get. Firstly, and at it’s heart, is the lush inner archipelago, which is relatively well developed and the core of archipelago life. Discover historic Vaxholm - the archipelago capital with its winding lanes and stately summerhouses - as well as pretty little villages and old fishing stations, still buzzing with activity, at least in the summer. Even though the number of year-round residents has increased in recent years, it is during the summer months that the area really comes alive. Fishing huts, summerhouses and old post offices are transformed into cosy inns, comfortable guesthouses and youth hostels, galleries, shops and handicraft studios. Even during the busy summer season, it is never hard to find your own private paradise in the archipelago.

Take a stroll through woods, past gentle meadows and along endless rocky beaches, with only eiders and red-breasted mergansers for company. As you edge nearer to the outer archipelago, you might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a seal. Out here the landscape becomes more increasingly barren, wild and windswept. In the past these islands were inhabited by people who made a living from the sea, but they have long since left their fishing stations and lighthouses and today it is mainly sailors, along with grey seals and sea eagles, who find their way to these archipelago outposts. Information about the archipelago, including timetables and boat hikers’ maps, is available at Waxholmsbolaget terminals at Strömkajen, right outside the entrance of Grand Hôtel. We can also recommend visiting the archipelago’s very own travel agency,Visit Skärgården, on Strandvägen in Stockholm. Learn all about the archipelago and its islands, find out what activities are available and check out the special offers at Visit Skärgården, Strandvägen, quay 18, Stockholm, tel 08-100 222. Information office and cafe is open Monday – Sunday, 10am- 4pm.

www.waxholmsbolaget.se.Tour information, tel +46 8 679 58 30. 29

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4CYCLE don’t claim to have all the solutions, they do offer a business model that addresses the issue at hand. Halling shared, “If we can change the minds of the financial and governmental institutions regarding waste – to see it as a resource instead of a problem – then we are well on our way to addressing the issues.” Despite repeatedly being told that the business is not viable, Halling and his team continue to prove that it is, and moreover, identify new opportunities for recycling and repurposing materials. They are currently looking at hotels, boutiques, and clothing manufacturers as potential areas of interest. According to Halling, “We need to begin to do things {that are good for the environment} because we can, not because we are told to by law.” The folks at 4CYCLE are motivated by three primary ideals; passion, new thinking and care. Halling wants to ensure that his team is thinking big and finding new ways of proving that the concept of profitable sustainability is realistic. He also understands that not every idea will be “the” idea. “If we never ever dare to do wrong, we can never do right.”

H&M Relocation Facts • 1000 obsolete working stations • 2nd hand sales for 610,468 SEK • 88% of furniture and materials recycled • 26,264 kg recycled metals • 13,852 kg recycled electronic components • 63,100 kg burnable waste • 10,660 kg mixed waste • T he metal scrap recycled was equal to materials used in 2,121 new bicycles • T he burnable waste was equal to the heating needed to heat 15 houses for a year

So what are the current primary goals for Halling and 4CYCLE?

4CYCLE: A Company With a Conscience T E X T: M I C H A E L H E L A N D E R

ocial consciousness is often something that a company is ’forced’ to undertake to appeal to their customers, community, and government - a way to boost their image to offset negative environmental impact of their product. But for the Swedish company 4CYCLE, there is no sense of forced reprieve. It is, quite simply, a part of their DNA. In 2004, Pelle Halling was at the very crossroads many discover themselves at during a career. He asked himself – what is my next step in life? How can I find balance between work, friends and family? The answer, for him, was simple: create the company that creates the job. With a background in corporate relocation consultation, Halling was often witness to furniture and resource waste, as companies didn’t want to spare the time or means to find alternate uses for such items. Many companies also may be inclined to shy away from the concept of ‘responsible disposal’ due to misconceptions that acting environmentally friendly means they have to dig deeper into the corporate coffer. By creating 4CYCLE, Halling developed proof of financial viability for responsible disposal, and at the same time extending the life of displaced furniture by giving it to non-profit organisations or schools without budgetary means to acquire much needed furniture and equipment. The company’s Return to Environment® (RTE) program helps companies to understand return on investment

LÖNSAM HÅLLBARHET

P HO T O S : C O U R T E S Y O F 4 CYC L E

in their own terms. The 4CYCLE business model sets fees based on a percentage of actual savings for a removal project, and subsequently it appears that the company has been able to repeatedly prove fiscal savings time and time again with clients like H&M, Skanska and Vasakronan. It appears there is no down side to 4CYCLE’s business model. Customers save money on the removal of their furniture and equipment, not to mention the positive publicity when some of that furniture is relocated to an environment it is greatly needed. This was the case for the Doctors without Borders office when H&M headquarters were moved to new offices in Stockholm. There are beneficiaries at both ends of the 4CYCLE spectrum. When speaking with Halling recently, he was quick to point out that it is not 4CYCLE that gives, it’s actually their customers. “We help conduct social responsibility on behalf of our customers,” said Halling, “We take the ‘garbage’ that you don’t want and we turn it into something valuable for someone else.” The good work doesn’t stop there. As was the case with the H&M relocation, the folks at 4CYCLE were also responsible for disposing of an extensive amount of materials, of which they were able to recycle and reuse 88%. The disposal of waste, and burgeoning landfills continues to be a highly disputed topic the world over. While the people at

“

I want the term ‘4cycling’ to become a part of everyday language. It means so much more than just recycling because there are so many more winners.

“

From Trash to Treasure

“I want the term ‘4cycling’ to become a part of everyday language. It means so much more than just recycling because there are so many more winners.”

Uddeholm tool steel in your everyday life Steel affects us in millions of ways. Every day we use all kinds of products manufactured with tools made from Uddeholm steel – cars, mobile phones, plastic mugs, computers and refrigerators to name a few. Many of the world’s best-known brands choose Uddeholm’s tool steel whenever production calls for precision and optimum performance. Our products are always state-of-the-art and the fruit of close to 350 years of experience. Consequently, we have built a reputation as the world’s most innovative and trustworthy tool steel producer. So the next time you go for a drive or look for a snack, chances are that parts of your car or fridge were shaped by Uddeholm tool steel. Make the everyday work – go for a better steel.

www.uddeholm.com 32

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S W EDI S H C OM P ANIE S

SKF – a Century in China T E X T: C H R I S T I N A L I N D E R O T H - O L S O N

P HO T O C O U R T E S Y O F S KF Jonatan Holst, Chief Press Officer at Finansinspektionen

Finansinspektionen – Sweden’s Financial Advisor S KF G r o u p H e a d q u a r t e r s i n G ö t e b o r g

ounded in Gothenburg in 1907, SKF is one of the classic Swedish company groups. Based on the young engineer Sven Wingquist’s invention of the first self-aligning ball bearing, it quickly expanded all over the globe. The SKF group is a leading global supplier of products, solutions and services within rolling bearings, seals, services and lubrication systems. Today the company can be found in more than 130 countries. Western Europe is all in all the largest market with around 13 per cent of the sales coming from Germany. The most important single market is the US with contributes to around 16 per cent of the group’s total sales. This year, China plays host to the SKF centennial - the rapidly growing economic powerhouse also being a largely important market. To celebrate the centennial, there will be a conference to share knowledge with customers and some festivities. “In 1912, SKF established an agent in Shanghai, and a few years later a sales company was added. Today, we have thirteen manufacturing units, sales companies in 27 cities and more than 5,000 employees in China. The Chinese market is enormously dynamic; one challenge is to recruit the right people. A few years ago, we started SKF College Campus Shanghai to promote company knowledge among our employees and customers,” says Erik Nelander, Managing Director for SKF China. SKF can be found mainly in the industrial parts of the country, for example the coastal region in eastern China and Shanghai, near the Korean peninsula and around Beijing.

The international financial crisis directly affects the daily work of Finansinspektionen. Now the authority aims to be “tougher and smarter”... T E X T: C H R I S T I N A L I N D E R O T H - O L S O N

“Our view of the future in this country is optimistic. In the last ten years, SKF has increased its market shares. One problem, though, is that changes sometimes occur very quickly, generally following political decisions.We have experienced abrupt production stops in some branches, for example the construction of high-speed trains and the expansion of windpower,” continues Erik Nelander. A research facility is under construction in Shanghai, and in a few years, SKF plans to employ around 400 researchers there. “It is necessary to locate the entire value chain - from research to production and sales - in China if you want to be successful in business here,” emphasises Erik Nelander. SKF technology is based on five platforms – Bearings and units, Seals, Mechatronics, Services and Lubrication Systems. The SKF Group focuses on the automotive segments with solutions for cars, two-wheelers and large trucks. In the industrial sector, SKF serves the strategic segments of aerospace, renewable energy, industrial drives (comprising the industrial electrical, fluid, transmission and material handling segments), off-highway, oil and gas, precision (comprising the Machine Tool, Medical & Automation segments), and railways as well as the focused segments of metals, pulp and paper, mining and cement, food and beverage, and marine. The company’s headquarters is located in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city. SKF employs more than 46,000 people and their turnover in 2011 was SEK 66.216 million.

www.skf.com

P HO T O : C O U R T E S Y O F F I N A N S I N S P E K T I O N E N

n 1991 Finansinspektionen, the Financial Supervisory Authority, was created to supervise and monitor the financial markets – banking, securities and insurance - in Sweden. The authority aims to promote stability in the financial sector as well as ensuring consumer protection. Finansinspektionen authorises and supervises companies operating in the country’s financial markets. It issues regulations and general guidelines in addition to keeping an eye on branches of Swedish companies operating in other EU countries. “Our goal is to be tougher and smarter in order to find potential risks at an early stage. An important part of this work, is the yearly report on risks in the financial systems published in November,” says Jonatan Holst, Chief Press Officer at Finansinspektionen. Today’s international financial crisis directly affects the daily work of the authority. It gained valuable experience in the economic down turn in 2008,

which was brought on by the crash of the sub-prime loans market in the US. The serious effects of this crisis show the importance of recognising early warning signals, not to mention dealing promptly with imbalances in the financial systems. “Now we focus more on risk analysis and preventive supervision. One example is the mortgage cap established in Sweden in 2010. The mortgage cap, which prevents households from borrowing more than 85 percent of their properties market value, is a way to increase protection for individual households from a decline in the housing market, but also a way to prevent Sweden from developing the kind of problems in the housing sector that we have seen in other countries,” says Jonatan Holst. To avoid future problems in the Swedish banking sector, Finansinspektionen, together with the Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) and the Ministry of Finance, would like to see even more stability in the four major banks.

“There is a proposal, that major Swedish banks must have at least 10 percent of core tier 1 capital by the 1st January 2013” continues Jonatan Holst.

In 2009 Martin Andersson was appointed Director General of Finansinspektionen, he takes an active part in two of the EU’s new supervisory authorities. Finansinspektionen is also involved in several international forums, for example the Basel Committee which proposes a new regulatory framework for banks capital and liquidity. Finansinspektionen, with around 320 employees, is located in central Stockholm and is accountable to the Ministry of Finance.

www.fi.se

EDU C A T ION

Students. Photo: Nicke Johansson.

TU offers an interesting range of education programmes and research projects, where interdisciplinary research is a priority.

Luleå University of Technology T E X T: C H R I S T I N A L I N D E R O T H - O L S O N

Established in 1971, Luleå University of Technology (LTU) is one of Sweden’s youngest seats of higher learning, however it has built a reputation for world-class research across several areas. “Some of LTU’s best known fields are mining, energy and ITtechnology, following the fact that important regional business areas are forestry, hydro power, steel and mining. Mining has expanded, due to the growing demand in base metals,” says Erik Höglund, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of LTU. Among the research profiles are: customer-oriented construction engineering, materials engineering, mining engineering and metallurgy, ICT, product development and sustainable use of resources. LTU is engaged in the large-scale relocation to Kiruna, where many years of mining has deformed the ground beneath the city. New Giron (Good Infrastructure for Regional Transformation and Industrial Development) is an EU funded research and development project for a sustainable society, focusing on social transformation in Kiruna. Special attention is on building new sustainable infrastructure and buildings, both in the city centre and in residential areas. Research is carried out in close cooperation with large global industries as well as LTU’s partner universities.

“We collaborate with Royal Dutch Shell, Ericsson, Volvo, IBM, Scania, Boliden, Vattenfall, SKF and other large companies. This collaboration gives our students access to a valuable industrial network.” Luleå is the residential city of the northern province of Norrbotten. It could be said that it’s the perfect place to study for winter sport lovers, the university has its own ski resort with self-catering in Vassijaur. Hockey is also extremely popular in the city, largely due to its teams many successes. Luleå also boasts a rich cultural vibrancy, including music and art, not to mention the good night life with pubs, restaurants and one of Sweden’s oldest night clubs.

Facts & Figures LTU has four campuses. Luleå is the main campus with master programmes in economics, engineering and social sciences. The school of teaching is also located in Luleå. Piteå focuses on music and communications studies. Examples of programmes taught in Skellefteå are computer game programming and computer graphics. LTU Skellefteå is a leader in the field of wood technology and Kiruna offers Sweden’s only master programme in space technology. The student body includes 16,000 students, of which roughly 300 are international students and the staff numbers around 1,500 employees including 160 professors.

L u l e å Te c h n i c a l U n i v e r s i t y 4 0 y e a r s i n 2 0 1 1 . P h o t o : P i e r r e T ö r n k v i s t

E r i k H ö g l u n d , D e p u t y V i c e - C h a n c e l l o r o f LT U Photo: Leif Nyberg

2011 We are conducting different methods of dialogue that empowers our citizens to involve themselves in ongoing development projects.

2011 This autumn a new center for knowledge and culture, called Messingen, opened in central Väsby. The building includes one of Sweden’s most modern high schools.

CONTACTOR

ctof rs ve ng ts.

2011 This autumn a new center for knowledge and culture, called Messingen, opened in central Väsby. The building includes one of Sweden’s most modern high schools.

VÄSBY TOWN – TOWARDS VÄSBYA TOWN SUSTAINABLE –VÄSBY TOWARDS TOWN COMMUNITY A –SUSTAINABLE TOWARDS A COMMUNITY SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY

Väsby is the first community in Sweden thatVäsby is entirely is the firstactive community participation in Väsby Sweden from is the that residents first is entirely community and business. active in Sweden participation Wethat is entirely from residents active and participation business. from We residents and business. We eco-certified, which means that we are particularly eco-certified, which strive means for diversity that eco-certified, we thatareempowers particularly which all means citizens. strive that Väsby we forare diversity particularly that empowers striveall forcitizens. diversityVäsby that empowers all citizens. Väsby committed to work for a sustainable development committed in to work townfor offers a sustainable qualitative committed development service to work andfor attractive ina sustainable town living offers in development qualitative in servicetown and offers attractive qualitative living inservice and attractive living in several aspects. We are creating a modernseveral town with aspects.the Weexpanding are creating several Stockholm a modern aspects. – Arlanda town We with are region. creating the expanding a modern Stockholm town with – Arlanda the expanding region. Stockholm – Arlanda region. www.upplandsvasby.se

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www.upplandsvasby.se

11-11-09 14.13.13

S W EDI S H R EGION S

TUR – reinventing the travel trade fair T E X T: C H R I S T I A N V O N E S S E N ILLU S T R AT ION OF HO T EL GO T HIA T O W E R : S V E N S K A M Ä S S A N P HO T O S : S Ö R E N H Å K A N L I N D

Per Magnusson

Demand for flexibility

nce a year, Sweden’s somewhat Stockholmbased travel industry departs the capital for several days of intensive networking, and equally intensive partying. Welcome to TUR, Gothenburg, 22th-25th of March 2012. Gothenburg appears to have become Sweden’s main hub for travel, meetings and conference professionals. Stockholm has tried several times, but no one comes close to the influence that TUR possesses. However, running a travel trade fair is hard work, regardless of national monopoly status. Helsinki based Matka is the largest travel fair in Northern Europe with regards to the number of visitors, although TUR has more exhibitions and a wider range of activities and seminars. Reiseliv in Norway reinvents itself this year to entice more private consumers, and in Copenhagen there is Ferie I

Bella, which last year attracted 40,000 visitors. The largest and most prestigious European meeting places are ITB in Berlin and World Travel Market in London. Obviously, being present at all of these trade fairs is a very expensive and time-consuming effort. The financial crisis hasn’t made matters easier, and the number of visitors on TUR has been decreasing from 53,000 in 2009 to 45,000 in 2011.

with a local branding agency.” Among the most important news is that the industry activities start with a “Networking Day” on Wednesday the 21st of March. Taking place, aside from the obvious intensive networking, will be speed dating for business meetings and a panel debate with four highly influential gentlemen from the regional travel industry – Braathen, Stordalen, Carlzon and Grönblom.

Changes to survive

Because of the new Wednesday activities, the public is allowed to enter Svenska Mässan as early as Friday afternoon as opposed to the usual restriction of just Saturday and Sunday. That way the industry professionals can stay more focused on their work while the public are allowed more time to be inspired by the exhibitions. It will also become easier to buy travels directly at the fair. Live performances and treasure hunts for the children will make the weekend more family-oriented.

Per Magnusson is the project manager at TUR for the third year in a row, and this time he is under more pressure than ever to perform well. “We started the process already in June, and we have interviewed both exhibitors and visitors to see what we can do better,” he says. “It’s been an enormous amount of work, and we have developed several creative and efficient solutions together

While it used to be mandatory for exhibitors to buy space for all four days, TUR has now developed the concept known as Global Point, which is a circular area in the middle of Exhibition Hall C where exhibitors can buy as little as three hours of exposure for meetings and competitions. In Hall B a similar area will focus only on food and drink from around the world. “To go by old routines and simply offer exhibitors a space and let them do the rest is a strategy that doesn’t work anymore,” is the opinion held by Per Magnusson. “After the financial crisis we had to be much more clear about what you get as an exhibitor. If we don’t provide value for money they will have ten competitors to choose from. But it also means that the participants must become better at preparing for the event and work proactively. They also have to find the right people and develop a clear idea of what the purpose is with the exhibition;

‒is it direct sales, business meetings, networking or brand exposure?” The new and improved TUR might prove to climb back to the top of the game. One crucial reason for the dominance in Gothenburg is the unique central location of Svenska Mässan, which is owned together and is closely conjoined with Hotel Gothia Towers, the Nordic region’s largest hotel. The owners are currently investing 1.2 billion SEK in order to build a third tower and add several floors to the second one. The development includes 500 new hotel rooms, more efficient exhibition halls, as well as several new restaurants, VIP conference rooms and a brand new spa. The development will mean a lot to Gothenburg’s capacity for large conferences and exhibitions. Everything will be up and running by 2015, and time will tell if Stockholm can ever rival Gothenburg when it comes to highprofile international events such as TUR and the Gothenburg Book Fair.

Read more on this subject:

www.scilifelab.se www.investsweden.se www.stockholm-life.se

ith the closure of Astra Zeneca and the recent shutting down some of their research and development facilities, the implication may be that Swedish life science has hit a dead end, but that’s actually quite far from the truth. Also, the old industrial facilities are increasingly being used as clusters for research-based companies.

Stockholm Life One of the largest and most influential developments that will confirm Sweden’s position as a life science hub of international standards is Stockholm Life, a science cluster being built in close and unusually long-term collaboration between the Stockholm and Solna communities across political borders and through several electoral cycles. In an agreement, which was reached back in 2007, Stockholm and Solna has stated that the Stockholm Life area should be one of the leading science hubs in the world by 2020. When looking at the hard facts, the location is impeccable. Within a two-kilometre area there are three top universities in the fields of biology, science and medicine: Stockholm University, Karolinska Institutet and Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan together consist of almost 100,000 students. A merger could potentially create one the finest educational institutions in the world, with another bonus of the proximity of Uppsala University, just a 45 minute train ride away.

The new area will be named Hagastaden, with many of the match-making efforts being carried out by Stockholm Science City Foundation, CEO Ylva Williams hopes that the area will help stimulate collaborations, science projects, and recruitments. “The location is crucial,” she says, “This is not a gated science community – you’re in the middle of the city. There will be 5,000 households, shops and restaurants in Hagastaden, and I envision a vibrant atmosphere where students and scientists can meet and discuss new projects.”

Booming with science In another part of Solna, Professor Mathias Uhlén conducts his numerous research projects in the SciLifeLab at Karolinska Institutet Science Park. A stones-throw from the construction site of New Karolinska, it will be one of the world’s greenest and most modern university hospitals, ready for patients by 2016/17. SciLifeLab stands for Science For Life Laboratory, and the science platform is a collaborative effort between the aforementioned universities together with Uppsala University (there is another SciLifeLab in Uppsala). The main goal is to create an investment-friendly environment for international life science companies. “In Stockholm, we have gone from zero to 350 employees in only two years,” he says, “This combination of international, high-tech equipment and a focus on environmental research makes this really fulfilling.”

Looking for more capital While the Swedish life science industry reaps the benefits of a highly developed infrastructure, internationally renowned know-how and a sound political climate for innovations, there is a lack of heavy investments in order for things to really take off. Invest Sweden is a government agency promoting Sweden abroad as an investment opportunity. Peter Bramberg is responsible for Invest Sweden’s life science business area with many years experience in the industry. “Our surveys show that more than half of the life science businesses in Sweden are looking for an international partner. This is mainly due to the lack of venture capital in life science today.” Peter Bramberg suggests that in the coming years Sweden should implement a high-level business plan intent on developing the life science industry. “The collaboration between the academy, the industry and the business sector is quite strong in Sweden, and research and development investments are among the highest in the world, relatively speaking. We have several strong science clusters and many successful companies, but I strongly believe that we need a national plan to maintain and strengthen our position as a leading life science nation, ensuring that we’re heading towards the same direction.”

Mathias Uhlén

P EO P LE - T HE X P A T S

150 Years in review

The American Club of Sweden T E X T: E L I Z A B E T H D A C E Y- F O N D E L I U S P HO T O S : C O U R T E S Y O F T H E A M E R I C A N C L U B O F S W E D E N

he American Club of Sweden, formally a tender 107 years old, traces its fledgling origins back to 1862 when American Consul C.A. Leas first held informal meetings at the Hotel Rydberg in Stockholm. Today the club is in possession of a first draft transcription dating back to March 1862. The copy was sent to President Sam Cooley from the US National Archives. The original hand-written letter comes from Consul Leas and is addressed to Assistant Secretary of State, William H. Seward. The letter and other State Department communications from that period reveal a focus on trade and commerce and the US Civil War, which had begun in 1861. This period was historically significant for both the United States and Sweden.

While the US was digging into its most turbulent historical era, Sweden was also embroiled in a national crisis of its own - the Swedish great emigration to North America reached its apex in the late 1960s, at the conclusion of the US Civil War. Today’s club continues Consul Leas’ initial mission and objective to strengthen bonds

between the United States and Sweden. This year promises to be an exciting year as the American Club welcomes the new American Ambassador, Mark Francis Brzezinski, the honorary President of the club. Ambassador Brzezinski joins a very illustrious lineage of American ambassadors to Sweden, the first being Benjamin Franklin who never actually made it all the way to Sweden.

The most significant theme in the letter reveals a suspicion that secessionists, better known as The South, might try to procure Swedish made cannons, this fear was quickly dismissed by another diplomat in Sweden at that time. However, trade between the two nations was definitely a topic of active discussion. In many of the documents club enthusiast member Jay Kiskel had reviewed, there was mention of meetings of businessmen who were thought to be pivotal in building trade and commerce between the two nations. The discussions included finding ways to open up opportunities for American businessmen to come to Sweden. It seems as if there was a law on the books at the time preventing American businessmen from coming to trade in Sweden.

“In the longest tail of our history, roots in the 1800’s with an American Consul and Swedish businessmen, is a story of the social and business links that make our lives merge into a single thread, across countries and time.” Sam Cooley, President ACS

A R T & C UL T U R E

Weiwei Finds Freedom in Stockholm

Nowadays, the celebrated artist, who became famous for his use of digital and social media, is communicating via Skype to design a pavillion for the Serpentine Gallery at this year’s London Olympics.

Wo r l d M a p

T E X T: C L A U D I A W A L L I N

P HO T O S : M A G A Z I N E 3 S T O CK H O L M KO N T S H A L L

Widely acclaimed for his role in the design of Beijing´s spectacular Bird´s Nest stadium for the 2008 Olympics, Ai Weiwei is known for his sharp irreverence and criticism of the Communist rule in China.

he tenacious artist has gained international notoriety for being an outspoken critic of the Chinese regime and the country’s human rights record. Now, his first solo exhibition in Sweden is open to the public until June 10th at Magasine 3 Stockholm Konsthall.

The works chosen for the exhibition address Chinese socialism, mass production and global trade. One of the artworks on display is a version of the installation entitled “Sunflower Seeds” with one hundred million porcelain seeds, which was shown in the prestigious Turbine Hall of London’s Tate Modern gallery in 2010.

Planning for the Stockholm exhibition was taking place in Beijing in the Autumn of 2010 when the artist was suddenly placed under house arrest by the Chinese police. Weiwei had been held after attempting to host a party to protest at the demolition of his new Shanghai studio, which according to Chinese authorities lacked the proper planning permission. “I met Ai Weiwei just a couple of days after he was held under house arrest in Beijing. He was remarkably calm, given the circumstances and all the surveillance around him. He is a warm and charismatic person, and he said that it meant a great deal to him that his voice could be heard in Sweden through his work,” says curator Tessa Praun.

“This work has been produced in a city in China famous for its porcelain, made by hand. On the one hand, it is mass production, but on the other hand it is the skill of craftsmanship. In other words, behind all this mass of people, there is an individual. This conveys Ai Weiwei´s notion of lifting the individual from the masses,” observes Tessa Praun.

The exhibition focuses on select Ai Weiwei installations, mainly his most famous, as well as his political work. In a reading room, which includes documentary films, visitors can also learn about the artist’s activism and engagement for social change in China. Artist, blogger, architect and curator; Ai Weiwei is known for his blend of traditional elements of pre-revolutionary China and modern style. Considered as the man who helped change the course of Chinese art, he was among the first artists to break away from Soviet realism and propaganda in the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976).

In 2009, while preparing to testify at the trial of a fellow dissident, he reported of being beaten by police officers in his Chengdu (South-Western China) hotel room in the middle of the night. In the same year his popular blog was also shut down. “But he is still very much active on Twitter,” says Tessa Praun. In December 2010, shortly before the ceremony to award the Nobel Peace Prize to imprisoned activist Liu Xiaobo, Weiwei, like other activists and intellectuals, was prevented from leaving China. He was also detained in April last year and disappeared into custody for 81 days during a crackdown on dissidents amid online calls for Arab-style protests in China. Upon his release in June, Weiwei was charged with tax evasion, for which he received a multimillion-dollar fine. Within days of the charge, tens of thousands of people had contributed more than one million US dollars to help the artist. Recently, tax authorities have apparently agreed to review the ruling.

Born in Beijing in 1957, Ai Weiwei is the son of Ai Qing, one of the most celebrated Chinese poets of the 20th century. His family was exiled from Beijing for nearly 20 years during the Cultural Revolution and allowed to return when Weiwei was 19 years of age. He attended the Beijing Film Institute and at the end of the 1970s co-founded Stars, a group of artists who made history by displaying their provocative art works on the steps of the National Gallery in the Chinese capital.

In parallel with the exhibition “Ai Weiwei”, Magasin 3 has also organised a series of lectures, panel discussions and film screenings with the presence of international participants. The program will debate, in English, topics such as democracy, contemporary art in China, the Internet and the role of the social media in the struggle for freedom of speech. More information about the program can be found at http://www. magasin3.com/en/program/upcoming/. Ai Weiwei himself, of course, will not be present. Since his release under close surveillance last June, Ai Weiwei has been limited in his travel and communications with the outside world.

A i We i We i

“To me this makes it all the more important to present Weiwei in his first solo exhibition in Sweden and to continue making his voice heard,” says curator Tessa Praun.

“Ai Weiwei” Exhibition Address: Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall Frihamnsgatan 28 Sunflower Seeds

In 1983 he moved to New York, where he studied at Parsons School of Design and became a leading figure in the community of exiled Chinese artists. Ten years later, as his father became ill, Ai Weiwei returned to China, but his international status as an artist has not spared him from confrontation with the Chinese authorities.

FO C U S

“His intervention gave hope to victims, encouraged them to fight and resist, to hang on and bear witness. It aroused our collective consciousness. Remembering his life should be an inspiration to others to act; for our future generations to act; for all of us to act.” Kofi A . Annan  UN Secretary General

The spirit of Raoul Wallenberg emanates from his birthplace T E X T: L A U R E N D Y E R A M A Z E E N

he attractive island of Lidingö is situated just northeast of Stockholm. Famed not only for its beauty, the island is the birthplace of Raoul Wallenberg, and on January 27th every year since 2002, Lidingö holds a Raoul Wallenberg Day to coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of this most internationally recognized and honoured Swede with celebrations being held worldwide. To highlight this year’s auspicious occasion honouring one of Lidingö’s sons, Mayor Paul Lindquist hosted a special ceremony with survivors of the Budapest ghetto, relatives of Raoul Wallenberg and many committed people from the Lidingö community amongst the audience members. All in attendance were invited to join a torchlight procession from City Hall to the Raoul Wallenberg monument in City Hall Park where the U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, Mark Brzezinski, delivered a commemorative speech. “In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than vigilance, vigilance for the act of indifference. The importance of not being indifferent is a basic value. Raoul Wallenberg gave his life for his commitment to that basic value.”

The Ambassador added that he personally planned to plant a chestnut tree in Stockholm’s Nobel Park at the U.S. Residence, the same kind of tree that grows at Raoul Wallenberg’s childhood home on Lidingö. On this day every year The Raoul Wallenberg Prize of 30,000 SEK is given to a student, class or school devoting time to a project replicating Wallenberg’s humanitarian spirit, courage, and actions. Birgitta Ohlsson, Minister of EU Affairs was invited to award the 2012 prize to the Little Högsätra School fifth grade class for their valuable work on compassionate understanding and cultural diversity. Notably, the class decided to give their monetary award to a school in Mali. As a special honour, several children were selected from the class to carry a torch made by classmates, which was lit by the US Ambassador. The children rode with the torch on a horse drawn wagon from Lidingö City Hall Park to Wallenberg Torg in Central Stockholm, where they presented the lit torch to UN General Secretary Kofi Annan. This moving ritual served to extend the commemorative festivities from Wallenberg’s birth place in Lidingö into the centre of Stockholm not far from Strandvägen, Stockholm’s most elegant boulevard and the offices where the courageous young Wallenberg received an appointment that lead to his saving thousands of lives.

S PA ER CT IAL & C FEA UL T U R E

An Exhibition of Emotional Experience

“On display, there will be drama books demonstrating how actors should express feelings on stage. They were in use from the 17th century to the early 20th century. ”

T E X T: C H R I S T I N A L I N D E R O T H - O L S O N

Bill Viola: The Quintet of the Astonished, 2000. Photo © Bill Viola

he exhibition Passions: Five centuries of Art and the Emotions show how emotions have been interpreted and portrayed in art from the 16th century to the present day. This spring, Stockholm’s Nationalmuseum places emphasis on emotion and explores how it is portrayed in art. For centuries, artists have conveyed a wide spectrum of feelings to spectators. To interpret human emotions is not always easy, though, as some are more skilled than others in controlling and concealing their true feelings.Views of suitable emotions have varied over time, from praise of showing sentiment to the virtue of calm and self-control.

“Passions is an interdisciplinary project, focusing on the visualisation of human emotions and feelings. The science of physiognomy is helpful in interpreting facial expressions.The 17th century French artist Charles Le Brun classified feelings to make the corresponding expressions immediately recognizable. His Caractères des passions consists of small drawings, each depicting a feeling,” says Karin Sidén, curator of the exhibition and formerly Head of Research at Nationalmuseum. Since February 2012, Karin Sidén has been Museum Director of Prince Eugen’s Waldemarsudde in Stockholm. She promotes the idea of interdisciplinary exhibitions and talks enthusiastically of mixing fine art, music and theatre. She goes on to say:

“On display, there will be drama books demonstrating how actors should express feelings on stage. They were in use from the 17th century to the early 20th century. In one of the exhibition rooms, madrigals by Monteverdi, for whom the meaning of good music was to affect the soul, will play whenever a visitor sits down on a sofa placed on a small stage.” The exhibition will focus on emotions expressed in mimics, gestures and body language in western art from the 16th century up to present day. More than a hundred works by Rembrandt, Dürer, Edvard Munch, Bill Viola, Rineke Dijkstra and other artists will be included. Visitors will be encouraged to reflect on their own emotions. When confronted

with works by Bill Viola, such as images of the suffering of Christ in the Mirror room, they shall have the opportunity to check both their own, and other’s expressions. Parallels to science are presented in books borrowed from the Karolinska Institutet, including illustrations depicting how facial muscles are used in expressing various emotions. In addition to this there will be an interactive Emotions Lab. “The Black Room presents literature on physiognomy from the turn of the last century and the early devolopment of psychoanalysis. In the White Room there will be a small stage to be used for lectures, music and theatre.”

Passions: Five Centuries of Art and the Emotions runs from March 8th to 12th August. You will find Nationalmuseum on Blasieholmen in central Stockholm, near the Grand Hotel. www.nationalmuseum.se Phone +46 8 5195 4410, 5195 43 00.The museum is open Tuesday-Sunday. E d v a r d M u n c h : D e s p a i r, 1 8 9 2 . Photo © Thielska galleriet.

ART & C FEA UL T U R E

mages dominated by shades of romantic blue, depicting night views from the heights of Stockholm’s Södermalm area, is what best evokes memories of Eugène Jansson (1862-1915). He spent all his life in the southern part of the capital, as he was too poor to study in France like so many of his contemporaries did. “His work can be divided into three periods. In his youth, Jansson painted people and landscapes, he also did a few self-portraits. The famous blue images were executed at the turn of the last century. From 1905, he turned to figurepainting, mostly of naked male athletes and gymnasts, but he also painted urban scenes,” says Göran Söderlund, Curator in Chief at Prince Eugen’s Waldemarsudde in Stockholm. Eugène Jansson was a pioneer of modern art. His innovative use of colour coupled with his individual technique, was considered revolutionary. The majority of his canvases are large, several of them measure 150 x 200 cm, and he devoted a lot of time to each painting.

Eugène Jansson – Poetry in Brilliant Blue A pioneer in modern art, Jansson’s blue paintings are much loved by generations of Swedes. This spring, Waldemarsudde shows a major exhibition to commemorate the birth of the eclectic artist, some 150 years ago. T E X T: C H R I S T I N A L I N D E R O T H - O L S O N

“He liked to experiment. The brush strokes are highly visible and he made small scratches with a palette knife on the surface. This resulted in vibrant timeless images that are rediscovered by every new generation. And not only in Sweden, Musée d’Orsay in Paris presented a major Eugène Jansson exhibition in 1999,” continues Göran Söderlund.

The poetic night views in shades of blue, Nordic Light Images, eventually established Eugène Jansson as a fairly successful painter. He didn’t participate in exhibitions for three years from 1904, and it wasn’t until he found new motifs among the sailors in the navy bath-house that he deviated from this. The contours are visible, both lines and colours have meaning in the figure-paintings. Jansson, a dandy and well known for his personal elegance, was a homosexual which was illegal in Sweden until the 1940s. Art historians have explained the many portraits of nude sailors and athletes as being the result of his homosexuality, but at the time, there was a general interest in healthy outdoor life, sun bathing and gymnastics. “The sweeping lines and the use of colour planes in Eugène Jansson’s art were probably influenced by Edvard Munch, whose paintings were exhibited in Stockholm in 1894. Gauguin was a figurehead for Nordic artists at the time, and synthetism, where the motif ’s feeling was synthesized with form, originated from him, were no doubt influences. Like Munch, Jansson was also inspired by Symbolism. Emotions like loneliness and reflections on life and death can be found in his images,” says Göran Söderlund.

Eugéne Jansson - Blue Dusk and Naked Athletes runs from February 18th to June 10th Prince Eugen’s Waldemarsudde is located at Prins Eugens väg 6 at Djurgården, a few minutes from the City centre.

Open Tues-Wed 11-17,Thurs 11-20, Fri-Sun 11-17

www.waldemarsudde.se Phone +46 8 545 837 00

P HO T O : P E R M Y R E H E D, N AT I O N A L M U S E U M , S J Ö H I S T O R I S K A M U S E E T / B J Ö R N H E D I N

FO C U S

The Raoul Wallenberg Room at Stockholm’s Armé Museum T E X T: L A U R E N D Y E R A M A Z E E N

P HO T O : C O U R T E S Y O F A R M É M U S E U M

he Armé Museum has mounted a sensitive exhibition around the life and courageous work of Raoul Wallenberg.

Although he saved the lives of tens of thousands of Jewish inhabitants from the Nazis during his mission in Budapest (194445), Raoul Wallenberg was arrested by the Soviets immediately upon their storming of the city in January 1945. From that point on, the brutal fate of this remarkable man is unknown. The viewer enters the exhibition via Wallenberg’s Budapest office, the place from which he oversaw an operation that would outwit Nazi and Hungarian authorities. Raoul Wallenberg built a staff of Jewish colleagues and created a network of people in opposition to the Nazis, and collaborators, the Hungarian Arrow Cross. In addition to this, he made contacts with authorities, which were then unsure of which side they would give their allegiance. Of great interest to viewers is an original Schutz-Pass, the Swedish “protective passport” designed by Wallenberg to convince the authorities that all who carried it were free to leave the country. He distributed these to as many Jewish residents as possible during his short but dramatically effective time in Budapest. In the event of any Jews being force-marched toward Austria with the prospect of slave labour, Raoul and his staff acted fast, immediately recovering people who had been seized. With the information network Raoul had ingeniously organised, and his creative powers of negotiation and gift for languages, he saved more lives. Raoul had contacts within the Hungarian military and resistance groups. His networking skills enabled him to engage with the city police, churches, health workers and Jewish aid agencies. This compact and dynamic exhibition gives insight into Wallenberg’s character, his family, and how he undertook this historical mission. There are sketches and drawings made by Wallenberg (he studied architecture in the US) with the text: “Raoul Wallenberg epitomises a creative person – a person who

breaks patterns, an unconventional thinker who sees unexpected associations and possibilities that no one else sees and who is prepared to seize them . . .” Besides writing detailed reports to the Swedish authorities, Wallenberg sent letters to his mother, “I have spent what has probably been the most interesting three, four weeks of my life here, despite the fact that we are surrounded by a tragedy of immeasurable dimension...” And in another, “ . . .we are under much strain. But we are working and fighting on, that is the most important thing.” There are unique items and belongings that were returned to his family by the Soviet authorities in 1989 including his diary, passport and Hungarian driver’s license. One of his last humanitarian acts against the terror that reigned in those final days came when Wallenberg learned through his network that both the SS, and Arrow Cross were planning a vengeance raid on the ghetto. The exhibition text aptly states, “The local Wehrmacht commanding officer was persuaded to stop the madness.” Special thanks for this article go to Tina Nordborg – exhibition researcher and designer of wax model of Raoul Wallenberg; Olle Burman – graphic designer, and Nina Lagergren – Wallenberg’s sister and consultant for the exhibition.

“Raoul Wallenberg epitomises a creative person – a person who breaks patterns, an unconventional thinker who sees unexpected associations and possibilities that no one else sees and who is prepared to seize them . . .” For more information on the Armé Museum:

Exhibition Theme room devoted to the Swede who saved tens of thousands of people from the Holocaust. See unique originals of items.

School Education We offer special tours for youth, which provide a historical background to the Swedish rescue efforts in Budapest in 1944–1945. Book at 08-51 95 63 03

Conference State of the art conference facility is nested comfortably within authentic historic milieu. Book at

Riddargatan 13, Stockholm | www.armemuseum.se

08-51 95 63 02

http://www.sfhm.se/templates/pages/ ArmeStandardPage.aspx?id=1069&epslanguage=SV 55

MU S I C

Talented & Swedish National acts making waves around the world this year T E X T: C H R I S T I A N V O N E S S E N

P HO T O S : C H R I S T I A N V O N E S S E N A N D © M I CK E B AYA R T

First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar (Wichita) First Aid Kit consists of two young sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg from Stockholm, who since 2007 have been soothing the indie audience of the world with their innocent and surprisingly unpretentious take on folk and country music. Their credibility break-through coincided with a cover of American folk band Fleet Foxes Tiger Mountain Peasant Song, which at the moment has been viewed almost three million times on YouTube. The Lion’s Roar is a beautiful piece of work, carefully produced by Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes.The vocal harmonies and 70’s-inspired melodies have been crafted with such perfection in the production process that the sound has been commercialised without losing its edge.

The Lion’s Roar has put First Aid Kit on the international stage, and should appeal to anyone interested in timeless pop music not to mention fans of the obvious 70’s aesthetics. www.thisisfirstaidkit.com

Laleh Sjung (Lost Army/Warner Music) Sure, she has enjoyed both success and recognition before, but it wasn’t until Laleh Pourkarim entered television series Så mycket bättre (“So much better”) that Laleh really broke through and into people’s hearts. It was something about her cover performances that made time stop still when she sang. The other key to Iran-born Laleh’s welldeserved success is that she appears to be the most modest, confused and humble person in the world. However, on stage she grows in stature, near doubles in size,

and she hits a nerve that can produce tears from the most cynical couch critic. On record – although clearly a complete perfectionist she also inhabits a confidence and playfulness that blurs the lines between genres and languages. There is a difficulty to get to grips with her albums as her music conveys a fusion of radio pop, folk, acoustic and middle-eastern melodies. On her fourth full-length album Sjung, she still blends effortlessly between Swedish and English, and her trademark subtle melancholy subtly hints that darker tales lurk behind that beautiful face. www.laleh.se

5 questions…to Micke Bayart, huge ABBA-fan and author of the book ABBA by Micke – FANtastic moments! (Instant Book) Why do you think you became so fascinated with ABBA in the first place? “Already as a child I have been interested in airplanes ... and one fine day I passed our local record store and saw an LP with a helicopter on its cover. I was fascinated by the cover and simply needed to have the record, which of course, was Arrival!”

What is the main key to their huge success according to you? “It’s the combination of their talent, producing, recording songs and always trying to explore new ways. Björn and Benny were so innovative with their music and combining this with the voices of Frida and Agnetha is just unbeatable. I had never heard anything like that before. I fell for the music and not the outrageous outfits they had back then!”

Have they ever been annoyed with you showing up all the time? “We always met on the basis of mutual respect. If they were busy, they told us fans politely and we accepted this.They recognized us in those years and knew who we were, and I recall them as always being approachable, down to earth, nice, open and friendly to us.” What are you most proud of in the book? “The overall memories ... walking down memory lane was just great to look through all the pictures and remember a fantastic time in my life.” What are your personal top 3 ABBA songs?

Competition The winner takes a book! Just answer the following question: What’s the name of the famous musical that Björn and Benny wrote, and which premiered in 1986? 1. Hair. 2. Chess. 3. Fame. Send your answer to christian@skivkoll.se no later than the 30th of April.

“When I Kissed The Teacher, Our Last Summer and The Day Before You Came. As you see, not the obvious hits.

T R AVEL

Getting Off the Ground at Treehotel T E X T: M I C H A E L H E L A N D E R

P HO T O S : C O U R T E S Y O F T H E T R E E H O T E L

t conjures up images of innocence, youth and days of climbing up makeshift ladder steps nailed to the tree trunk. Tree houses provide a private safe haven for the young (or the young at heart), perched above the mundane rules and schedules that are a part everyday life. If you are ready for a weekend elevated above the hustle and bustle and a never-ending ‘to do’ list, consider a visit to one of the five truly unique tree houses at Treehotel in northern Sweden. As a guest at Treehotel you’ll leave your worries behind, along with your car, which must be parked at the original B&B run by Kent and Britta Lindvall, the co-founders of Treehotel. It is a short 5 minute walk into the forest where you will find your own room enchantingly nestled among the trees. The Lindvalls recruited top Swedish architects to design the tree houses entwined in centuries old trees, resulting in five distinctive eco-friendly pods to nurture a weary soul. The Cabin comes complete with an upper deck looking out over the Lule River valley. The Mirror Cube is an exciting tree house made of reflective glass, allowing this tree room to ‘disappear’ within its natural surroundings. Appropriately named, The Bird’s Nest tree room is fully clad with large branches and twigs to resemble its namesake. The Blue Cone, painted red of course, is based on

simplicity and accessibility. Last, but certainly not least, treat your family to an ‘out of this world experience’ in The UFO tree room. The tree rooms are designed with metal boots that will adjust as the trees continue to grow, ensuring that the elevation of each tree house is exactly the same in 100 years as it is today. Each room comes with a unique ramp or ladder staircase and while all of the tree rooms accommodate 1-2 persons, The Mirror Cube, Bird’s Nest and UFO will accommodate up to four persons, making them ideal for a family experience. Breakfast is served at the B&B, and guests are then free to spend an afternoon cleansing body and soul at the on-site sauna and outdoor Jacuzzi. However, if guests prefer a more rigorous experience, they can also take in the magnificent beauty of the region during a day hike. Although founded as recently as 2010, Treehotel already has quite a following with nearly 14,000 followers on Facebook and it was also named in the Financial Times “Top Destinations 2012” at the beginning of the year. They’ve been featured on CNN and the Discovery website as well as gaining major travel press coverage from around the world.

It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air, that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

During the recent visit by CNN reporter Neil Curry, Sofia, the Lindvall’s daughter, said she thought this was just another one of her parent’s crazy ideas that would never “get off the ground.” However, Sofia also surmised that perhaps they must be more creative just to survive and make their own way in this remote area of Sweden just north of Luleå. Today visitors can choose from five tree houses, but there are already plans to expand Treehotel to a total of 24 rooms. All of which will be as unique as the next, elevated up in the trees.

Visit the Treehotel website at www.treehotel.se for prices, availability, and directions. 59

FA S HION

Age Before Beauty –

The Mature Model Revolution T E X T: D A V I D B A R TA L

P HO T O S : H E N R I K H A LV A R S S O N BY C O U R T E S Y O F FA D I N G B E A U T I E S .

It was a surreal experience to take up modelling for the first time as a middle-aged man, especially one old enough to be a grandfather, however it was also rather fun.

ate last year I visited the studio of photographer Cengiz Bozkaya to take part in a photo shoot wearing various models of Ashade sunglasses - a new brand of “organic eyewear” designed in Sweden. Johanna, a pretty blonde in her mid thirties, was my female counterpart and we took turns standing against a large, three-sided white backdrop wearing the shades and turning our heads in various directions for the photographer. There is a niche market for fashion models of a certain age, people who have wrinkles, grey hair and a special personality or history. The demand for older models led Stockholm-based performance artist Marta Oldenberg to start “Fading Beauties” in 2011. The new agency provides the media, advertising and art world with seasoned models aged 40 years and above. Among those listed with the agency are actress Evabritt Sandberg (born in 1943), art gallery owner Marina Schiptjenko (born in 1950), and dancer Yvan Auzely (born in 1959). Mature models are not cheaper than their younger colleagues. “Why should they be paid less?” asks agency founder Marta Oldenberg, “Older models are more experienced, can often come up with new ideas, and they are more reliable.”

The gradual increase in demand for older models is natural, “It is a way to reach the powerful target group of women that are 30-50... it is purely business,” says Mika Kjellberg, founder and manager of the Stockholm agency which bears her name.

Pressure on the fashion industry to use models whom appear healthy and more representative of typical consumers is making designers in some countries think twice about hiring prepubescent teens to serve as adult models. In the United States for example, the main trade organisation for the fashion industry issued guidelines stating that models under age 16 should not work at all on runways. The age issue and the anorexic thinness issue go hand-inhand. When it comes to editorial or advertising work, having a few extra years under your belt is not necessarily a disadvantage. This is especially the case if you happen to be a fashion icon like Christy Turlington, 43; Claudia Schiffer, 42; or Linda Evangelista, 47. These supermodels are still as sexy as ever and continue to sell many varied products. Modelling careers nowadays are much longer than they were in the 1970s and 1980s. Kate Moss, who popularized the “heroin chic” look in the 1990s, is 37 years of age and at the top of her game.

“Put your chin up a bit. Look directly in the camera again. Tie your hair back tighter. Hands on the hips, please… and now we’ll try it with your hair fluffier.”

She has appeared on covers of Vogue in five countries last year, not to mention fronting lucrative campaigns for Dior, YSL and Longchamp. Cosmetics and perfume manufacturers have long turned to charming, selfconfident, sophisticated and mature women, especially celebrities, to market their facial creams, eyeliners and perfumes. At 64 years old, Sweden’s very own Ingmari Lamy is still in demand thanks to her classic beauty. During the early part of her career she graced the covers of international fashion bibles such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. She took a hiatus from modelling after she had children, and in this time she moved to Spain and took up landscape gardening. Some 15 years later, in 1991, she gave up her modelling career but was “rediscovered” by photographer Magnus Reed. In recent years the silver-haired fashion legend has graced the runways of John-Paul Gaultier, John Galliano,Yohji Yamamoto and Kenzo.

Perhaps one reason Ingmari has enjoyed success as a model over such an unusually long period has to do with a sort of “inner beauty”. She has an ability to build a rapport with a camera or fashion show audience. There are some who would argue that any expression shown by a photo or runway model distracts attention away

from the clothing. “But I think that by showing a personality or charisma, you add to the clothing,” Ingmari explains.

David Bartal is the founder of the website: www.scandinavianfashion.net

FA S HION

Seeking sustainable solutions The global water situation is increasingly critical. Water consumption is growing as a result of increasing population, improved living standards in developing countries and migration into cities. At the same time, the availability of clean, fresh water is becoming more and more limited, as a result of climate change and overexploitation of groundwater among other things. Developing sustainable solutions to water-related problems is one of our priority areas. We work with the whole chain from watershed management to eutrophication problems, efficient water treatment and energy from sewage. We have system knowledge and overview of technical solutions. Contact us to find out more what we can do to make a difference. www.ivl.se

IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute is an independent research organisation that has been involved since 1966 in the development of solutions to environmental problems on behalf of the business sector and the community. IVL has offices in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmรถ, and Beijing. www.ivl.se

GOU R ME T

“

We have always known that we were onto something, but in 1996 we were way ahead of the consumers. The store was like a high-end experimental restaurant, attracting only the food elite at the time. We want this to be a store for everyone.

“

Where Taste Matters At Cajsa Warg you can find everything you need for the perfect contemporary lifestyle. Offering organically grown vegetables to locally produced, high quality meat and expensive hand-made sausages. Stockholm’s best grocery store has built a reputation among food enthusiasts. T E X T: C H R I S T I A N V O N E S S E N

legend in Swedish cooking, Cajsa Warg was an 18th century housekeeper who worked with several highend families. Her only book Sweden’s first “cook book” was published in 1755, and it was full of recipes and other housekeeping tricks. Her key catch phrase was supposedly “Man tager vad man haver” (“You take what you have”), but the statement’s reliability has been questioned since it’s not actually phrased like that in the book. One can’t help but wonder what she would think of how her brand name has developed from its high-end beginnings as an elite organic food enclave on the capital’s outskirts at Södermalm, especially since the area of Sofo suddenly became one of the hippest in northern Europe. Their clients went from food nerds to status-seeking hipsters, and in 2010 a second store was opened in the former movie theatre at S:t Eriksplan – a demographic dream offering both the purchase power and an interest in high quality products.

P HO T O : W I L H E L M R E J N U S

Restored store with fire Cajsa Warg was originally founded in 1996 when two former (grocery chain) Coop employees, teamed up with investors and restaurant people. However the business quickly became bankrupt and the store was bought by Coop in 1998. But five years later it was apparent that the concept didn’t fit within the major corporation’s limitations and framework. Johan Andersson is one of four owners who then bought Cajsa Warg with their own money. “We put our spirit and enthusiasm back into the store,” he says over an espresso when Swedish Bulletin visited the new flagship store at S:t Eriksplan.

At what time did you realize that the timing was perfect? “We have always known that we were onto something, but in 1996 we were way ahead of the consumers. The store was like a high-end experimental restaurant, attracting only the food elite at the time. We want this to be a store for everyone.”

New food climate Svenska Dagbladet journalist Mats-Eric Nilsson took the food debate to another level when he wrote the book “Den hemlige kocken” (“The Secret Chef ” released in 2008) in which he

discussed and revealed many of the food industry’s shortcuts and cheats. It stirred up a nation-wide discussion about the food we eat and where it actually comes from. “Living matter shouldn’t be industrially produced, says Johan Andersson. Our main focus is always the taste. If the food is also produced organically and small-scale it’s a plus. We work a lot according to the seasons and try to leave out products with too many additives, but we can’t get rid of everything. If we do that, we are back in the 1996 elitist situation all over again – including the bankruptcy.” When the quartet found the perfect location for their second store, they had already been searching for three years. They wanted a vibrant place, centrally located where people could pop by on their way home from work. But the business idea involves more than just grocery shopping, and both day conferences and night cooking classes have been an increasingly popular and lucrative benefit of the generous facilities and the decades of food experience that inhabits them.

Do you have any further expansion plans now? “You’ll have to remember that in the last 1.5 years we have grown from 20 to 50 employees and from a 20 to 50 million SEK annual turnover. We are four young parents who have made huge investments in this place, so we need the business to settle for a while. But we in the long run are looking at expanding into other parts of Stockholm.”

GOU R ME T

Pytte’s Food T E X T AND P HO T O S : E L E O N O R A V O N E S S E N . P Y T T E

Cured salmon is considered a national dish of Sweden. It is available all year round in the smallest of food stores and on holidays such as Christmas, Easter and Midsummer it’s an absolute necessity. The following is a party friendly way to serve it, perfect for a larger number of dinner guests or on a buffet. An ice-cold shot of Swedish Akvavit is the best possible companion, but a glass of beer or bubbly will do of course!

Cured Salmon Shot with Chive Panna cotta The creamy chive panna cotta really compliments the savory cured salmon, crispy celery and sweet apple. Prepare the panna cotta a day ahead if you want to save time on the serving day.

Ingredients

Instructions

8-10 small glasses

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes. Heat the double cream in a small pan until almost simmering and then remove the pan from the heat. Squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves and stir them into the cream until totally dissolved. Finally add sour cream and chives and stir, season to taste. Divide the mixture among 8-10 small glasses, preferably shot glasses. Place in the fridge for at least an hour to set.

Panna cotta with chives: • 1 dl double cream (vispgrädde) • 2 dl sour cream (gräddfil) • 1 dl chives, finely chopped • 2 gelatine leaves • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Cured salmon topping: • 125 g dill-cured skinless salmon, finely diced • ½ green apple, finely diced • ½ stick of celery, finely diced • 2 tsp olive oil • 1 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeeze Dark croutons: • Dark, sweet bread (for instance the Swedish ‘kavring’) • 3 dl vegetable oil for deep-frying • Some lemon wedges and chives, to serve

Cut out this recipe and try it for your self!

Combine the salmon with apple, celery, olive oil and lemon juice. Divide the mixture on top of the panna cottas. Cut the bread into thin slices (which is easier if you put the bread in the freezer for about 30 minutes first) and cut into desired shape. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and fry the bread quickly until it gets some colour. Remove from the oil using a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. To serve, place a crouton in each of the panna cottas as well as a small wedge of lemon. Garnish with some chives and take a bow!

A R T & C UL T U R E

Cottage industries are typically in-home businesses run by individuals or partners. They help absorb surplus unemployment in rural areas and, by their very nature, act as an antithesis of mass production. As it becomes more common to see cottage industry provide economic independence in developing countries, more and more creative individuals the world over are turning to the handmade business to supplement income with the dream of eventually replacing a 9-5 desk job with their new artisan craft.

othenburg based ReThink Design is the brainchild of artisan Linda Winroth. By creating products from existing materials and textiles, ReThink gives consumers a choice for climate-smart shopping with the feel-good effects of contributing to the reduction of our overall consumption. Winroth typically produces one-of-a-kind, high-quality products made with vintage materials and she markets her brand through a variety of channels including her own website store, other online outlets, and small retail boutiques.

Sweden’s Cottage Industry Grows

Spotlight on ReThink Design Despite being several years behind the curve, the business of handmade in Sweden is experiencing a renaissance with cottage industry companies growing at a steady pace. In a series of interviews this year, we will be introducing you to several Swedish-based artisans who are paving the way for these creative small businesses in Sweden.

From the very beginning, Winroth has been interested in unique ideas. “When I was younger I wanted clothing that did not look like everyone else’s. That is when my mum taught me to sew as a hobby.” Winroth continued, “I started ReThink Design because I wanted to show that we need to think more about sustainable consumption. Plus I get to combine my interests in design, sewing, and the environment.”

Artisans often have a steep learning curve in learning how to run their own business, and because their craft tends to be labour and time intensive, they lack the time to properly focus on marketing and administrative activities. That’s where web-based markets like Signerat. se are filling the void by offering additional online distribution channels and marketing activities for handmade artisans. There is often an authentic spirit of sharing and helping other small creative businesses to develop, which Winroth also practices through her numerous courses and lectures.

Her passion behind sustainable consumption is evident in each and every high-quality product that she produces by hand, with intricate detail and a great deal of care.

Where to find ReThink Design products:

www.rethinkdesign.se www.signerat.se www.etsy.com

Winroth is determined to live and act by her motto behind ReThink Design: “No one can do everything. But everyone can do something!”

As with many cottage industry entrepreneurs, Winroth does more than simply make and sell products. “{The products} are my main income, but I also offer ‘how to redesign’ textile courses as well as lectures for creating sustainable companies. The business is more than just making products.”

T E X T: M I C H A E L H E L A N D E R

70 67

C UL T U R E & FO C U S

S W EDI S H DIA R Y

What does retirement truly mean? My four-year old asked me recently, ”Mummy, what do you want to be when you grow up?” In fairness, it was smattered with Swenglish. It’s a tough question to formulate when you are the tender age of four and a half. I didn’t have a straight answer. It got me to thinking: when are we truly grown up? Is it what we do for work, a career perhaps, that defines us or do we plan what we do because of who we are? Then, of course, that begs the question: do we stop being who we are when we retire? It could be seen as rather rhetorical to ask about how old we are when we grow up. However, the subject of retirement has been a matter of heated debate in Sweden this spring. Or rather; the hot potato is the age of retirement. In early February Sweden’s Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeld, started an avalanche of

I read an article several years ago about the negative health effects

fury by daring to negatively draw some attention

to retiring. Apparently, its not the ideal change for us to go off to

to the retirement age in Sweden. Sensationally

greener pastures in golf carts if we want to stay fit and mentally

interpreted by the opposition and the media, people

healthy. The human animal has a need to be a productive member

were sputtering on about a genuine proposal to

of our society; we need a reason to get out of bed every day. And

make everyone in Sweden work until they reach 75

when that motivation is removed or even limited our health is

years of age. Some critics even called the discussion,

detrimentally affected. Quite simply, we it is imperative to our well-

“inflammatory”. I guess when you tinker with the

being to be needed.

promise of “the great rest” you’re bound to set some opinions aflame.

In my early 30s a private pension company invited me in for a

In today’s Sweden, you are allowed to take out

age do you want to retire?” It flabbergasted me since I was still at

retirement benefits from the age of 65 and they can’t

the fledgling stage of my working career. I certainly couldn’t answer

legally give you the boot until you’re 67. At that age,

that question then, and it remains an enigma to me today. I told

if you’re still working, you are forced into retirement

him that I had no plans on fully retiring at all - an answer he wasn’t

regardless if you are healthy, or willing and able to

expecting. I suppose he wanted to tantalize me with sacks of gold

work. Reinfeld would like to open a dialog in order

for when I turned 40 so I could put my feet up and take up golf. He

to discuss the simple issue - we are getting older

didn’t like that I had no real desire to retire.

and that costs more money. All of this is, however,

pension savings consultation. The first questions being, “At what

irrelevant when pondering the original question.

So this new debate gets me worried that I might not be allowed

When do we grow up? Some would say at age 18, others

my willingness to remain productive it will spoil my plan of never

when you finish your studies, perhaps when you get your

growing up. I think I must discuss it further with my four-year old.

first real job, or potentially when you start a family. But if

Perhaps it is not her Swenglish that made formulating the question

we can’t agree when we grow up, how should we decide

so tricky. Perhaps she has an innate understanding that growing

when we must retire? What has become more alarming

up is very hard to do and we must resist it. I don’t really ever want

to me is the thought; if you’ve retired, you must have

to retire. I just want to keep doing what inspires me for as long as

grown up. I don’t want to grow up.

I can.

to carry on past 67, even if I want to. And if someone overrides

By Elizabeth Dacey-Fondelius 72

Sustainable Urbanization – a great challenge The world is undergoing rapid urbanization. Prob ably up to 100 million people a year are moving from rural areas to urban centres. This means high pressure on the environment and natural resources, an urgent demand to save resources and develop ecoefficient environmental technologies, and high demands on sustainable urban planning. A key factor to success in this regard is to identify and utilize the synergies between different segments of urban functions. We use the Swedish concept SymbioCity to visualize the interaction

between planning and different subsystems such as waste, energy, water and sustainable transport. China, India and Russia are all crucial countries with regard to the challenge of sustain able urbanization but also important markets for the Swedish cleantech industry. The Swedish Government has launched an initiative to support the export of environmental technology to these countries and collaboration with them on further innovation and development in this field.

If you would like to know more please contact one of the following.

Mats Denninger High Representative mats.denninger@ enterprise.ministry.se

Monique Wannding Director - Russia monique.wannding@ enterprise.ministry.se

Lennart Nilsson Director - China lennart.nilsson@ enterprise.ministry.se

Micael Hagman Director - India micael.hagman@ enterprise.ministry.se