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Swedes in the Megacity of Toronto
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March 2021 Vol 92:02 $9.95
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Salming’s Love Letter to Toronto Förtrollad by Karin Raoul Wallenberg
We’re open for business. Not business as usual, but business with the usual COVID-19 rules.
Välkommen tillbaka när tiden är rätt 1920 Dexter Ave. N., Seattle | 206.283.1090 | www.swedishclubnw.org
Welcome to Vancouver! Svenska Kulturföreningen Swedish Cultural Society SwedishCulturalSociety.ca Scandinavian centre, 6540 Thomas St, Burnaby, BC
Wallenberg-Sugihara Civil Courage Society www.wsccs.ca
Follow us through the seasons for online events to honour the legacy of Raoul Wallenberg. April 2021. Virtual meetup at the Wallenberg Plaque in Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Park. July 2021. “About Civil Courage" – What is civil courage? Why is it important? Join an informal online conversation. October 2021. “Nurturing Empathy” – An online panel sheds light on this basic human emotion.
Book your getaway on Toronto’s waterfront.
January 2022. Raoul Wallenberg Day – With film and presentations, we recognize examples of civil courage in today’s world.
Visit www.marriott.com/yyzwi or call us at +1 888-627-8559.
Please check our website throughout the year for information, dates, and access to these events.
Swedish Press is the world’s leading magazine on all good things Swedish. An authority on design, business, culture and travel since 1929, Swedish Press delivers insightful news and commentary in a visually striking format. With a nod to the past, and a peek to the future, Swedish Press is your go-to source for updates and inspiration from Sweden. SWEDISH PRESS (ISSN 0839-2323) is published ten times per year by Swedish Press Inc, 1801 Ford Street, Ogdensburg, NY 13669. Periodical postage paid at Ogdensburg, NY 13669 (No. USPS 005544). US POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Swedish Press, PO Box 1568 Ogdensburg, NY 13669 OFFICE: 1-402 O’Connor Street, Ottawa, ON K2P 1W3, Canada US MAILING ADDRESS: PO Box 1568 Ogdensburg, NY 13669 WEBSITE www.swedishpress.com E-MAIL info@swedishpress.com TEL +1 720 375 1730 TOLL FREE +1 866 882 0088 PUBLISHER and EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Kajsa Norman | Kajsa@swedishpress.com EDITOR Peter Berlin | Peter@swedishpress.com ART DIRECTOR Joan Law | Joan@swedishpress.com REPRESENTATIVES Calgary: Carin Pihl +1 403 931 0370 Edmonton: Ruth E. Sjoberg +1 780 237 6730 Thunder Bay: Elinor Barr +1 807 344 8355 Winnipeg: Nancy Drews +1 204-668-7262 Los Angeles: Birgitta von Knipe +1 310 201 0079
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4 Letters to the Editor 5 From the Publisher’s Desk Swedish Headlines 6 Headline News 7 Swedes in the News 8 Landskapsnyheterna Business 9 Business News 10 Company File: Tielman Group 11
Heritage An Insider’s Look at Swedish Culture: Är det ens möjligt att åka 50 Vasalopp i rad?
Feature 12 Toronto – The Corporate Hub of Swedish Canada
CANADIAN PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT No. 40010214 Return Undeliverable Canadian addresses to Swedish Press, 1-402 O'Connor Street, Ottawa, ON K2P 1W3 Canada. PRINTED IN CANADA NEXT ISSUE DEADLINE: MARCH 10, 2021
Lifestyle 21 Film: New Documentary About Raoul Wallenberg by Holocaust Survivor George Preger Hemma Hos 22 Design: Enchanted by Karin 23 Treats à la Börje Salming 24 Språk: Parlez-vous Swenglish? Road to 2045 25 A Swede with an American Mindset Swedish Press Connects 26 ASTRA – Scandinavian Studies at Augustana College: Swedish Language and Nordic Culture from Classical to Contemporary 27 SVIV – Vaccin eller inte vaccin för utlandssvenskar – det är frågan In the Loop 28 Calendar and Events 29 Ads and Info
ADVERTISING visit www.swedishpress.com/ advertise-us for advertising rates. 1 866 882 0088
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduction in whole or in part without written consent of Swedish Press is strictly prohibited. Unsolicited material is welcome, but never the publisher’s responsibility. Enclose stamped self-addressed envelope for return. Statements and opinions expressed by the writers and claims in the advertising are their own and do not necessarily represent Swedish Press.
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Swedish Press
30 Sista Ordet New Year: New Words Skyline of the city of Toronto. © Destination Toronto
Interview 14 Maria Thorsson – New Toronto Minister to Serve All of North America Global Swedes 16 Börje Salming’s Love Letter to Toronto Heritage 18 20 Years of SweMail 20 Raoul Wallenberg Day Celebrated Across Canada
31 Friends of the Press 2021 Cover images: 1. Skyline of the city of Toronto. © Destination 1 Toronto | 2. The Toronto 4 5 International Film Festival sign on King Street West. © Destina7 6 tion Toronto | 3. Aga Khan Museum. © Destination Toronto | 4. Ontario Science Centre. © Destination Toronto | 5. The City Hall of Toronto. © Maurizio De Mattei/123rf | 6. Photo © Börje Salming | 7. Designed by renowned Spanish engineer, Leonardo Torres Quevedo, the Whirlpool Aero Car is suspended from six sturdy cables and offers spectacular views of the swirling Niagara Whirlpool. © Destination Toronto
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Swedish Press | March 2021 3
Letters to the Editor Enjoy reading Swedish Press? Email us your pictures along with your name and comments to info@swedishpress.com and we’ll be happy to publish them. Dear Kajsa, Publications come and then mostly go. Through the years there have been over 2,000 ”Swedish” publications in North America, but now there are only two left. So we are incredibly proud of 91-year old Swedish Press and look forward to the magazine’s centennial! Most readers never realize what a tough job it is to successfully publish a periodical, so we must thank Joan and Claes Fredriksson for their eight years at the helm presenting a beautiful picture of the best of Sweden (and everything Swedish-related abroad),
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and now welcome Kajsa, Matthew and Noelle to a new life as editors of the paper! Best wishes from, Anders and Hamida Neumüller (Editors 1986-2012) Motala, Sweden Hi Joan, The December/January issue was outstanding. I learn so much when I read your magazine. But I really had to take notes for that last issue. I was thrilled to learn about making fuel from electricity. There are so many sustainable initiatives underway right now ... I had only dreamed of their possibility. Your excellent interviews and information have thoroughly brought the new developments into the light. The topper is what I, and no doubt others, have yearned for … the
involvement of Canadian entrepreneurs and their bridging with like-minded pioneers in Scandinavia. Your vision and the candid sharing of the engineers and businessmen have put a smile in my heart, optimism for the future and … better sleeps. I am hoping that subsequent publications will continue to follow such crucial climate endeavours. I would also like to learn more about the care of the elderly in Sweden, as here in Canada, COVID-19 has spurred me to become involved with the Manitoba Health Coalition which is very involved with issues facing the elderly across Canada. Warmest wishes for your next adventures, Laurel Anderson-McCallum Winnipeg, Manitoba
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from the Publisher’s Desk
Preserving Our Swedish Heritage We need your support!
Swedish Press strives to create a high quality magazine for you, but the costs are considerable and ever-increasing. Please consider making a generous donation to help keep your publication, and Swedish heritage, alive. You’ll find a form on page 29 and 31, the inside back cover. Tack!
GRATTIS PÅ FÖDELSEDAGEN Mar 22 Madeleine Merker, 12 år Mar 22 Marielle Merker, 12 år
Whether your Swedish is fluent or rusty, we hone your language skills by publishing some articles in Swedish. But never despair: you will find English translations online thanks to our valiant team of volunteer translators. Simply go to http://biolson. atspace.cc/swemail/ and you will find translations of all Swedish articles going as far back as to August 2007.
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e are Noelle, Matthew, and Kajsa Norman, the new publishers of the Swedish Press. It is a great privilege to continue the outstanding efforts of Joan and Claes Fredriksson to promote and preserve our Swedish heritage abroad. COVID-19 has brought grief and difficulties for many families and industries and the same is true for ethno-cultural magazines like Swedish Press. In 2020, advertising revenues dried up and costs rose. Given these challenging times, one might ask what prompted us to take over the magazine. The simple answer is that we are passionate about preserving Swedish culture and couldn’t stand the thought that North America’s only Swedish monthly might disappear. However, that is not the full answer. This past summer, we drove from our home in Ottawa to see family on Vancouver Island and took the opportunity to visit some of the Press’ readers along the way: Elinor Barr in Thunder Bay; Cookie Wicks in Kenora; Florence Anderson in Dryden; the Lyon-Andersons (Janet, Martin, Linnea, Isla and Clare), Marilyn Ekelund, and Elaine Hammerback Friesen in Winnipeg; Don and Trudy Sjoberg in Edmonton; Delores Hall, Viola Burkett, and Gail Johnson in Erickson; and Editor Peter Berlin in Nanaimo, to mention a few. Meeting outdoors at a safe social distance, they treated us to fantastic meals, music and stories. Sonja Lundstrom in Winnipeg even lent us a folkdräkt so that we could be dressed appropriately for Midsummer and organized socially distanced speed-dating interviews with Swedish descendants in the park outside her house. Some drove for great distances to meet us and share their stories. From dance clubs to book clubs, from churches to cultural societies, from language classes to traditional dishes, the dedication to all good things Swedish was awe-inspiring. Knowing that there are thousands of Swedes and Swedish descendants across North America who care as deeply about our heritage as we do, we decided to take the leap, and do everything in our power to shepherd the press to its 100th anniversary and beyond. On the inside back cover, you’ll find more information about our new sponsorship program – “Friends of the Press” – and how you can help us keep North America’s only Swedish monthly alive and thriving. We thank you for your support and look forward to visiting your community soon. Allt gott!
Kajsa Norman Publisher Kajsa@Swedishpress.com March 2021
Noelle, Matthew and Kajsa Norman. Photo: Viktoria Finnberg
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Bridges Coming Down and Going Up Swedish Diplomat Expelled
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By Peter Berlin he Russian government announced in early February that an un-named Swedish diplomat is to be expelled. He is accused of having participated in a January 23 mass demonstration in Moscow demanding the release of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny. The Swedish Foreign Minister has vehemently refuted the accusation, saying that the diplomat was only doing his job witnessing and reporting on the demonstration rather than actively participating in it.
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Stalemate at the Border
n these COVID-19 times, the rules determining who can enter Sweden from abroad are exceedingly complex, and they also keep changing at a dizzying rate. Following their evolution is like trying to change the tire of a moving car. The rules in place until March 31 make a distinction between Swedish citizens, Swedish permanent residents, EU citizens, European citizens from outside of the EU (Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican), and citizens from the rest of the world. Ironically, people from Sweden’s closest neighbors Denmark and Norway are currently barred altogether, as are the Brits, due to the spread of the recently discovered mutated viruses in those countries. But then there are the many exemptions depending on the reason why a particular traveler wishes to enter Sweden. There are also rules about who needs to have a COVID-19 test before arriving at the Swedish border, and how recent the test must be.
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A German and a Polish diplomat are also to be expelled. The German Chancellor, the French President and the EU Foreign Affairs Chief have denounced the Russian action on the
grounds that it is utterly unjustified. The Swedish government has retaliated by expelling a Russian diplomat, and the German and Polish governments have done likewise.
People clash with police during a protest against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in St.Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021. Photo: Dmitri Lovetsky, AP
Feeling tempted to simply stay home for a while? That is precisely what your government wants you to do. But if you cannot resist the urge to visit Sweden in the next few weeks or months, then Google the following for up-to-date entry information in English: Frequently asked questions | The Swedish Police Authority (polisen.se).
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Bridges for Saving Lives
ravelling along busy highways in the US and Canada, you may have driven under an occasional bridge overgrown with trees and shrubs. You would be forgiven for assuming that the bridge has been abandoned for a long time. In fact, what you are seeing is probably one of a growing number of wildlife bridges built for the specific purpose of allowing wild animals to cross the highway rather than being
Photo: Trafikverket
confined to one side or the other. The problem with confinement is that wild animals may run out of food and water, and that inbreeding becomes an obstacle to maintaining genetic diversity. For wildlife bridges to fulfil their purpose, the highways are fenced in, so as to guide the animals to the overpass. In the last week of January, Sweden announced that it will follow the North American example by building a dozen “renoducts” (reindeer viaducts) in Northern Sweden. Every year, hundreds of collisions occur between reindeer being herded to new grazing grounds and motor vehicles. Not only do some of these collisions inflict serious injury to man and beast, but they also cause the surviving animals to scatter across the countryside, to the chagrin of their Sami herders. The renoducts will benefit other wildlife as well, including lynx and moose. The latter typically weigh half a ton. Colliding with one can be fatal not only for the animal, but also for the car driver and passengers.
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Swedes in the News
Achievements, Arrivals and Departures Prizes for Amanda Kernell
Amanda Kernell. Photo: Carla Orrego Veliz
The family drama “Charter”, by Swedish director and screenwriter Amanda Kernell, won many prizes at the recent Swedish film awards (Guldbaggegalan), including Best Director (Kernell) and Best Actress (Ane Dahl Torp). The film tells the story of a mother who abducts her two children, taking them to Tenerife, while awaiting the final custody verdict following a messy divorce. The drama was recently selected as Sweden’s entry for the Best International Feature Film at the Oscars. Kernell, who was born in 1986, has Sami roots and is best known for her 2016 movie Sami Blood (Sameblod), which won several awards. Swede of the Year Karin Hildebrand, a physician specializing in intensive care at Södersjukhuset, one of Stockholm’s largest hospitals in Stockholm, was recently named Swede of the Year by Focus
Magazine. In a year when everything has revolved around COVID, health care workers have been put under enormous pressure. Hildebrand received the award for her initiative, her superhuman endurance and her willingness to tell the public about her work and the many deficiencies which made coping with the pandemic and the severely ill that much harder.
close to 30 plays at the Royal Dramatic Theatre.
Gunnel Lindblom. Photo: AnnaKarin Ivarsson/Sveriges Radio.
God” (1983) and “Bobby Fischer Lives in Pasadena” (1990). His most controversial play was “7:3” produced in 1999. One of the actors, a prisoner who had been granted leave to participate in the rehearsals, snuck off to take part in a bank robbery which ended up costing two police officers their lives. Sweden’s New Deputy PM
Lars Norén Dies of COVID
Karin Hildebrand. Photo: Södersjukhuset/Clas Fröhling
Gunnel Lindblom Dead at 89 Swedish actress and director Gunnel Lindblom recently died in her home near Stockholm. Lindblom first became famous for her roles in some of Ingmar Bergman’s most celebrated films such as “Wild Strawberries”, “The Seventh Seal” and “The Silence”. In 2001, she was awarded the Guldbagge Honorary Award, a lifetime achievement award presented annually by the Swedish Film Institute as part of the Guldbagge Awards, the Swedish equivalent to the Oscars. Lindblom directed
Swedish playwright Lars Norén recently died of COVID, at the age of 76. Norén, one of the most critically acclaimed Swedish dramatists since Strindberg, spent 60 years writing poetry, literature and about a hundred plays, often depicting dysfunctional families and people on the margins of society. His
Lars Norén. Photo: Jessica Gow/ TT Nyhetsbyrån
public breakthrough came with “Night Is Mother to the Day” (Natten är dagens mor) which premiered in 1982 at Malmö City Theatre. Other notable works include “Chaos Is the Neighbour of
Per Bolund. Photo: Kristian Pohl/ Government Offices of Sweden
In February, Green Party spokesperson Per Bolund became the new Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden. He serves in Prime Minister Stefan Löfven’s minority government, consisting of members from the Social Democratic Party and the Greens. Bolund is also the new Minister for Climate and Environment. He replaces Isabella Lövin who is leaving politics to spend more time with her family. Bolund previously served as Sweden’s Minister for Financial Markets and Housing, as well as Deputy Minister for Finance.
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[Landskapsnyheterna] SMÅLAND
DALARNA
Skalbaggsarten ekcylinderbagge hade inte synts till i Sverige på 70 år och antogs därför vara utdöd. I somras upptäckte man dock oväntat skalbaggen igen i Mönsterås kommun i Småland, liksom i Blekinge. Ekcylinderskalbaggen har en jämnbred och tydligt cylindrisk brunsvart kropp. I Sverige är den mest känd som som skadegörare på ek och bokträd. Insektsspecialister har letat efter arten i södra delen av Sverige under det senaste halvseklet. – Om arten har funnits kvar i landet sedan 50-talet, eller om den har försvunnit en period och återinvandrat på senare tid vet vi inte, säger Joel Hallqvist till Sveriges Television.
I Orsa kommun i Dalarna har arkeologer hittat brända människoben som visat sig vara 9 000 år gamla. Den sortens benfynd är en sensation, enligt Dalarnas museum. Det var under våren som arkeologer från Dalarnas museum hittade en järnframställningsplats som sannolikt är från vikingatiden och omkring 1 000 år gammal. Det är inte så ovanligt, men på samma plats hittades också brända människoben. Nu har dessa människoben daterats och det har visat sig att de är 9 000 år gamla. – Det verkar som att de människor som en gång framställt järn här har skottat sönder en grav från stenåldern, berättar arkeologen Joakim Wehlin i ett pressmeddelande. Det är första gången gravar eller människoben från stenåldern hittas i Dalarna, enligt Dalarnas museum. De sura moränjordarna i Dalarna bryter normalt ner ben relativt snabbt, men tack vare att dessa ben var brända har de bevarats. LAPPLAND
Foto: Jonas Hedin/länsstyrelsen/tt
VÄRMLAND Sedan gränsen mellan Sverige och Norge stängdes för att stoppa spridningen av COVID har gränsbevakningen tagit stora polisresurser i anspråk i Värmland. – All verksamhet blir ju begränsad, vi får lägga all extra resurs på gränsbevakningen nu. Så arbetet med den lokala problembilden får vänta litegrann, säger Henrik Gustavsson, chef för lokalpolisområde Torsby till Sveriges Television. Sedan början av februari får man viss hjälp av Försvarsmakten, som står posterade vid mindre gränsövergångar för att observera. Militären har dock inga befogenheter att ingripa mot enskilda i civila sammanhang.
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Sedan ett ryskt smältverk på Kolahalvön lades ned har Lappland fått renare luft. Den 23 december stängdes det ryska bolaget Norilsk Nickels smältverk i Nikel (Salmijärvi) på Kolahalvön. Smältverket var den största utsläppskällan av svaveloxider i hela Nordeuropa. Anläggningens utsläpp av svaveloxider har som mest uppgått till cirka 80 000 ton per år, vilket är fyra gånger mer än hela Finlands motsvarande årliga utsläpp. Utöver svaveloxider har smältverket också släppt ut koppar och nickel. Dessa utsläpp har förvandlat den omgivande naturen till ett månlandskap, försurat jordmånen och vattendragen, samt förorenat luften i hela regionen. 2012 rapporterade Sveriges Radio och miljöorganisationen Bellona om sura regn i Nikel som frätte sönder ortsbornas paraplyer. Även
LAPPLAND NORRBOTTEN
VÄSTERBOTTEN
JÄMTLAND
HÄRJEDALEN
ÅNGERMANLAND
MEDELPAD HÄLSINGLAND
DALARNA GÄSTRIKLAND VÄSTMANLAND VÄRMLAND DALSLAND BOHUSLÄN Göteborg
UPPLAND
SÖDERMANNÄRKE LAND
Stockholm
ÖSTERGÖTLAND
VÄSTERGÖTLAND
GOTLAND SMÅLAND
HALLAND
ÖLAND SKÅNE
BLEKINGE
Malmö
Norge och Finland har drabbats hårt av de luftburna föroreningarna. – Det kommer att ta flera årtionden innan föroreningarna urlakas eller kapslas in i jordmånen, säger professor Martin Forsius vid Finlands miljöcentral till nyhetsbyrån SPT. Luftkvaliteten i området har däremot förbättrats redan nu. Summary in English: In Småland and Blekinge a kind of beetle that had been absent for 70 years has reappeared. The beetle can damage oak and beech trees. In Värmland, police resources are stretched to the limit because of the need to guard the Swedish-Norwegian border against illicit crossings in the wake of COVID-19. The Swedish Armed Forces are providing some support but are not authorized to intervene against travellers. Archaeologists in Dalarna have found burnt human skeleton parts that are 9000 years old. The discovery was made at the site of an iron smelting camp from the Viking period. Apparently the Vikings accidentally disturbed the soil in which the body lay buried. The air quality in Lapland has improved considerably following the closure of a Russian smelting plant on the Kola Peninsula.
[Business] News Corona Winners and Losers Ericsson on a Roll
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By Peter Berlin n January 29, 2021, the Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson reported almost unchanged profitability in 2020 compared to 2019. This may seem surprising since many industries experienced a sharp downturn in profitability due to COVID-19. A likely explanation is that the restrictions in physical socializing imposed by national and regional governments during 2020 have created increased dependence on telecommunications – notably telephony and video conferencing – for maintaining social and business contacts. This, in turn, has
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H&M on a Roller-Coaster
&M, the Swedish fashion giant, experienced a decrease in net sales by 18 percent in 2020 compared to 2019. Sales development was negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the second quarter when approximately 80 percent of the group’s stores were closed. Worst hit were the outlets in France, Italy, the United States and the United Kingdom. The drop in customer footfall was greatest during the first and second waves of the pandemic in the spring and autumn, but recovered somewhat during the summer months. This pattern suggests that a more lasting recovery is to be expected when the coronavirus is reined in worldwide.
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Sweden’s GDP Rating 2020
weden’s minimalist approach to managing COVID-19 was intended to spare the economy and has been both praised and criticized
stimulated a growing demand for Ericsson’s goods and services. The new 5th generation (5G) technology for mobile communication networks will significantly increase data reception speeds for cell phones and computers compared to earlier standards. Ericsson is one of several cellular infrastructure suppliers that compete for 5G global market share. The other major suppliers are Nokia in Finland and Huawei in China. While they compete in marketing their products to cellular network operators, it is common for operators to mix key technology components from several suppliers. However, the Swedish government has decided to ban Huawei from in-
volvement in the national telecommunications network. National security is the stated reason for the ban, as Huawei is suspected of incorporating espionage technology in its hardware and software. Along with the United Kingdom, Sweden is the only European country so far to have followed the example of the United States in this regard. One might assume that the exclusion of Huawei from the competition in the affected markets would benefit Ericsson as well as Nokia. However, Ericsson has voiced concerns about Chinese reprisals targeting the company’s presence in that country, its second biggest market after the US.
in foreign news media. Paradoxically, this approach to the pandemic has only been of marginal benefit for the overall economy. Still, Sweden gets high marks in the International Monetary Fund’s rating of GDP performance around the world – see the diagram. There are several reasons for this. First of all, Sweden’s economy and banking sector were strong at the beginning of 2020, making them relatively resilient against downturns. Secondly, while the tourist sector has suffered particularly badly around
the globe, tourism is not a major contributor to Sweden’s economy. Lastly, the high level of digitalization in Swedish society has allowed the economy to function without relying extensively on physical contact. For example, day-to-day financial transactions are usually conducted by contactless means, and working from home is now widespread. Hence, even though the second wave of the pandemic has affected the health of the population badly, the economy continues to tick along.
2020 GDP Performance (%) relative to 2019 -0.0 -1.0 -2.0 -3.0 -4.0 -5.0 -6.0 -7.0 -8.0 -9.0 -10.0
France
Eurozone
Germany
World Economy
Sweden
Source: IMF
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Company File
The Hidden Swede in Your Everyday Life By Kajsa Norman
Did you know: every time you buy a muffin at Tim Hortons or McDonald’s, odds are it is wrapped in Swedish paper? Swedish company Tielman produces half a billion paper cups for the North American market every year.
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t all began with Tim Hortons back in 2013. The Canadian staple wanted to adopt the tulip-style wrapper, popular in Europe since the mid-2000s, for their muffins. “Tielman North America started around that business opportunity. We had a product in Canada before we had a company,” says CEO Björn Tielman. The first production batch came from Sweden, but Tim Hortons was impatient for more, requiring the machines to be shipped to Canada. “We still had machines floating around in the Atlantic Ocean on their way to Canada when Tim Hortons wanted to launch,” Björn laughs. Soon everybody wanted their baked goods wrapped in tulip cups. They came in many different colours, but Tielman introduced the idea of branding the wrappers with the
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customer logos. “We convinced Tim Hortons that it would be silly to settle for a plain brown wrapper when one has a strong brand like theirs,” says Björn, who is the grandson of founder Bertil Tielman. While they are fairly new to the North American market, Tielman is a family company that has been supplying the European baking industry with baking cups, loaf liners, muffin cups, wraps, and pie cases since the 1930s. Their logo, consisting of three paper cups, is a nod to the Swedish Tre Kronor and their Swedish roots still mean a great deal to them. “Swedishness stands for something still. Swedes tend to keep their promises, arrive on time and be good at what they do,” says Björn. It is their special type of paper that is Tielman’s secret to success. Paper can be made greaseproof through a mechanical or a chemical process. The latter involves starting with a standard craft paper then adding chemicals to make it dense enough to withstand grease. While
the chemical process is the cheapest method it is not great for the environment, or for the baked goods, as some chemicals are released when the paper is subjected to high temperatures during baking. Using his environmentally friendly mechanical process, Tielman hopes to put this and other environmentally harmful packaging such as aluminum foil and plastic-coated materials out of business. Tielman’s method involves densely molding the fibers in the paper together such that it becomes greaseproof. Environmentally friendly disposable paper cups may sound like an oxymoron, but as Björn explains: “Paper is a renewable resource, and our material is fully biodegradable. If you put our wrappers in your compost, they will be gone in a couple of weeks without having released any harmful substances. The worms and bugs like Tim Hortons too. If there are some crumbs left, they will have a feast,” he laughs. The company has weathered the pandemic fairly well, aided by the fact that they are considered an essential business. “We are not that affected by the highs and lows of the financial markets,” says Björn. “If times are tough you treat yourself with a muffin and if times are good you reward yourself with a muffin. We’re great for both comfort and celebration.”
H E RI TAG E
An Insider’s Look at Swedish Culture Är det ens möjligt att åka 50 Vasalopp i rad? Av Svea Gossner
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om skåning är jag en stor beundrare av skidåkare som har klarat Vasaloppets 90 km mellan Sälen och Mora på längdskidor. Kanske beror det på att jag själv, som anses vara rätt vältränad, inte klarade mitt första Vasalopp förra året. Jag blev nämligen stoppad redan vid 48 km i en snöstorm. Funktionärerna trodde att skåningen skulle få en hjärtinfarkt och ville ta det säkra före det osäkra. Vilken magisk och stor stund det var för mig att få träffa Lars Persson, en pigg herre på snart 80 år som har klarat 50 Vasalopp i rad! En liten tröst för mig i sammanhanget är att min nya idol tyckte att förra året (då jag deltog) var det tuffaste året av dem alla med tanke på snöstormen. Lars var i fjol i gott sällskap av sin son Roger Persson som har vunnit imponerande 32 vasaloppsmedaljer, och för första gången deltog även sonsonen. Att tre generationer kör hela Vasaloppet tillsammans är något helt unikt, och
detta har även Sveriges Television uppmärksammat. Man skulle kunna tro att den här starka familjen bor i något nordligt landskap, men så ligger det inte till. Familjen bor precis på gränsen mellan Skåne och Småland i en liten by som heter Loshult (Skåne) några kilometer utanför Älmhult (Småland) där IKEA en gång grundades. Med tanke på alla skidor, medaljer och diplom som Lars har fått genom åren så hade han inget annat val än att öppna ett vasaloppsmuseum i en av ladorna i Loshult, då de välbevarade minnena helt enkelt inte fick plats i huset. Det var i museet jag även fick upp ögonen för ett av diplomen. Det visade sig nämligen komma från Mora i Minnesota där man varje år genomför Vasaloppet i en något kortare version. Detta har man gjort sedan 1972 och flera olika lopp erbjuds för alla åldrar. Huvudloppet är 58 km (36 miles) långt. För 15 år sedan fick Lars Persson med fru äran att bli hedersgäster på Vasaloppet i Minnesota i samband med ett jubileum. Enligt Lars var det kanske hans allra bästa vasaloppsminne. Orten Mora i Minnesota är känt för sina svenska Dalahästar
och klocktorn precis som Sveriges Mora. Efter detta möte med min stora idol så anmälde jag mig direkt till ”Vasaåket” i Dalarna, emedan bara eliten i år får åka Vasaloppet p.g.a. COVID-19. Nu ser jag min chans att klara de 9 milen då jag slipper stå i kö i timmar (äntligen något bra med COVID-19). Vem vet, jag kanske blir en deltagare i Vasaloppet i Mora/Minnesota framöver, i synnerhet som detta lopp är kortare än det svenska ...
Summary in English: Author Svea Gossner meets 80-year-old skiing veteran Lars Persson who has participated in no fewer than 50 Vasalopp, the historic 90 km (56 miles) long cross-country ski race that takes place every year in the Swedish province of Dalarna. During the 2020 race, Persson was accompanied by his son and grandson. To accommodate his many trophies and memorabilia, he has opened a Vasalopp museum in his home village. While visiting the museum, the author discovered that Persson has also participated in another Swedish-inspired annual Vasalopp, this one in Minnesota. In addition to joining the 2021 race in Dalarna, the author is now setting her sights on Minnesota as well. Footnote: Yvonne “Svea” Gossner är en f.d universitetsadjunkt och Swedish influencer, numera ägare av Learn Swedish Culture AB. www.learnswedishculture.com
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Swedish Press | March 2021 11
The Corporate Hub of Swedish Canada By Kajsa Norman
Historically, the majority of Swedish Canadians settled in Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, but these days Toronto attracts the most Swedish newcomers to Canada. It is also where the largest number of Swedish businesses are found.
oronto is Canada’s biggest city and North America’s fourth biggest, behind Mexico City, New York, and Los Angeles. It is also one of the most multicultural urban centres in the world. After World War II, in the 1950s and 1960s, an increasing number of Swedish companies opened Canadian subsidiaries, often choosing Toronto as their base. Swedish corporate giants like Ericsson, Volvo, Tetra Pak, Alfa Laval, SKF, A newly installed 3D TORONTO Sandvik, IKEA, and Atlas Sign at Nathan Phillips Square. Copco all established a © Destination Toronto presence. “When the Swedish-Canadian Chamber of Commerce was founded in Toronto in 1965 there were more Swedish subsidiaries than today. All of them, even the smallest, had a Swede as their CEO or Chief Financial Officer, or both,” says Lars Henriksson, Honorary Swedish Consul in Toronto. The Swedish executives brought their families and staff, and soon a Swedish community flourished. A Swedish Church was founded in 1953, followed by other organizations aiming to preserve Swedish heritage or provide a sense of community. SWEA Toronto was established in 1982 and the following year the Swedish School was started. However, as
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Swedish Press | March 2021 12
the world became increasingly global, Swedish companies no longer deemed it necessary to have a Swede at the top. “Now, most executives of Swedish companies in Canada are Canadian, or part of the internal corporate rotation, regardless of nationality. Mergers and acquisitions have also meant that there are fewer companies overall,” says Henriksson. Today, Swedish companies in Canada operate in many market sectors, ranging from the mining, automotive, and Information The Toronto Stock Exchange & Communications Techbuilding in the financial district. nology (ICT) industries to © Destination Toronto retail and consumer goods. The largest cluster of Swedish companies in Canada work with industrial goods, serving the ICT sector or with technology equipment and engineering products. While there may be fewer Swedish executives, Swedish companies still tend to emphasise their Swedish roots in their branding. However, the attractiveness of the Swedish brand has taken a slight dip lately. In a study conducted by the Swedish-Canadian Chamber of Commerce (SCCC) in 2018, as many as 86 percent of participating companies believed their Swedish connection would have a positive impact on business. In 2020, that number had fallen to 73 percent.
“One reason for a more moderate response could be the attention and sometimes negative publicity the Swedish government received from the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020,” says Marie Larsson, Executive Director at SCCC. The pandemic has also adversely affected how Swedish companies perceive the current business climate in Canada. In 2018, 80 percent of companies were satisfied or very satisfied with doing business in Canada. In 2020, only 30 percent found the business climate to be good or very good. That said, the pandemic has also created new opportunities where Sweden and Swedish companies are well poised to lead the way. “Recurring lock-downs of societies and businesses, significant decrease in international and domestic travel as well as prioritized health and wellbeing have allowed governments, companies and individuals to realize the opportunities for change that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented as the imminent threat of climate change becomes more and more tangible,” says Christina Keighren, Country Manager at Business Sweden – The Swedish Trade & Invest Council based in Toronto. Around the world, many countries are taking this opportunity to focus their financial post-COVID-19 recovery plans around green initiatives. Several green A family explores the tunnel at stimulus announcements Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada. in Europe and Asia seem to © Destination Toronto signal that we are in for an increased shift to a sustainable, low-carbon economy. And this is an area where Sweden is at the forefront. Sweden consistently ranks high in global sustainable competitiveness and sustainable development indexes. “Despite being a small country, Sweden is well positioned to generate a large impact globally when it comes to sustainability and innovation,” says Keighren. Compared to Sweden, North America and Canada lag in their efforts to stimulate a green recovery. That said, increased environmental consciousness is on the rise. Canada is committed to meeting the Paris Agreement goals by
2030, and under the leadership of President Joe Biden, the US is back on board. “Canada, a country still dependent on fossil fuel, is committed to its goal of net zero emissions by 2050. In its Throne Speech last September, the Canadian government introduced many new initiatives focusing on economic recovery with a clear mandate to increase efforts fighting climate change,” says Keighren. In Sweden, there are also initiatives to make the country the first fossil-free welfare nation in the world by increasing the pace of the climate transition. “Sweden has had a successful track record for the past 30 years of decoupling growth from CO2 emissions with ambitious targets for 2045,” says Keighren. But the best thing about this race is that no matter what country reaches zero first, everybody wins. “As we recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and get ready to seize new opportunities, we see significant Canadian resources focusing on innovation in areas such as renewable energy and clean technology, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and life sciences. These ambitions align well with Swedish expertise and create opportunities for companies to enter the Canadian market in many Epiroc’s new Batteries as a Service different sectors,” says (BaaS) agreement. Photo courtesy Keighren. of Epiroc One example of a Swedish corporation leading the energy transition is Epiroc. As mining companies continue to strive for sustainable productivity and zero emissions, Batteries as a Service (BaaS) will become an increasingly critical component. In the middle of the pandemic, Epiroc Canada and Vale created history with the world’s first BaaS agreement whereby Epiroc will provide Vale with ten battery electric vehicles for two Canadian mine sites. Epiroc will also replace and update the battery units as needed. “We value and look forward to continuing our successful partnership with Vale as we move towards a zero emissions future in mining together,” says Jason Smith, General Manager of Epiroc Canada.
Photo: Roxana Gonzalez Leyva
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Swedish Press | March 2021 13
E X C L U S I V E
I N T E R V I E W
W I T H
M A R I A
New Toronto Minister to Serve All of North America Interviewed by Kajsa Norman
All photos courtesy of Maria Thorsson
Meet Maria Thorsson, the newly appointed pastor for the Swedish Church in Toronto. Her mission is to serve Swedes across all of North America.
“T
o boldly go where no one has gone before” reads a tattoo on the left upper arm of Maria Thorsson, the new pastor for the Swedish Church in Toronto. “People often assume it’s a Bible quote, but it’s actually from Star Trek,” she laughs. When asked why she
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identifies so strongly with the sci-fishow, she explains, “Their mission is to explore unexplored territory, not just in a geographical sense, but also spiritually.” That is an approach to life that Maria has taken to heart both personally as well as professionally. Born in Skurup in southern Skåne, Maria has spent the better part of the past two decades working as a pastor around the world in places such as Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK, and Africa. She has also completed several deployments as military chaplain with the Swedish Armed Forces in Timbuktu, Mali. The mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, has been dubbed the world’s most dangerous UN mission with more than 200 peacekeepers killed since its inception in 2013. Here, even pastors have to undergo combat training before deployment and be heavily armed whenever leaving the camp. For a minister to be constantly armed and ready for battle may seem incongruous, but Maria has given it a great deal of consideration. “I believe the most important part is that you’ve really thought it through before deploying. I felt like I’m sure
T H O R S S O N
most soldiers feel; I don’t ever want to take somebody’s life, but if I end up in a situation where I have to pull the trigger in order to protect the group and myself, I will. There are missions in which the pastor isn’t armed, but instead they have bodyguards. For me it makes no difference if I take the shot or if someone else does it for me. The end result is the same.” Sweden hasn’t suffered any casualties in Mali thus far, but it falls on the minister to make sure there is a refrigerated container and coffins ready if needed. Their presence act as a constant reminder of the risks involved. And for some, the proximity of death can become a gateway to faith. Several of the soldiers who had been raised as non-believers took an interest in existential questions in Mali. Some even found God with Maria shepherding them through religious studies to Christian confirmations in the camp. All told, the experience proved among the most rewarding of her life. “Mali transformed me as a human being. It was incredibly humbling to witness how people who live in appalling conditions, and who have been subjected to so much suffering,
E X C L U S I V E
I N T E R V I E W
are still able to maintain faith in the future. I’ve reflected a great deal on that during the weeks I’ve spent in quarantine over the past few months. It has helped me to put things into perspective,” she says. A strong believer in dialogue, Maria was also the first Swedish minister to reach out to religious leaders of different faiths and denominations in the ancient city of Timbuktu, once an important center for Muslim scholars. “Sometimes we fail to see things because we are so stuck in our own ways of interpreting reality. I believe it’s important to have the courage to question one’s norms and framework every so often. That doesn’t always mean we’re wrong, but we have to be prepared to think outside the box and to change when necessary. Ours may not be the only truth or the only right way of doing things. As they say in Star Trek: ‘It’s life, but not as we know it’.” In North America, Maria will pioneer a brand-new position as mobile pastor. The Church of Sweden has a permanent presence in Toronto, Florida, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, and Washington D.C., but there are many other cities and states with large groups of Swedes
W I T H
M A R I A
that completely lack representation. So, while Maria will be based in Toronto, she will travel the breadth and width of the continent doing her best to serve Swedes who lack a congregation of their own, providing services such as baptisms, confirmations, weddings and prison visits. “Just like we have mobile pastors in mainland Europe, Asia, and Africa, it’s time to introduce a similar concept for North America,” she says. “I really enjoy working for SKUT (Church of Sweden Abroad) because it’s so open and one gets to do a bit of everything. Sometimes I wish all congregations in Sweden could be like that; a place where people gather to be together to talk about the mundane as well as the spiritual,” she says. However, it’s not all about work for Maria. She also enjoys sports, such as skiing, sailing and soccer (Malmö FF). And she loves motorbikes. “I’ve had seven or eight bikes over the years, and they’ve all been named after characters or spaceships in Star Wars or Star Trek. My first bike was called Enterprise. Then there was Obi Wan Kenobi and Millennium Falcon, and I’ve also had a black sports bike called Darth Vader,” she laughs. There is no doubt that
T H O R S S O N
Maria will be a welcome addition for the Swedish congregation in Toronto who has been forced to make do without a minister of its own since the outbreak of COVID-19. If you live in Toronto, visit the Facebook page of the church (https://www.facebook.com/ SvKyrkanToronto) for more information about upcoming services, and if you live elsewhere, you can always drop Maria a line at maria.thorsson@ svenskakyrkan.se to schedule a video call or perhaps even a visit. When spring is in the air and all the snow has melted, she’ll jump on her motorcycle and could very well show up in a town near you.
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Swedish Press | March 2021 15
[
]
Putting Sweden on the Map At Home
“Canada is fantastic! ...
Global
Börje Salming’s Love Letter to Toronto Interviewed by Kajsa Norman
Photos courtesy of Börje Salming
“Canada is fantastic! I love Toronto and my fans there,” says hockey legend Börje Salming, whose most recent trip to the city almost cost him his life.
I
n early June 1973 Börje Salming arrived in Toronto for the first time together with his fiancée Margitta and fellow Brynäs player Inge Hammarström. It was only a few months earlier that a scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs watched as Salming lost his cool and flattened the referee during a game between Swedish Brynäs IF and Canadian amateur team the Barrie Flyers. When Salming was expelled from the game, the scout, Gerry McNamara, followed him into the changing room. Cursing his adversaries, Salming threw his stick in a corner.
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Swedish Press | March 2021 16
When he turned around, there was McNamara, business card in hand: “Would you like to come to Canada to play for the Maple Leafs?” Salming replied with the one English word he knew: “Yes.” Now, here he was on the other side of the Atlantic. “I kept wondering what I was doing here. I told myself not to be impressed, that I was dealing with flesh and blood people just like me,” writes Börje in his first autobiography Blood, Sweat and Hockey. “The skyscrapers whizzed by and the gentlemen were very friendly. The Maple Leafs worked hard to win us over.” Their efforts paid off. On November 10, 1973, Börje Salming threw off his gloves and fought the notorious Dave “The Hammer” Schultz from the infamous Philadelphia Flyers. It was only his second game in the NHL, but then and there Salming put an end to the reputation of Swedish players as being “Chicken Swedes”– cowardly players who couldn’t handle the physical play of the NHL. Hockey history would never be the same, and the gates were opened for the extensive transatlantic migration of Swedish ice hockey players to the NHL that we know today. For fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Salming’s arrival laid the foundations for a life-long love story. As their star defenceman, Salming played 16 seasons and
1099 games for the Maple Leafs, recording 148 goals and 620 assists. In 1996, Salming became the first Swedish player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and in 2015 he received his own bronze statue on Legends Row in Toronto. To this day, he can’t walk the streets of Toronto without being approached by countless fans, including children who should be too young to know his name. “When I visit with friends, I have to explain to them that Canadians are crazy like that; hockey is passed down through the generations. They never forget you,” Salming says. Salming and Margitta first moved to Mississauga, but the family later ended up in the city near High Park where they bought and renovated an old house. In 1989, Salming left the Maple Leafs to play his last season in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings before returning to Sweden where he played for Swedish AIK until finally retiring from hockey in 1993. Although he has many favourite places in Toronto, it is the Maple Leaf Gardens he misses the most. It’s home to memories like the 1976 Canada Cup game between Team Sweden and Team USA. When the players were introduced, Salming, donning the Swedish Tre Kronor
Swedes
... I love Toronto and my fans there.” Salming’s Toronto
jersey, received a thunderous five-minute standing ovation from his Toronto fans. “I was representing my country and Canadian fans gave me a standing ovation. Sometimes hockey has no country,” Salming remembers. He looked down at the ice then, humbled. Now, whenever he returns to the Gardens, his gaze turns towards the ceiling. A Loblaw’s grocery store sits where the ice used to be, but a new rink was built on the second floor, where Ryerson University’s hockey team plays beneath the old rafters he remembers so fondly. “The new [Scotia Bank] arena is incredible, but Maple Leaf Gardens was like a home to me. The people who worked there – the security guards, painters, carpenters, janitors, Zamboni drivers – they were all like family. Some of them had worked there for 30 years, and whenever I returned from my summer holidays in Sweden it was like coming home. I would run around in the catacombs hugging them all,” he reminisces. “I miss those homecomings. No arena can replace that.” As we speak over Facetime, Börje laments having had to cancel his usual February visit to Toronto. The reason, of course, is the pandemic. He is used to visiting the city multiple times a year and can’t wait
to get back. That said, his visit last winter almost killed him. “I almost always get sick when I return home from my trips to Canada, as I’m constantly hugging people, posing with them for photos and shaking hands. This time was the same. After my flight back from Toronto I developed a cough and a fever,” he says. Börje assumed it was just one of his regular colds, but one night he suddenly found himself unable to breathe. “I thought I was going to die. I’ve never been so scared in my life. It was like my throat closed over and I was gasping for air,” he says. His wife Pia called an ambulance and Salming was rushed to the hospital. He was never tested for COVID, but he is convinced that’s what he had. “It was like something I’ve never experienced before,” he says. Salming’s breathing improved and he was sent home the following day, but he remained bedridden for about a month. A year later, he now feels fully recovered but is going easy on his workouts and makes sure to maintain social distancing. While Börje’s next visit to Canada will have to wait, in his heart he will always be partly Canadian. “Canada is fantastic! I love Toronto and my fans there. I couldn’t have done it without them. They always treated me so well and still do. They received me with open arms and I just want to say: Thank you!”
Salming usually visits Toronto several times a year. These are his stomping grounds: Favorite Place to Stay: The Westin Harbour Castle, at the end of Yonge St on the Toronto Waterfront. Favorite Restaurant: Real Sports Bar, near Scotiabank Arena. “They have a massive screen and it’s a great place to watch games.” Favorite Places to Visit: Hockey Hall of Fame, Maple Leaf Gardens, Scotiabank Arena (formerly Air Canada Centre) home to Legends Row with bronze statues of hockey legends like Salming. The CN Tower. Favorite City Oasis: High Park. “I love walking in High Park when I need some time to myself.”
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Swedish Press | March 2021 17
H E RITAG E
“Haven’t you ever heard of Google?”
20 Years of SweMail By Ingemar Olson
Y
es, incredible as it may seem, as of this issue (March 2021) we celebrate the start of the 21st year of SweMail (see the blurb on page 5). The very first SweMail was developed for the March 2001 issue and we’re still here. It all got started with the Dec 2000 issue, which contained a charming “Last Word” fantasy article about a towel, which I wanted to share with my wife (who claims that she knows only one single word of Swedish). But of course the story was in Swedish, so I had to translate it for her. Having done that, I took a look at exactly how much Swedish there was in the magazine, and I thought that with a bit of help it would be quite do-able to translate all the Swedish in the entire issue. With 10 people we’d only need to do about one column of text each. I could then put the pieces together and email it all out to anyone who wanted it. Naturally, this would have to involve some active participation by Swedish Press itself, for publicizing the availability and to act as a central point for folks to send in their email addresses. I sent the translated story to Anders Neumüller and mentioned my idea. He liked it and suggested I write a Letter to the Editor asking for volunteer translators and for people to send him their email addresses. He also came up with the catchy name. Well, we didn’t quite get to my target of 10 translators, but it was enough. Over the years we have had 16 different volunteers participate. Amazingly, of the eight participants that we currently have, three of us have been along for
Ingemar Olson
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Swedish Press | March 2021 18
Bodil Söderberg
the whole ride, and four for most of it. I can’t remember exactly how many readers we had for that first issue, but I’m thinking about 50. Currently I email translations to 134 folks, send notifications about the website to a further 46, and I have no idea how many folks are just looking at the website without me needing to do anything. Lots, I hope! At the beginning, we had to wait for everyone in our team to get their own issue of Swedish Press in the mail before they could even get started on translating anything. I always got mine pretty quickly (being in the same city) but others were not always so fortunate. So there were, shall we say, some delays in the process. Later on I acquired a scanner, so I could scan the relevant pages and email the images to my fellow translators. This sped up the process considerably, not needing to rely on snail mail. These days it is even simpler, since the publisher (Joan, actually) extracts the Swedish pages at about the same time that they are sent to the printer, and I can make these available to our group pretty quickly. Of course, we can’t all drop everything just because a new set of translating tasks arrive in our inbox, so as a rule, I like to give everyone at least a week to do their stuff. Some translators regularly get their contributions done almost immediately and others take the full week. Embarrassingly, the last contributor is often ... me, but no one knows (until now, oops) so it’s ok! After a bit of further editing, like adding a few additional background notes and web links and bringing some stories up to date, the whole thing is ready
Jan Sundin
Inger Beecher
to be emailed out and posted to the website. And then all is quiet for a few weeks, until the next issue is ready. But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. There have been a few hiccups along the way, although nothing severe enough to interrupt the flow of translations. My personal hiccups include a heart attack, a bypass operation, a hip replacement, two major house moves, two trips to Sweden and a number of road trips more ‘locally’. And there has been a lot of spam. Apparently back in 2010 someone on my recipient list got hacked, and their email contact list was ‘harvested’, including the address I use to mail out the translations. So far I have received about 22,000 spam emails (yes, I counted them!) with a daily high of 226. This volume has quieted down to almost nothing by now, but there are still occasional bursts of activity. In the early days many folks had email clients/readers that did not handle long lines well, so I made sure to split every paragraph into lines of about 60 characters. That was a ... hm ... nuisance, and I’m glad people are using more modern email clients these days. I was also not thrilled when my ISP decided to stop hosting web pages, and I had to find another host that was equally affordable (ie: free). The one I chose as seemingly most reliable turned out to also be a favourite of many others – some with content that was not family friendly. So when I included my link in the emails, many of those translations got intercepted before they reached anyone, because they mentioned a red-flagged web host. So these days that emailed link is not clickable. Of course, I also asked my fellow translators for some of their recollections: • I’ve been on board for such a short time, I am hardly in a position to reminisce ... but I am so enjoying being part of this group! • I have several fond memories as a SweMail
Mats Gerschman
Eva Grenier
translator from over the years. First, when early on I couldn’t come up with a translation, Ingemar would simply ask, “Haven’t you ever heard of Google?” Second, I look forward every month when my translations “hit the press” to see what changes he has made, and I am always saying, “Why didn’t I think of that!” It is always great fun and I have learned a lot. • Being one of the original members in the translation group, I have had the pleasure of doing this for a long time. I enjoy keeping in touch with what happens in my native country and appreciate the opportunity to do this. • I have recently joined this group of translators. I have always enjoyed translating things. Over the years I have often been asked to translate family papers, sometimes printed documents, but mostly old letters. The letters can be challenging, being written in longhand and difficult to decipher. Often the author has not used any punctuation, and there can be some “creative” spelling! They use words in “Swenglish” and “Finglish” that are funny. In contrast, the Swedish Press articles are easy to read, use proper grammar and spelling and keep my brain working! I hope to keep doing this for a while!
d
And what does the future hold? Alas, no one knows for sure, but we have no plans to stop translating, so if you like the translations you can look forward to more of the same. Oh yeah, my wife’s ‘single word’ in Swedish? Hiss. Apparently quite useful if you’re lost in the hotel lobby and want to get back to your room. http://biolson.atspace.cc/swemail/ Ingemar is currently enjoying retirement in sunny Parksville, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. He spends most of the day (especially these wintery ones) ensconced in front of his computer, working on various personal projects, and also taking occasional bike rides around town in the summer.
Valentin Petcu
Laine Ruus’ avatar
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Swedish Press | March 2021 19
[Heritage] Raoul Wallenberg Day Celebrated Across Canada By Kajsa Norman
“T
oday, we pay tribute to Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who risked his life to save tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews from persecution and certain death during the Holocaust,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a public statement on January 17, Raoul Wallenberg Day. “As a Swedish diplomat in Budapest, Mr. Wallenberg led one of the most daring and successful rescue efforts of the Nazi era,” Trudeau continued. “I encourage all Canadians to reflect on Raoul Wallenberg’s remarkable story, and ask themselves how we can embrace his values in our personal lives, in order to build a more equal, safer, and fairer world.” The United Nations has called Wallenberg “the greatest humanitarian of the 20th century,” and his story is the ultimate example of how one person, guided by bravery
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Swedish Press | March 2021 20
and compassion, can make a huge difference and transform the course of history. “To me there is no other choice. I’ve accepted this assignment and I could never return to Stockholm without the knowledge that I have done everything in human power to save as many Jews as possible.” This was Raoul Wallenberg’s response to his colleague Per Anger at the Swedish legation in Budapest on January 10, 1945. Anger, who would years later become Sweden’s ambassador to Canada, had urged Wallenberg to leave Hungary and seek safety. Since the summer of 1944, Wallenberg had worked tirelessly at the Swedish legation in Budapest to save thousands of Hungarian Jews by issuing each of them a “Schutz-Pass” – special passports, printed locally, identifying the bearer as a Swedish subject. “It is amazing in how many cases these fictitious documents, claiming the bearer to be a Swedish subject, influenced the brutal murderous Nazis,” says Holocaust survivor George Preger, former chair of the Swedish Canadian Chamber of Commerce who in 1985 accepted the first honorary
Canadian citizenship on behalf of Raoul Wallenberg. Wallenberg also created a network of safe houses operated under the protection of the Swedish state where Jews fleeing persecution could seek refuge. Over the course of six months, he saved more Jews from the horrors of the concentration camps than any other individual, organization, or government. Through his methods, Wallenberg foreshadowed what would become the foundational principles of international human rights and humanitarian law, becoming a role model for what we now call protective diplomacy. For this he paid with his life. On January 17, Wallenberg went to meet with representatives of the Soviet forces east of Budapest. He was arrested and eventually brought to Moscow never to be heard from again. The circumstances surrounding his death remain unknown to this day. “It is essential that we never forget such moral courage and it’s equally important that we draw inspiration from it in the world we live in today. We have only recently witnessed how fragile our democracies are,” said the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ann Linde, in her speech at the virtual Wallenberg Day commemorative event organized on January 17 by the Embassy of Sweden and the Swedish Canadian Chamber of Commerce. The event was recorded and is available here: https://youtu.be/ wv83tnlSf-s.
[Lifestyle] Film New Documentary About Raoul Wallenberg by Holocaust Survivor George Preger By Noelle Norman
“This is the story of Canada’s recognition of a young man who eventually gave his life in the midst of saving others he had never even met,” says the narrator of George Preger’s recent documentary Raoul Wallenberg – Honorary Canadian Citizen, Saviour of Thousands of Jews in Budapest.
I
n the spring of 1944, Hungary found itself suddenly occupied by German troops. The country had been a German ally throughout the war, but now they had been caught trying to establish a separate peace with the Soviet Union and the Nazis took swift action. George Preger was eight years old at the time. His father, a Hungarian Jew, managed to get a hold of false papers for himself and his family. Serving in the Hungarian army, he was rarely able to visit his family, but when he did, he made sure to
George Preger
prepare them for the random raids conducted by the Nazis. He would wake young George in the middle of the night, shining a flashlight in his face to interrogate him in German about his new identity. Who was he? What was his name? Who were his parents? On paper, young George was now the son of his German governess and his real mother was her half-sister. They were hiding in a Hungarian village, posing as ethnic Germans. Their German had to be flawless and they had to learn to decipher every symbol on the
uniforms of German and Russian soldiers. What unit they came from, what loyalties they held. “My father was a very perceptive person. He had served in the AustroHungarian army in World War I as an officer and later lived in Berlin. He saw what was happening in Germany – the change to the Nazi regime and what was coming. Many other Jewish families did not realize what was coming – did not prepare and were subsequently caught in this horrible situation that ensued,” says Preger. While these nightly preparations were obviously extremely stressful, failing an interrogation could be fatal. “I remember seeing a beautiful girl and her father being executed in the courtyard. They had passed us over believing we were gentiles,” Preger recalls. The incident would serve as a life-long reminder of the need for constant vigilance. Preger managed to survive the war and after completing his studies in central Europe, he moved to Sweden where he lived for 20 years. In 1969, Preger and his family moved to Canada where they settled in Toronto. In 1985, Preger, then chair of the Swedish Canadian Chamber of Commerce, accepted the certificate recognizing Raoul Wallenberg as Canada’s first honorary citizen. Dedicated to preserving the memory of Raoul Wallenberg and his legacy, Preger recently made a short documentary called Raoul Wallenberg – Honorary Canadian Citizen, Saviour of Thousands of Jews in Budapest, which is available for free on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=HvTNivX2qUk).
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Swedish Press | March 2021 21
Hemma hos
Enchanted by Karin
[Design]
By Noelle Norman
Swedish Toronto-based designer Karin Edhlund handcrafts leather products inspired by Norse mythology and the Swedish nature in which she grew up. Karin’s company, Förtrollad (Swedish for Enchanted), focuses on bringing Swedish design to a North American audience while staying true to its values of sustainability, functionality, quality, and simplicity.
K
arin Edhlund was adopted by Swedish parents at a young age. She grew up in Huddinge where she loved spending time in the forests near her home. After graduating and studying photography in Stockholm, she decided to head off on the adventure of a lifetime and left for Toronto to find her biological mother and study fashion at George Brown College. Some 25 years later, Toronto has become home, but Karin still draws her inspiration from her Swedish childhood. “I recently discovered that my adoptive great grandfather and his father were saddle makers.
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They loved leather, just like I do now,” she smiles. Using traditional tools and techniques, Karin handcrafts small batches of leather and textile products such as bags, accessories and bracelets. When asked about the inspiration behind her work, Karin reveals that her childhood hikes and adventures in the Swedish forest greatly impact her creativity to this day. “According to Nordic mythology and ancient folklore tales, the forests are inhabited by marvelous creatures like forest fairies, elves, trolls and other mythical beings, surrounded by fierce gods and godesses all with their very own unique supernatural powers. This was so magical to me as a little girl and I used to spend hours dreaming up fantastic stories and divine adventures. Norse mythology and ancient Nordic folklore intrigue me to this day,” she says. Nature is what drives Karin. “I often walk in High Park here in Toronto. I try to stay off the beaten paths and have found hidden places that no one else seems to frequent. I think nature is incredibly healing and I feel it’s important that we take
care of it and conserve it. I try to be aware of how I use resources. I recycle leather from old jackets and make sure not to waste even small scrap pieces,” she says. Karin is always trying to make her company more climate friendly. For each sale, she donates money to plant a tree through a partnership with onetreeplanted.org, and Förtrollad has so far planted more than 500 trees worldwide. Karin is all about minimalism and the importance of functionality in fashion, concepts that are very prominent in the world of Swedish design. Whenever she returns to Sweden, usually once a year, she buys Swedish fabrics that she wishes to share with her North American clients. One of her most recent designs are small pouches made out of Estrid Ericson’s iconic Swedish elephant fabric. Karin is also inspired by Swedish fashion through the ages: she is now working on bags influenced by näverkorgar and the technique of weaving together strips of birch bark, but instead of bark she uses woven leather strips. Learn more about Karin and Förtrollad here: https://fortrollad. com/pages/about-us.
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Treats
Salming’s Tribute to Canada By Kajsa Norman
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ince retiring from hockey, Börje Salming has been pursuing his passion for cooking. He prefers clean and simple flavours. “A Norrlander doesn’t like to get into unnecessary fuss,” he says. Much of Salming’s inspiration stems from the rugged wilderness of Sweden’s far north where he loves to hunt and fish. However, after nearly two decades in North America, he developed a passion for barbequing, or “grillning” as Swedes like to say. “Grilling was among the most pleasant windows into Canadian life, somehow forming an essential part of the social structure. Players would meet and barbecue together on nights off, with wives, kids, dogs and cats,” Börje remembers. “Now and again, you would be called up to man the grill, and so I learned to tackle a whole other sort of game.” Börje adapted to this new lifestyle with gusto, learning to appreciate the fantastic meat that’s produced in Canada and the United States. He is often commended for his juicy burgers and loves to incorporate fruit into his desserts. So, break out your winter barbeque and try this two-course mouthwatering feast.
Hemma hos
à la Börje Salming
Börje’s Best Burger Ingredients: • 2 lb (1 kg) ground beef • 1/2 cup (125 ml) barbecue sauce, store-bought or homemade, preferably a smoky flavour e.g. chipotle • 1 tsp (5 ml) salt • 1 tsp (5 ml) freshly ground black pepper • Large tomatoes • 1 red onion • 12 lettuce leaves • 12 slices rustic country bread, toasted.
Preparation: Add barbecue sauce to ground beef in large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix gently until just combined. Divide into 6 portions. Roll into balls and flatten to form patties about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Thinly slice tomatoes and onion. Wash lettuce leaves. Grill patties for about 4 minutes per side. Sandwich between toasted bread slices with tomatoes, onion and lettuce. Serve with coleslaw, garlic burger dressing and potato chips or French fries. Serves 6.
Grilled Pineapple Ingredients: • 1 fresh pineapple • 1 tsp (5 ml) canola or vegetable oil • 1/3 to 1/2 cup (75 to 125 ml) maple syrup • 2 cups (500 ml) coconut ice cream • Fresh or shredded coconut, for garnish, optional.
What could be more Canadian than maple syrup? Pineapple is fantastic barbecued. It’s best served warm, just off the grill. Preparation for Grilled Pineapple with Coconut Ice Cream and Maple Syrup: Remove top and bottom from pineapple, leaving skin on. Halve and remove hard core. Slice lengthwise into long segments using sharp chef’s knife. Brush flesh sides lightly with oil. Grill pineapple segments for about 4 minutes per side. Meanwhile, warm maple syrup in small saucepan. Serve freshly grilled pineapple segments with ice cream, and top with warm maple syrup. Sprinkle with fresh coconut shavings or shredded coconut, if desired. Serves 4.
More of Salming’s barbeque recipes can be found in Grilling with Salming (available in English and Swedish editions). He has also
released two other cookbooks, available in Swedish only – Vilt med Salming and Skärgårdsmat med Salming.
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Swedish Press | March 2021 23
Hemma hos
[Sprak] º
Parlez-vous Swenglish? By Maria Elffors McCann
“M
amma, kan jag gå to Dani and Zoe’s house and play?” What a normal question this was when my oldest daughter was growing up! The fact that she switched from one language to another was nothing strange at all. She was going to play with her British friends in their house, so therefore this part of the sentence was related to English. She was asking me, her Swedish mum, for permission to go and play with her friends, so there was nothing strange that the first part of the sentence was in Swedish. As a teacher I look at my daughter’s sentence in different ways. Both the Swedish and the English parts of the sentence work grammatically well and there are no problems understanding the content. The vocabulary is socially connected to Swedish and English. Mamma was the person to go to when asking for permission to play at someone’s house. The Englishspeaking school system developed the school vocabulary, and friends influenced the play jargon. Family-related vocabulary included a mixture of both languages
Percentage of Bilingual Speakers in the World Source: European Commission, “Europeans and their Languages” 2006
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Swedish Press | March 2021 24
Alexandra and Sofia McCann. Photo courtesy of Maria Elffors McCann
and sometimes a third. Code switching – the alternating or mixed use of two or more languages in conversation – was a natural part of our lives, and still is. Sentences such as Dad! Have you seen my old shoes? Nej! Det är ok, jag hittade dem i the poubelle. Code switching grammar and vocabulary is all well and good, but then there is the pronunciation. Both English and Swedish have very distinctive sounds that can be difficult to master. When our oldest daughter Alexandra grew up, she was mostly exposed to Swedish. My husband was often called away on business for longer periods at a time. This led to underexposure to certain English sounds such as the [tʃ] sound as in chalk, chips and cheese; and also the [ʃ] sound as in ship, shop and share. She had
instead a perfect pronunciation of the Swedish vowels å, ä and ö. The identity issue related to Swedish and English became evident as the girls grew older. Mamma, please don’t speak to me in Swedish when we are outside l’école was something our youngest daughter Sofia asked me as we approached school. At this time we lived in a little quaint village in southern France. Sofia wanted to be like her French friends. But when dad took her to school it was quite o.k. to speak English, the globally more accepted language in comparison to the unfamiliar Swedish. When our oldest daughter started university in the UK I asked her if her experiences of being brought up speaking different languages, living in different cultures and attending different school systems had had a negative effect on her university studies. Au contraire, she answered. In her view, the exposure to different languages, cultures and school systems contributed to a better understanding of society as a whole, as well as a greater empathy towards other people. As a mamma I was happy! Footnote: Maria Elffors McCann is the founder of the Online Language School Marilingo which offers Swedish and English lessons. www.marilingo.com
European Union
Luxemburg
The Netherlands
Germany
Sweden
Denmark
Poland
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Road to 2045
Road to 2045 A Swede with an American Mindset By Jakob Lagercrantz
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here is something fascinating when American entrepreneurship mixes with the Swedish stubborn focus of purpose. It can be seen with Armand Duplantis in pole vault, or the many Swedish professional ice hockey players in North America. But we also see this in industry. Peter Carlsson was tired when I met him during the Ekotransport conference in Stockholm in 2016. He was keynote speaker and had just left four intense years as purchase and logistics manager at California-based Tesla, some of the more taxing years for that company. A year at Tesla is, according to former employees, as tough as ten years somewhere else. Peter came back deeply committed to a new vision. He was going to build Europe’s first and largest green battery production plant. Few believed he could do it. He needed 40 billion SEK from investors; he still had very few industrial partners and did not know where to set up the plant.
The story is similar to Tesla some ten years earlier. A group of technical whiz kids got together and developed an electric propulsion system. Enters Elon Musk with a vision that seemed unattainable. He first wanted to develop a fast super car, then a luxurious electric car and eventually an electric car for everyone. He did it. The Tesla Roadster came in 2008, the Model S in 2021, Model X as a bonus in 2015, and the Tesla 3 in 2017. Today Tesla is worth as much as nine of the largest car companies in the world (Volkswagen, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, GM, Ford, Honda, Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot). Not bad for a company less than 20 years old. Peter Carlsson, born in southern Sweden and educated at the Luleå University of Technology in the far north, was smitten by the entrepreneurial spirit of Tesla and came back to Sweden with far wilder ideas than we usually see in the country of mellanmjölk (semi-skimmed milk). His vision was a gigantic venture, a pioneering project in a country with few electric vehicles at the time. His timing was good, the electric vehicle market was about to take off in earnest, and he had a bold and unique concept.
Today, Sweden is Europe’s second fastest growing market for electric vehicles. The average share of electric vehicles was more than 30 percent in 2020, while the other EU member states are lagging behind with a modest ten percent. The need for batteries is increasing, and the EU has vowed to produce more batteries in Europe in an effort to break Chinese dominance. Global demand for batteries is set to increase 14-fold by 2030, and the EU estimates it could account for 17 percent of that demand. The European batteries will need to be sustainable, and by 2024 all batteries used in Europe will require a carbon emission label. Northvolt is a gigantic project. The plant just outside Skellefteå will start production in late 2021, just one year later than what Peter announced at the start. He has several industrial investors, including Scania, BMW and Volkswagen – companies that are crucial customers for the batteries produced. And the financing is secured. All this in five years! The Swedish 2030-secretariat was formed to support the decarbonization of the transport sector in Sweden. The secretariat is independent from political parties and technical solutions.
Rendering of Northvolt Ett, Northvolt’s first large-scale battery factory being established in Skellefteå in northern Sweden. © Northvolt
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Swedish Press | March 2021 25
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Swedish Press Connects
Association of Swedish Teachers and Researchers in America
Scandinavian Studies at Augustana College: Swedish Language and Nordic Culture from Classical to Contemporary By Mark Safstrom
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ugustana College is one of only a handful of American liberal arts colleges that offer Swedish language courses as well as a major and minor degree program in Scandinavian Studies. The Swedish roots of Augustana go way back to the early days of the great immigration in the 19th century. The college was founded in 1860 by Swedish and Norwegian immigrants as the first school that would serve the Augustana Lutheran Church Swenson Center staff with students. established that same year. Photo © Augustana College In the 1960s the church merged with other Lutheran denominations and nowadays Augustana College is one of the 26 colleges and universities affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Located in Rock Island in western Illinois on the banks of the Mississippi River, the college is nestled among the hills of its 115-acre, wooded campus. Augustana is a private, 4-year college and is home to about 2,500 students each year, most of whom live on campus. In addition to the 90 majors and areas of study to choose from, there are also 28 varsity athletic teams and 13 musical ensembles, as well as numerous clubs and Greek system. Rock Island is one of the Quad Cities (population 400,000) which straddle the
Scandinavian Studies grads and faculty, 2019. Photo © Augustana College
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Swedish Press | March 2021 26
Mississippi River, and is about 165 miles west of Chicago, Illinois. The Scandinavian Studies program at Augustana is a skills-based liberal arts education, anchored in language study, translation experience and practical applications, such as history and archival work. Along with the Swedish language, courses cover a range of cultural topics, including literature, drama, art and film—classical to contemporary. The major is 28-credits and the minor is 16-credits, making it possible for many students to combine the major or minor with virtually any of Augustana’s other majors. Augustana College also offers a reciprocal exchange program with Uppsala University in Sweden, which allows students to study abroad for a semester or a year, paying normal tuition at home while receiving their education at Uppsala. Similarly, Uppsala University students who wish to spend half a year or an entire year at Augustana are also able to do so without additional tuition costs. The college supports study abroad by offering $2,000 to every student. Known as Augie Choice, these grants can be used in the junior or senior year. Three-week January-term courses and summer study in Sweden or Norway are also options. Combining the major with another humanities field in particular can position students well for graduate studies. Some Augustana graduates have pursued graduate studies Photo: Uppsala University in Scandinavian countries. Assisted by faculty, students can find internships for credit and/or pay. Some possible examples include, but are not limited to: the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Augustana, Swedish-American Archives of Chicago, Swedish-American Museum in Chicago, Akvavit Theatre Company, or the University Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Students in the program are part of a small, dynamic cohort who learn together and participate in cultural activities like the annual Sankta Lucia festival, film nights, and exploring Augustana’s deep Scandinavian heritage. Välkommen till Illinois! https://augustana.edu/academics/areas-of-study/ scandinavian-studies
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Swedish Press Connects
En svår nöt att knäcka
Vaccin eller inte vaccin för utlandssvenskar – det är frågan Svenska medborgare garanteras inte vaccin mot COVID-19 i Sverige. Är man utflyttad beror det på vilket land man bor i och vad man har för sysselsättning, enligt Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner, SKR. Oklarhet råder dock kring vad som gäller, något som frustrerar många utlandssvenskar.
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oppet tändes hos människor världen över när nyheten om att ett flertal COVID-19-vaccin ar på väg att godkännas och snart skulle distribueras. Idag har hoppet dalat för många utlandssvenskar som riskerar att hamna mellan stolarna. Svenskar i Världen, SVIV, har försökt reda ut vad som gäller för denna grupp. – I en pandemi som denna anser vi att det är rimligt att Sverige tar sitt ansvar för samtliga medborgare, oavsett var man bor i världen. Vi sitter inte på lösningen men menar att beslutsfattarna ska vara medvetna om att denna grupp finns och att de måste inkluderas på ett eller annat sätt, säger Svenskar i Världens generalsekreterare Cecilia Borglin.
Utlandssvenskar riskerar hamna i limbo
Det finns ett antal begrepp som troligtvis kommer att få stor betydelse i arbetet med att hitta en väg framåt. För SVIV:s räkning har SKR förklarat två av begreppen och deras innebörd: offentlig och nödvändig vård. – Offentlig vård och nödvändig vård är inte motsatser. Offentlig vård handlar om hur vården finansieras och/eller utförs, att jämföra med privat vård. För att förtydliga används ibland begreppen ”offentligt finansierad vård” och ”offentligt utförd vård”. Vård kan ju vara till exempel offentligt
Folkhälsomyndighetens film “Nu börjar vaccinationen mot COVID-19”.
finansierad, det vill säga skattefinansierad, men utföras av en privat vårdgivare, säger Erik Svanfeldt, internationell samordnare på avdelningen för vård och omsorg på SKR. Han fortsätter: – Med nödvändig vård avses ofta akut vård och begreppet ”nödvändig vård” används i EU-sammanhang. Vaccinering, som i Sverige är frivillig, betraktas som planerad vård och inte som akut vård. Därför betalar utlandssvenskar bosatta utanför EU/EES-området och Schweiz för hela vårdkostnaden vid vaccinering mot COVID-19, precis som vid annan planerad vård och med vissa särskilda undantag. Vaccinationsfrågan är ingen enkel nöt att knäcka, och den berör alla människor oavsett nationalitet och land. – Vi får många mejl och samtal från utlandssvenskar som letar information eller har hamnat mellan stolarna genom att exempelvis vara utskriven och numera bosatt i ett land utanför EU/EES, men som av olika skäl befinner sig i Sverige just nu. Kommer de att kunna köpa sig vaccin om de nu inte kvalar in i det rådande svenska systemet? Frågan kommer att bli extra delikat om det kommer att införas speciella vaccinationsintyg för att få gå ombord på ett flygplan. Om Sverige nekar dem vaccin samtidigt som flygbolag inför krav på vaccinationsintyg hamnar de verkligen i limbo, säger Cecilia Borglin. Summary in English: It is unclear whether Swedish expats are entitled to be vaccinated against COVID-19 while on a visit in Sweden. If they reside in a country outside of the EU/EES, they might not be eligible for tax-funded vaccinations, although they could possibly be vaccinated for a fee. They also face the unique dilemma of being ineligible for vaccination, while at the same time being unable to return to their country of residence if airlines require proof of vaccination from passengers before boarding. SVIV is working with the Swedish health authorities to find a solution.
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Calendar & Events
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A guide to fun and interesting Swedish events outside Sweden
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CHICAGO Swedish American Museum 5211 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60640 Tel: 773-728 8111 | info@samac.org www.swedishamericanmuseum.org Starting from February 7 the Museum, Gallery and Store are open with special guidelines. The online events are still going ahead as planned. The Museum Store will continue to offer curbside pickup as well as online orders. Ongoing through July 2021 – Exhibition at the Main Gallery – Five local SwedishAmerican artists, Lois Baron, Sharon Bladholm, Jean Cate, Vivian Morrison and Eva Nye, have spent 2020, the “Year of the Woman” and of COVID-19, delving deeper into their art, resulting in this joint exhibition featuring themes of nature, ephemerality, identity, and more. MINNEAPOLIS American Swedish Institute 2600 Park Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55407 Tel: 612-871 4907 | www.asimn.org Ongoing through July 11, 2021 – The exhibition Papier – Bea Szenfeld and Stina Wirsén unite Bea Szenfeld’s spectacular sculptural paper-fashions with Stina Wirsén’s evocative illustrations. PHILADEPHIA American Swedish Historical Museum 1900 Pattison Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19145 | Tel: 215-389 1776 | info@americanswedish.org | www.americanswedish.org Reopened to visitors since January 8 with normal operating hours. Ongoing through Mar 14, 2021 – From Fairy Tale to Fantasy: The Art of Gustaf Tenggren – This exhibit charts Tenggren’s career in the United States from his early successes in New York to his time at Walt Disney Studios and eventual retirement in Maine. Ongoing through May 1, 2021 – Around the World: The Global Curiosities of Carl Otto Lindberg! This exhibition explores the life of a Swedish-American mining engineer. Mar 26 – Fri 12:15 pm: Virtual Field Trip Friday: Vesterheim National NorwegianAmerican Museum 8
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PORTLAND Nordic Northwest Nordia House, 8800 SW Oleson Rd., Portland, OR 97223 | Tel: 503-977 0275 www.nordicnorthwest.org Mar 13 – Sat 7 PM: Storytelling – Armchair Adventure Series: Nansen of the North featuring Lawrence Howard at Nordia House. SEATTLE Swedish Cultural Center 1920 Dexter Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98109 Tel: 206-283 1090 | www.swedishclubnw.org info@swedishculturalcenter.org Mar 7 – Sun 9 am to 12 noon: Swedish Pancakes to Go. Visit swedishclubnw. org to order your breakfast and schedule pick-up. $11. Enjoy music during pick-up by our regular Swedish pancake breakfast musicians (Soelje Sisters and Bonnie Birch). National Nordic Museum 2655 NW Market Street, Seattle, WA 98107 Tel: 206-789 5707 | nordic@nordicmuseum.org www.nordicmuseum.org Ongoing through April 18, 2021 – The Experimental Self: Edvard Munch's Photography. Internationally celebrated for his paintings, prints, and watercolors, Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (1863–1944) also took photographs. This exhibition of his photographs, prints, and films emphasizes the artist’s experimentalism, examining his exploration of the camera as an expressive medium. WASHINGTON, DC Embassy of Sweden 2900 K Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20007 Tel: 202-467 2600 | www.swedenabroad.com ambassaden.washington@gov.se The Embassy will remain in a modified telework arrangement, offering limited consular services by appointment only. Phone hours are: Mon-Fri 9 am to 4 pm (closed for lunch 12 to 1 pm), 202-467 2600. OTTAWA Embassy of Sweden Ottawa 377 Dalhousie Street, Suite 305, Ottawa ON K1N 9NB Tel: 613-241 2277 www.swedishembassy.ca 18
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To mitigate the effects of the spread of COVID-19 and reduce the outbreak, a temporary ban on entry to the EU via Sweden is in force. The Government has extended the ban of entry to the EU via Sweden until 15 April 2021. TORONTO Swedish Lutheran Church 25 Old York Mills Rd, North York, ON M2P 1B5 toronto@svenskakyrkan.se Tel: 416 486-0466 Please visit https://www.svenskakyrkan. se/toronto for information about upcoming services. VANCOUVER Scandinavian Community Centre 6540 Thomas Street, Burnaby, BC V5B 4P9 Tel: 604-294 2777 | info@scancentre.org www.scancentre.org Visit www.scancentre.org. for COVIDupdates. Mar 16 – Tues 7 pm: Sweden House’s annual meeting WINNIPEG Swedish Cultural Assoc of Manitoba Scandinavian Cultural Centre 764 Erin St, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3G 2W4 Tel: 204-774 8047 | www.scandinaviancentre.ca/sweden | Registration by email at svenskclub17@gmail.com Mar 5 – Fri 7 pm: Swedish Movie Night – This month’s movie is Out Stealing Horses; based on the book written by Per Petterson. There will be a shared viewing through Zoom. Please register with Marilyn to receive your Zoom invite at old_soul_art@hotmail.com. Mar 18 – Tribute to Gunvor Larsson. As part of Manitoba 150 – marking 150 years since Manitoba entered the Confederation in 1870 – the Honour 150 program was formed to recognize 150 individual Manitobans for their outstanding contributions to the well-being of their communities. The Swedish Cultural Assoc is extremely pleased and honoured to announce that our cherished and long-standing member, Gunvor Larsson will be one of the recipients of this prestigious once-in-a-lifetime award! In honour of this occasion a virtual Tribute to Gunvor Larsson will be held on March 18. 28
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[Ads] and Info Swedish Press Classified BC Organizations Scandinavian Business Club Monthly meetings feature business speakers. Guests and new members welcome. Call SBC: 604-484-8238. Visit us at www.sbc-bc.ca Scandinavian Community Centre Scandinavian Community Centre Beautiful setting for weddings, parties, birthdays, meetings and seminars. 6540 Thomas Street, Burnaby, BC info@scancentre.org Tel: 604-294-2777 www. scancentre.org Svenska Kulturföreningen Ordförande Ellen Petersson 604-970 8708. Kassör är Linda Olofsson, 604-418 7703 www.swedishculturalsociety.ca. Email: swedishculturalsociety.ca @gmail.com Swedish Canadian Village Beautiful Assisted Living Residence & Senior Subsidized Apartment Buildings Located in Burnaby, BC. Tel: 604-420 1124 Fax# 604-420 1175 www.swedishcanadian.ca
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Washington Organizations Nordic Museum has moved to a beautiful, brand-new building! In Seattle, 2655 N.W. Market St., Ballard; 206-789 5707. Swedish Club 1920 Dexter Ave. N, Seattle, WA 98109; Tel: 206-283 1090. Open Wednesday evenings for supper and games, Friday for lunch and dinner. Pancake breakfasts on
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Sista ordet
New Swedish Words Adopted in 2020 New Year: New Words By Noelle Norman
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very year, Sweden’s Institutet för språk och folkminnen (Institute for Language and Folklore) composes a list of new words that have officially been added to the Swedish language. Many of the new words added at the end of 2020 are funny, informal, and hopefully temporary. Ranging from new COVID aphorisms to social media inspired slang, here are a few of the highlights from 2020’s list!
Coronahälsning
Literally translated it means “Corona greeting” and refers to the new types of greetings that have surfaced as people are required to maintain social distance during the pandemic. When Swedish television asked people in the streets of Stockholm how they interpreted the word, many associated it with an elbow bump, i.e an informal greeting where two people touch elbows.
Simp
Simp is really an English word commonly used by the younger generation to refer to somebody who is smitten with another person and uses compliments to try to win their romantic interest, particularly on social media. In Sweden, the noun has also been turned into a verb, thus the actions of a Simp is to simpa.
Zoombombning
Stemming from the pandemic, this expression quite literally means to photobomb a Zoom call as an unwanted or uninvited guest. This term may well disappear again once virtual meetings become less common.
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Swedish Press | March 2021 30
Cancelkultur
This is a newly adopted Swenglish word for cancel culture. Cancel culture is a form of activism whereby people with controversial views are ostracized by “cancelling”, taking away, or depriving them of their platforms, thus preventing them from expressing themselves publicly.
Boomer
Boomer is another English expression that has found its way into the Swedish language. It is a derogatory term used by the younger generation to express frustration against a person for their outdated values and behaviour. The term can be interpreted as ageist because it is always used negatively against older people. It is similar to the slang term of calling somebody a “Karen”.
Hobbyepidemiolog
A “hobbyepidemiolog” is someone who lacks expertise or any real insight on a health-related topic but still preaches their opinion on the topic, presenting it as fact. The expression has surfaced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic as many self-assigned experts have issued recommendations without
any real knowledge of medicine. Swedes who are unhappy with Sweden’s approach to the pandemic often refer to the country’s chief epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, as a “hobbyepidemiolog” as a joking way of accusing him of incompetence.
Kanskeman
Literally translated as “Maybeman,” a kanskeman is a man who struggles to commit and does not want to get fully involved in a serious relationship or make any long-lasting promises regarding his romantic life.
Lesserwisser
Lesserwisser is a funny nickname for a person who is less knowledgeable but who nevertheless explains a phenomenon to someone who knows more about it. In some contexts it can be a synonym for ‘mansplaining’.
Infodemi
This word refers to the spread of possibly damaging false information, or, in more common terms, fake news. It is a fun play on words that combines information with the word epidemic. Illustration: Tone Gellerstedt, Isof
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