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Sweden sails: from the high seas to the American prairie
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Tales from Titanic M32 Cup, the future of sailing
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CONTENTS ( May 2014 )
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Swedish Press
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Swedish Headlines Headline News: New commission to tackle entrenched discrimination of Roma News at a Glance Swedes in the News
Business 7 Business News 9 Company File: Saab
Heritage 15 Valborgs mässoafton 16 Swedish Roots, Oregon Lives 17 Maclayhem Lifestyle 18 Top Sju 19 Health
A sketch of the Wind Wagon by Jens Langert.
Hemma hos 20 Design: Swedish super yachts 21 Treats à la Lena 22 Lär Dig Svenska 23 Barn Sidan
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Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan MY14 06. Photo: Nevs
Feature 10 The Wind Wagon Project: with wind in their sails and a dream in their hearts Interview 12 Fredrik Lööf and Hans Wallén – The M32 Cup: a new era in sailing
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In the Loop 24 Landskapsnyheterna 27 Canada & US Update 28 Calendar and Events 29 Ads and Info 30 Sista Ordet Titanic: en skånsk familjs öde 31 Press Byrån
We acknowledge the assistance of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage. PRINTED IN CANADA N E X T I S S U E D E A D L I N E : M AY 1 0
Illustration by Eva Eriksson in Barbro Lindgren’s book, Max Nalle.
M32 with Fredrik Lööf. Photo: Dan Ljungsvik
On the cover: Fredrik Lööf and team will be racing in the M32 Cup 2014 in Gothenburg, Oslo, Copenhagen, Malmö and Stockholm. Photo: Dan Ljungsvik
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Letters to the Editor Joan and Claes, I continue to be impressed by the high quality of Swedish Press... and now by your growing number of advertisers, who obviously see value in being associated with such a classy production. Well done! Brian Antonson Vancouver, British Columbia Dear Swedish Press, Your interesting magazine was given to me – in digital format – as a Christmas present, and I have had such joy from it. Living in England, but born in Sweden, it gives me a lovely peek into how things are in Sweden and it is interesting too, to see the connections that are still so strong with North America. Keep up the good work, Ingrid Good, Kent, UK Hello Joan, I can’t believe it but your magazine arrived today. I don’t understand our postal system anymore. But the whole magazine is fantastic. It will be linked from my own
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website and put on my Pinterest board. I love it. It is really urging me to seriously learn Swedish. Thank you very much. You do beautiful work. Laurel Anderson-McCallum Winnipeg, Manitoba Hi Tatty, A couple of things: 1) The word breaks are much improved. In the last two issues I haven’t noticed a single occurrence that felt odd. (Editor’s note: in a previous letter, Ingemar had pointed out our use of word breaks in Swedish articles was not always correct/TM) Good job and keep up the good work! 2) Another reader pointed out to me that the answers to the February Lär dig svenska quiz haven’t been published. An oversight obviously but perhaps she’s not the only one who would like to see them in print? Ingemar Olson, by email Editor’s comment: Apologies for this oversight – you can find the answers on our website www.swedishpress.com/TM
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From the Editor’s Desk
Patrons Wanted Swedish Press is YOUR magazine! We love providing great stories, news and views about Sweden each issue, but a publication such as ours requires a huge amount of resources. Please support Swedish Press by making a donation (either online at www.Swedishpress.com or by mail) to enable us to help keep Swedish culture alive and well in North America.
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Swedish Press May 2014
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weden has a long, proud history of maritime expertise, in terms of both seamanship and shipbuilding. The Viking boat builders and sailors employed incredible technological advances for their age, such as streamlined hulls and shallow keels, enabling them to sail on rivers as well as seas, and square sails that could be raised and lowered quickly. More than a thousand years later and Swedes are still at the forefront of sailing innovation, both at sea – and even on land. As my mother, who spent many long hours watching from shore as my sailing-mad grandfather judged sailing races far out at sea, will attest, sailing is great for sailors but hasn’t always been the most exciting or inclusive spectator sport. The new M-32 Cup looks set to change that, bringing fast catamaran racing close to shore and into the heart of major cities. This, as Olympic medalist sailors and this month’s interviewees, Fredrik Lööf and Hans Wallén agree, is the future of sailing. From inner-city harbors to the dusty American prairie, we tell the incredible story of seven Swedish adventurers who harnessed the wind to cross the Black Rock Desert in a wooden wind wagon. Combining the best of both the Viking and pioneer spirits, they followed in the wake of a 19th century American adventurer named Wind Wagon Tomas and made their dream a reality which inspired a recent SVT documentary. From hand-built wooden prairie ships to the ultimate in luxury yachts, we take a look at concept superyachts, complete with helicopter and carports. For those of us traveling by more modest means this spring or summer, we also have some fun traditional Swedish travel games to play on Barnsidan. Spring greetings from all of us at Swedish Press!
Tatty Maclay Editor-in-Chief Tatty@Swedishpress.com
Remember to Subscribe Please note that the subscription renewal slips are no longer sent out with your Swedish Press. Instead your expiry date is printed on the address label on the front cover of the magazine. Look out for it and renew or subscribe today!
My mother sa ili As you can pr ng with her brother in th obably guess e from her expr Stockholm archipelago c.1958. ession, she w as not a keen sailor!
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Swedish Headlines New commission to tackle entrenched discrimination of Roma by Susan Holmberg
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new commission has been appointed to examine Sweden’s discriminatory and racist treatment of its Roma population, it was announced on March 26. This follows a white paper outlining abuses suffered by Roma people in Sweden throughout the past century. “This is a dark and shameful part of Swedish history”, Integration Minister Erik Ullenhag said when presenting the paper. The white paper contains several witness statements and research on discrimination both by the authorities and by individuals. Prior to the 1960s, for example, Roma were refused the right of residence in most Swedish municipalities, confining them to a nomadic life which also implied a loss of the right to education, health care and welfare benefits. As late as 1975, Roma women were forcibly sterilized and many children were removed from their parents.
White Paper on abuses and rights violations of Roma. Photo: Regeringen.se
The paper also revealed deeply prejudicial sentiments among police and other authorities in the early 1900’s, when the Roma were described as “ugly”, “unreliable” and “good for nothing”. Ullenhag wrote in Dagens Nyheter that these historical views laid a foundation of prejudice toward the Roma that persist to this day but which are expressed in contemporary form, most notably on racist websites. While it is true that it is formally no longer acceptable (or legal) for authorities to express such views, recent events have nonetheless highlighted the persistence of antiRoma sentiment within official
organizations such as the police. In the fall of 2013, it was revealed that a Swedish police force in southern Sweden had maintained a secret register containing the names of about 4,000 Roma people. One quarter of the names were those of children, some as young as two years old. Despite the fact that Roma have lived in Sweden for the past 500 years, they remain highly marginalized. Most are unemployed, and the majority of children still do not complete primary school. There are attempts to redress the situation and elevate the status of the Roma. The police register was met with immediate condemnation among the political establishment and public opinion. The white paper containing extensive witness accounts also brings to life the suffering of those who have experienced racism
Crown Princess Victoria greeting Roma representative Diana Nyman. © Fredrik Sandberg/TT
Sweden’s Integration Minister Erik Ullenhag.
and discrimination, and it is hoped that the new commission will further illuminate both obvious and subtle forms of abuse as well as provide guidelines for improvement. Good intentions yes, but this will be a challenge. On the morning the white paper was presented, at one of Stockholm’s major hotels, one of the guests attending the presentation, a Roma woman named Diana Nyman, was not permitted to enter the breakfast room with the other hotel guests. She was dressed in traditional Roma clothing.
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News at a Glance Sweden leads EU in refugee acceptance
Military union with Finland ‘should not be ruled out’
Sweden Democrat tour protests
According to figures released recently, Sweden is the European country which accepted the greatest number of asylum-seekers in 2013 in per capita terms. Sweden granted asylum to 53 per cent of claimants, significantly higher than the EU average of 34 per cent, largely Syrians fleeing their wartorn homeland. However, Migration Minister Thomas Billström said that the failure of other EU countries to accept their share was unsustainable and could prove disastrous. ‘We have a situation where member states like Sweden, France and Germany are doing more and more of the job,’ he told AFP, adding: ‘There needs to be a common European resettlement system…to relieve the burden.’
Responding to a poll in which 54 per cent of Finns claimed they would support a military alliance with Sweden, Finland’s Defence Minister Carl Haglund said that an alliance ‘should not be ruled out.’ Unlike Denmark and Norway, neither Finland nor Sweden are members of Nato and the question of a ‘collective defence solution’ has been the subject of debate, particularly in the light of the Russian annexation of Crimea. Confidence in Sweden’s national defence capabilities has long been dwindling and in January 2013 Armed Forces’ (Försvarsmakten) Supreme Commander Sverker Göransson stated that Sweden could only defend itself for one week.
Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson has been the target of several protests as he tours the country in the Swedish election year. Demonstrators showed up at a fire station in Botkyrka to protest against the controversial politician’s visit and 250 staff from Skåne University Hospital in Malmö wrote an open letter to Åkesson telling him to stay away. Death threats from unknown sources were then issued to the anti-Åkesson hospital staff. Åkesson plans to visit more than 50 work places across Sweden in the run up to the September elections. In the 2010 general election the farright party polled 5.7%.
Balancing the boardroom Often hailed as paragons of gender equality, Swedish companies are now in the hot seat for the gender imbalance that persists at executive level. Even though Sweden has the highest share of women in the labour market amongst European countries, in senior managerial positions, women are outnumbered by men by 3-to-1.
[Business] News The concern over the gender make-up of Swedish boardrooms has caught the attention of the Swedish government. Following in the footsteps of Norway’s decision to impose a gender quota in 2005, Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg has called for a similar gender quota for Swedish companies if drastic improvements aren’t made before next year.
Representation of women and men on the boards of large listed companies, April 2013. Source: European Commission, Database on women and men in decision-making.
Meda AB stays Swedish The Swedish pharmaceutical company, Meda AB, has rejected a bid to be acquired by the American pharmaceutical giant, Mylan. Meda AB, which is run from its headquarters in Solna, is currently valued at $4.5 billion and has a strong presence in emerging markets. Analysts have also pointed out that the deal, had it been successful, would have allowed the Pennsylvania-based Mylan to relocate its headquarters in order to avoid paying high corporate taxes in the US. The attempted deal follows a series of consolidation efforts among Western pharmaceutical giants seeking to weather growing competition from cheap knock-off drugs coming from countries like India.
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[Swedes] in the News Nilsdotter gets award
Barbro Lindgren wins Alma prize
Zlatan stamps released A new set of five stamps in honor of Swedish star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has recently been launched in Sweden – and is proving very popular in France, where Zlatan currently plays for Parisian team PSG. The football phenomenon has also made it onto the football rich list top five, after earning 208 million kronor (around $33 million) in 2013.
Karin Nilsdotter, CEO of Spaceport Sweden – and our October 2013 issue cover star – was recently in Stockholm to pick up the Innovator of the Year Award at the Grand Travel Awards in Stockholm. Spaceport Sweden were recognized for their efforts developing space tourism in Sweden and helping Kiruna become a world-class travel destination.
Barbro Lindgren. Photo: EPA/Dan Hansson
Pehrson emigrant book
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uthor Barbro Lindgren has been awarded the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Prize for children’s literature, becoming the first Swedish writer to be awarded the prize in its 12 year history. Barbro Lindgren, who is not related to Astrid Lindgren, is best known for her Wild Baby series about an anarchic toddler. She will be awarded the 5 million SEK prize at a ceremony in Stockholm in June. Bäckström gets his silver
Lennart Pehrson. Photo: Mats Pehrson
Lennart Pehrson, US correspondent for over 25 years for newspapers including Dagens Nyheter, has written an authoritative new 3 part history on Swedish emigration to America. The first book ‘Den nya världen: utvandringen till Amerika I’ was published in March by Albert Bonniers Förlag.
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Nicklas Bäckström, the Swedish ice hockey player who was banned from the Olympic hockey finals at Sochi after testing positive for a banned substance, is to receive his silver medal after all. The decision was made by the IOC after they found no wrong doing on his part. Bäckström’s provisional suspension just hours before the final was condemned by
Nicklas Bäckström. Photo: Brian Snyder/Reuters
the Swedish team and supporters, who felt it affected Sweden’s 0-3 loss to Canada.
Kamprad moves to Sweden Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has moved back to Sweden after four decades abroad, most of them spent in Switzerland. The 87 year old is handing over the reins of the company to his son Matthias, but has no plans to retire and will be based in his home town of Älmhult, close to family and friends, as well as Ikea’s product development centre.
Company File SAAB rullar vidare Av Monika Nordqvist Trots konkursen 2011 rullar det svenska bilmärket SAAB vidare. Med hjälp av kinesiska investerare tar SAAB klivet in i framtiden, och nu tillverkas den nya elbilen Saab 9-3 Aero i bolagets historiska fabrik i Trollhättan.
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AAB (Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget) grundades 1937 i den västgötska staden Trollhättan. Bolaget var under en tioårsperiod en framgångsrik flygplanstillverkare, men efter andra världskriget valde bolaget att skifta fokus och satsa på produktion av personbilar då det fanns ett överskott av flygplan under efterkrigstiden. Med grunden i Saabs flygplansteknik utvecklade man bolagets första personbilsprototyp, modell 92001, som även kallas “Ur-Saaben”. 1947 presenterades “Ur-Saaben” för första gången i en personalmatsal i Linköping. 1949 började SAAB tillverka personbilar på löpande band i fabriken i Trollhättan, och under den andra hälften av 1900-talet fortsatte utvecklingen av både nya modeller och ny teknik. En milstolpe för biltillverkaren kom 1978 med lanseringen av Saab Turbo. Det var den första bilen med en turbomotor som var pålitlig och hållbar nog att användas i dagligt bruk. Med Saab 9000, som lanserades 1984, lyckades bolaget ta sig in på det lukrativa premiumbilssegmentet och 1986 debuterade cabrioletversionen av
Saab 900. Cabrioletmodellen blev ett lyckokast för Saab som genom lanseringen tog sig in på den viktiga amerikanska bilmarknaden. 2010 såldes SAAB av den amerikanska ägaren General Motors till det holländska bolaget Spyker Cars. Efter köpet försökte Spyker Cars vid upprepade tillfällen att hitta finansiering så att produktionen i Trollhättan kunde fortsätta. Tyvärr misslyckade Spyker Cars och den 19 december 2011 försattes SAAB i konkurs. SAAB har sedan konkursen 2011 återuppstått i ny skepnad. Med hjälp av nya investerare har huvudägaren Kai Johan Jiang, en kinesisk affärsman som studerade i Sverige på 90-talet, skapat National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) genom att friköpa tillgångarna i Saab Automobiles konkursbo. Bolaget satsar nu stort på att slå sig in på den växande elbilsmarknaden med modellen Saab 9-3 Aero. Målet är att vara en aktör som driver bilindustrin framåt,
[SAAB] Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan MY14 EU Spec 07 Foto: Nevs
med fokus på elbilar. “Under 2014 lanserar vi vår första elbil, med Kina som initial marknad,” säger NEVS. NEVS vill också fortsätta att föra Saab-bilarnas historia vidare genom innovation, skandinavisk design och ett starkt engagemang för miljö och säkerhet. “Sverige och den svenska marknaden är vår självklara hemvist. I Trollhättan bygger vi bilarna och har vårt huvudkontor, och det är också där vi bedriver vår forskning och utveckling,” förklarar NEVS. Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan MY14 02 Foto: Nevs
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The Wind Wagon Project: with wind in By Tatty Maclay
Following in the wake of Wind Wagon Tomas, a 19th century American visionary, seven Swedish adventurers designed and built a wind wagon named Astrakan in which to sail across the Black Rock desert.
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ntil the first transcontinental railroad (the ‘Pacific Railroad’) was laid in the 1860s, pioneers making their way west on the Emigrant Trail faced a serious problem: just how to cross the vast dusty plains of America? Between 1846 and 1869 some 500,000 immigrants made the trip in search of a better life, new land and gold, most of them using wagons pulled by horses, mules or oxen. But there will always be those who search for better, quicker, different ways of doing things and in 1853 a visionary, but ultimately hapless, man known as Wind Wagon Tomas established the Prairie Clipper Company.
The maiden voyage of his first wind wagon ended in disaster, with smoking wheel hubs, broken limbs (and some very angry investors), largely due to the fact that ball bearings and shock absorbers had not yet been invented. It’s said that he had fallen in love with the mayor’s daughter (the mayor was less than thrilled about the union) and after the fiasco, they disappeared west together and were last heard of living with Native Americans.
Wind Wagon Tomas and his smoky, shaking desert ship is an almostforgotten footnote in American history, but somehow his story caught the attention of a young American schoolboy named Jim Prescott, who many years later shared his dream of recreating the ship and the journey with a Swedish artist friend named Henrik Wallgren. Wallgren was part of the original crew who sailed the East India ship Götheborg and his former crewmates Johannes Kabell, and Timothy Ohldin joined the project together with tall ship rigging designer Jens Langert, Emil Bladh and blacksmith Lars Lincoln. (Ohldin
and Kabell are also members of the band Driftwood Company, who wrote the soundtrack to the documentary about the project.) ‘We realized it was the perfect project,’ Kabell says. ‘It was fun, not serious and it had this great story behind it.’ Following the path of the emigrants – as Wind Wagon Tomas would have done had he succeeded – was a strong theme for the project and the name of the wagon, Astrakan, was taken from Wilhelm Moberg’s Emigrant books (the heroine Kristina takes seeds from her astrachan tree with her from Sweden.) Serendipitously, the crew also came across an old prairie schooner en route, of the same kind that thousands of Swedish immigrants would have used on their journey west, perfectly preserved in the dry heat.
‘The whole project just happened,’ explains Kabell, ‘we just did what felt right.’ Nonetheless, the
From the forests of Halland to the Black Rock Desert: the wind wagon dream becomes reality. Photo credits: Taitur Ardal
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in their sails and a dream in their hearts crew faced numerous small obstacles along the way. When they arrived in the US, the wagon hadn’t been cleared by customs and they then had to wait two days for the first puff of wind before heading into the desert. ‘We were in agony wondering whether there would be any wind, we were just hanging out under the wagon, waiting,’ continues Kabell. ‘Then it got cooler and suddenly the wind picked up and with no sound the wagon started rolling. We started shouting, we were so happy. ’
sailing across the desert had spread to the festival, so there were hundreds of people there to meet them when the fence was opened up and they sailed triumphantly in. The crazy Swedish guys had realized their dream and succeeded where Wind Wagon Tomas failed. So what next for the adventurers? ‘We have some ideas,’ says Kabell, ‘but it
will be a long time before we come up with something as good as this.’ In the meantime, the project continues to attract international media attention and the full length version of the SVT documentary by director Michael Rosengren, ‘The Windwagon Project’ recently premiered in Gothenburg. www.windwagonproject.se
Astrakan travelled for two weeks, covering a distance of 40-50 Swedish miles before arriving at their destination, the Burning Man Festival, a unique week-long event held in the Black Rock Desert each August. No one had ever sailed into the festival from the north before, but the organizers gave the crew special permission to enter the site that way. Tales of the ‘crazy Swedish guys’
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