[
]
Swedish Press N Y A
S V E N S K A
www.SwedishPress.com
Gothenburg Turns 400!
P R E S S E N
E S T . 1 9 2 9
November 2020 Vol 91:09 $5.95
09 2020
The Birth of Gothenburg Gunnebo Slott Modvion 2020 Nobel Laureates
Extend your personal
Christmas and New Year’s Greetings
to your family and friends in the Swedish Press December issue. Yes, please include my Christmas greetings in the December Swedish Press! Choose a size: Small $65 (1.6”W x 2.2”H) Wide $115 (3.4”W x 2.2”H) Choose a message: God Jul & Gott Nytt År Merry Christmas & Happy New Year Send a copy of this order form ___________ (name) and payment before November 10 Email your order to info@SwedishPress.com or mail this order form with your payment to Swedish Press PO Box 420404, San Diego, CA 92142, USA or 9040 Shaughnessy St., Vancouver, BC, V6P 6E5, Canada
Please support Swedish Press with a generous donation to keep it publishing Yes, I would like to donate to Swedish Press
$50
$100
$250
$500
$1000
Other
NAME OF DONOR ADDRESS
CITY
PROVINCE/STATE
POSTAL CODE/ZIP
PHONE
Method of Payment:
VISA or Mastercard
COUNTRY
Cheque (Swedish Press Inc)
CARD NO.
EXPIRY DATE
NAME ON CARD
SIGNATURE
Donate online at www.SwedishPress.com • Take a photo of this coupon with your smartphone and email it to Info@SwedishPress.com • Mail this coupon with payment to Swedish Press, PO Box 420404, San Diego, CA 92142, USA or 9040 Shaughnessy Street, Vancouver, BC V6P 6E5 Canada • Call toll free at 1 866 882 0088
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 (Feb, Mar, Apr, May, June, July/Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec/Jan) by Swedish Press Inc, 862 Peace Portal Drive, Suite #101, Blaine WA 98230 for $45 per year. Periodical postage paid at Blaine, WA 98230-9998 (No. USPS 005544). US POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Swedish Press, PO Box 420404, San Diego, CA 92142-0404 OFFICE: 9040 Shaughnessy Street, Vancouver, BC V6P 6E5 Canada US MAILING ADDRESS: PO Box 420404, San Diego, CA 92142-0404 WEBSITE www.swedishpress.com E-MAIL info@swedishpress.com TEL +1 360 450 5858 TOLL FREE +1 866 882 0088 PUBLISHER Claes Fredriksson Claes@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 Toronto: Gunilla Sjölin +1 905 751 5297 Winnipeg: Nancy Drews +1 204-668-7262 Los Angeles: Birgitta von Knipe +1 310 201 0079 New York: Timothy Lyons +1 732 685 3747 San Diego: Sue Eidson +1 858 541 0207 ADVISORY COMMITTEE Björn Bayley, Peter Ladner, Brian Antonson, Christer Garell, Anders & Hamida Neumuller SUBSCRIPTION rates per year $45, 2 years $75, 3 years $115, 1 year abroad $115. Digital edition $32. Subscribe Toll Free at 1 866 882 0088 or at www.swedishpress.com. ADVERTISING visit www.swedishpress.com/advertise-us for advertising rates. Call +1 360 450 5858 or +46 725 607800. SweMail TRANSLATIONS to English of the Swedish parts of Swedish Press are available free of charge every month. Visit http://biolson.atspace.cc/swemail/ © 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.
[
]
Swedish Press N Y A
S V E N S K A
P R E S S E N
E S T . 1 9 2 9
CONTENTS ( November 2020 ) 4 Letters to the Editor 5 From the Editor’s Desk Swedish Headlines 6 Headline News 7 Swedes in the News 8 Landskapsnyheterna Business 9 Business News 10 Company File: Modvion AB
Hemma Hos 22 Design: ‘Let’s Colour Gothenburg’ Celebrates the City and Brings Jobs to Young People 24 Treats à la Sharon Franklin Driscoll Heritage 25 An Insider’s Look at Swedish Culture: Fler amerikanska domare borde studera i Sverige
Feature 11 The Birth and Growth of Göteborg
Road to 2045 26 Finding Uncommon Solutions to Common Problems
Interview 14 Peter Grönberg – “Det ligger i vår DNA att jobba med internationell handel”
Swedish Press Connects 27 SVIV – Svenskar i Världen – Början på slutet för samordnings nummer för svenska barn?
Global Swedes 16 Roy Andersson – Swedish film director, screenwriter, film producer and commercial filmmaker
In the Loop 28 Calendar and Events
Heritage 18 Gunnebo House – The True Story Behind a Fairytale Lifestyle 20 Top Sju 21 Book: My Maja: A Grandson’s Tribute
29 Ads and Info 30 Sista Ordet Sleepless in Gothenburg Cover image: The Birth of Gothenburg exhibition poster. © Kistone AB/Göteborgs Stadsmuseum. Below: Klippan, Gothenburg. The Port of Gothenburg, seen in the background, is Scandinavia’s largest, with over 11,000 vessel calls each year from 140 destinations. Photo: Per Pixel Petersson/ imagebank.sweden.se
CANADIAN PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT No. 40010214 Return Undeliverable Canadian addresses to Swedish Press, 9040 Shaughnessy Street, Vancouver, BC V6P 6E5 Canada PRINTED IN CANADA NEXT ISSUE DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 10, 2020
[]
Swedish Press | November 2020 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. Peter, I just read “Allemansrätten – Use It or Abuse It.” An article I found warm, sensible, noteworthy. Your pen voices audibly the human touch. Thank you for viewing For Those Who Do the Best They Can According to Their Lights. I appreciate the layout, selections, and lead in. You have been more than gracious in helping my pen in its desired goal. Wellness to you and those near in the delicate months ahead! Charles Holmes Oakland, California Dear Peter, Thank you for your tremendous editorial care, and to your most capable editorial team, for the excellent production value. Twenty years ago I was living in Gävle, Sweden, working with Institutet för Bostads- och Urbanforskning – a joint venture of Uppsala University and the Government of Sweden. IBF is best known for its biophilic research (the effect of places on the human ability to thrive). Our charge was policy advising specific to social needs of urban design. My work involved researching the impact of suburban sprawl on Sweden’s fritidsområden, the ubiquitous more or less red and white cottage areas, and suggesting policy adjustments. Am looking forward to when I can go back to work (and perhaps, I hope, to Sweden). Two years ago in Port Townsend, WA, I brought together Swedishspeakers of all levels in a monthly fika
[]
Swedish Press | November 2020 4
to practice and improve our favorite language. Your superb magazine has proven a delightful resource for those group discussions. Tack så mycket! Henry Amick Port Townsend, Washington Swedish Press, I would like to propose that the Ernie Poignant rendering of the BCE train (there are two cars shown) is an illustration as opposed to a cartoon. He accurately depicts a British Columbia Electric Railway Company electric interurban train departing from the Vancouver depot for Chilliwack, circa 1950. The cars shown are typical of a group built by the BCE in their shops at New Westminster in 1913. From 1897 until 1958 the British Columbia Electric Railway provided extensive rail service not only in the Vancouver area, but it served Victoria and Jordan River as well. Long hours and equally low pay is what awaited many Scandinavians who decided on a career on the interurban railroads on both sides of the border. On the plus side employment on the interurban was fairly stable and it provided an excellent introduction to life in the New World. Don Holmgren Oakland, California
British Columbia Electric Railway Company electric interurban train, Vancouver, 1949. Photo: Fred Matthews
Dear Peter, I enjoyed reading Nancy Drews article in the Swedish Press this month. She mentions the Swedish community of Scandinavia, Manitoba. You can find the information and picture of the store and post office built in 1909 in the Manitoba Historical Society Archives. There was also an Immigration House in Scandinavia which preceded the store and post office. J. Hemmingson ran the Immigration House and encouraged many Swedish settlers to come to Scandinavia. That would have been in the 1890’s or earlier. I have been doing a little research on the Immigration House at Scandinavia and have found a picture of a memorial stone which is located close to Otter Lake. It states that the Immigration House was opened in 1885 and housed Swedish immigrants to the area while they took homesteads and built log homes. Hilltop just south of Scandinavia was also attracting Swedish immigrants. My grandparents immigrated to Hilltop in 1893 to join my grandmother’s brothers and sister. She along with her brother and several other immigrants built the Baptist church at Hilltop Manitoba in 1896. I still have the Sunday school material which she taught from at the Baptist church in Hilltop. If anyone is interested, information and pictures are available through the Manitoba Historical Society. Of further interest to you is that [our granddaughter] Emma RachSyslak is now studying at the Florence Academy in Göteborg Sweden. She is very happy there and is hooking up with our family in Sweden. She is having fika with my second cousin in Göteborg today. Sincerely, Walter B Syslak MD Calgary, Alberta
[
]
from the Editor’s Desk
Gothenburg Turns 400! 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 2 as well as page 29. Tack!
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. Gunnebo House and Gardens. Photo: Happy Visuals/Göteborg & Co
I
n the last 18 months Swedish Press will have covered three Swedish cities as the main theme – Halmstad, Visby and Gothenburg. We have also reported on the mammoth undertaking to move the city of Kiruna a few kilometers east. We hope that you, our reader, have found the themes as entertaining and informative as we have while doing the background research, writing a few articles and soliciting input from our contributors. Perhaps our American and Canadian readers with Swedish ancestry will now be inspired to explore one or the other of these cities on their next trip to Sweden. As a Swedish expat, I have perceived the editorial experience differently – nostalgically backward-looking rather than optimistically forward-looking. I visited all three cities many years ago, but I had no idea that there was so much happening. For me, Gothenburg is where my boarding school room-mate took me out to the rocky archipelago in his parents’ vintage fishing boat, and where I on four occasions boarded a ship to England. Only now do I realize what I missed by not spending more time in the city itself. Oh well, in my next life … In 2020, we also had the privilege of working with movers and shakers in Swedish-inspired communities in North America, notably in San Francisco, Wilmington (New Sweden) and Winnipeg. We went even further afield by contacting the Swedish diaspora in France, Spain, Hong Kong and Singapore. A certain pattern has emerged in the manner in which these communities preserve their Swedish culture – celebrating Swedish festivities, enjoying Swedish cuisine, performing their genealogical research, visiting sites where their immigrant ancestors first lived, or learning the Swedish language. Two related ideas come to mind as main themes for 2021. Firstly, how do other nationalities cultivate their roots, so to speak? What about Americans and Canadians with ancestors hailing from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia? Are their facilities and activities similar or different from those in “Swedish” communities? Secondly, what is it like for a Swedish expat to move back to Sweden after many years of living abroad? Does it make a difference whether the expat has a Swedish or foreign spouse? Let’s see what we can come up with for your amusement and edification next year. One thing is certain – in the future we will continue to report on innovative climate change solutions and opportunities from a Swedish perspective. Summer is over, at least in Sweden and along the US-Canadian border. Many “snowbirds” have decided to forgo their winter stays in the south this year because of the coronavirus. Watching the weather report on TV, it is difficult not to be jealous of people who have made places like Florida, Arizona and Southern California their home. On the other hand, what is more satisfying than grumbling about the weather?
Peter Berlin Editor Peter@Swedishpress.com November 2020
[]
Swedish Press | November 2020 5
[
Swedish Headlines
]
More women Nobel laureates than usual this year The 2020 Nobel Prize By Peter Berlin
T
his year’s Nobel Prize winners were notified of their awards on October 5 – 12. The prize winners would normally receive their prize from King Carl XVI Gustaf at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10th. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the in-situ ceremony has been cancelled this year and has been replaced by a televised ceremony showing the laureates receiving their awards in their home countries. Each Nobel Prize comes with a medal and a prize sum of 10 million Swedish kronor (about $1.1 million), to be shared as appropriate among the winners of that category.
Left to right: Medicine laureates Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice.
Physiology or Medicine: On Monday, October 5, Americans Harvey Alter and Charles Rice together with Michael Houghton from the UK were notified of their Nobel Prize awards in Medicine. The award was for their discovery of the Hepatitis C virus. The three were honoured for their “decisive contribution to the fight against blood-borne hepatitis, a major global health problem that causes cirrhosis and liver cancer in people around the world,” the jury said. Physics: On Tuesday October 6, Roger Penrose of Britain, Reinhard
[]
Swedish Press | November 2020 6
Left to right: Physics laureates Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez.
Genzel of Germany and Andrea Ghez of the US won the Nobel Prize in Physics for showing the connection between the theory of relativity and black holes. The term “black hole” refers to a point in space where matter is so dense as to create a gravity field from which nothing can escape, not even light (hence the “blackness”). Chemistry: On Wednesday, October 7, the Nobel Committee announced that Emmanuelle Charpentier of France and Jennifer Doudna of the US won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the geneediting technique known as the CRISPR-Cas9 DNA snipping “scissors.” “Using these, researchers can change the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with extremely high precision. This technology has had a revolutionary impact on the life sciences, is contributing to new cancer therapies and may make the dream of curing inherited diseases come true,” the jury said.
Left to right: Chemistry laureates Emmanuelle Charpentier, Jennifer Doudna and Literature laureate Louise Glück.
Literature: On Thursday, October 8, Louise Glück of US was informed by the Novbel Committee that she had
been awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature. Glück, a professor of English at Yale University, was honoured “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal,” the Swedish Academy stated. Peace: On Friday, October 9, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2020 Peace Prize to the World Food Program (WFP) of the United Nations. Berit Reiss-Andersen, the Committee Chairperson, pointed out that food is often used as a weapon in military conflicts, e.g. by destroying and burning harvests. As such, the weapon is particularly disastrous in countries and communities where the population is starving. Improving food supply security will not only stave off hunger but may also increase the prospects of peace.
Left to right: Economic Sciences laureates Paul R. Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson.
Economics: On Monday 12
October, American economists Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson won the Nobel Economics Prize for their work on commercial auctions. The duo was honoured “for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats,” the jury said. It noted that the discoveries by Milgrom and Wilson “have benefitted sellers, buyers and taxpayers around the world.” Illustrations © Nobel Media. Ill. Niklas Elmehed
[
]
Swedes in the News
Ice Hockey and Career Debuts Hedman’s trophy
Commissioner Gary Bettman awards the Conn Smythe Trophy to Victor Hedman. Photo: NHL
National Hockey League player Victor Hedman, a Swedish member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, was voted winner of this year’s Conn Smythe Trophy, which goes to the top player in the playoffs. His 10 goals, 12 assists and 22 points during the playoffs earned him the Most Valuable Player (MVP) trophy named for Constantine Smythe, the longtime owner, general manager and head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hedman said the trophy was a dream come true and the best thing he had experienced in his ice hockey career. Only two other Swedish hockey pros have won MVP honors: Nicklas Lidström and Henrik Zetterberg.
leave until the Fall of 2021. Bergfeldt is well-known for having worked as SVT’s correspondent in Washington D.C. since 2016. She has received several awards for her work as a journalist, including the prestigious Swedish Grand Prize for Journalism in the category of Storyteller in 2012. In addition to her new role with Skavlan, Bergfeldt will also cover the upcoming U.S. election.
Gustaf Sjökvist Chamber Choir (Gustaf Sjökvists kammarkör), as well as Carl Flemsten on the piano and Patrik Sandin as director. The concert has been described as an atmospheric evening about the true meaning of Christmas. Timelines
Christmas with Körberg
Carina Bergfeldt. Photo: Umeå University
Sweden’s beloved singer and actor Tommy Körberg is back with his Christmas concert “Jul med Tommy Körberg” to be performed at Stockholm’s Ersta church December 10 – 13 and December 17 – 20. Körberg’s impressive career includes
Ali’s novel Author and political scientist (statsvetaren) Suad Ali’s debut novel “Dina händer var fulla av liv” describes a woman’s escape from Somalia to Sweden. Ali’s own family fled the civil war in Somalia in the early 1990s,
Bergfeldt replaces Skavlan Swedish journalist and foreign correspondent Carina Bergfeldt will replace talk show host Fredrik Skavlan on his program “Skavlan” on Swedish Television SVT while he is on paternity
ending up in a refugee camp in Kenya before receiving asylum in Sweden. The author came to Sweden as a 3-year-old and grew up in Åtvidaberg and Linköping in Östergötland. During Ali’s impressive career, she has worked with migration issues at UN agency UNHCR (The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and The Swedish Migration Agency.
Suad Ali. Photo: Mattias Ahlm
Tommy Körberg. Photo: Peter Knutson
participating in the Eurovision Song Contest and several musicals, e.g. “Les Misérables”, “Sound of Music” and “Chess”. Körberg is also well-known as a singer in Benny Anderssons Orkester (BAO). “Jul med Tommy Körberg” features
Fans, friends and family of Swedish actress and singer Anita Lindblom, 82, were sad to learn that the veteran performer passed away in September. Lindblom participated in several movies during her acclaimed career including “En kärlekshistoria” and “Rännstensungar“. She is also well-known for her singing and has performed on classic stages such as Södra Teatern and Chinateatern in Stockholm. Lindblom’s Swedish cover of American singer Roy Hamilton’s “You can have her” (“Sånt är livet”) was one of her major hits. In 1969 she moved to France where she kept a low-key profile in retirement. She is survived by her son Jörgen Lindblom.
[]
Swedish Press | November 2020 7
[Landskapsnyheterna] SKÅNE Förskolan Solrosen utanför Löddeköping besökte nyligen Barnens scen i Malmö. På plats väntade en dansföreställning vid namn ”Bakverk med Jelnek” följd av ett möte med en skådespelare. Efter det fick eleverna själva prova på att spela teater. – Vi tycker att det är ett jättebra komplement till den skogs- och utomhusverksamhet vi har annars, sa Lena Pålsson, rektor på Solrosen. Elevernas spännande dag på Barnens scen sponsrades av Kulturrådet. Ideella föreningen Skådebanan hjälpte Solrosen att ansöka om bidraget. Förskolebarnen var mycket nöjda med sin dag på teatern. – Kultur är så viktigt för hälsan. Vi har sett det på barnen idag, de är lyckliga och glada. De tycker att det är riktigt roligt, sa Lone Lindholm, ordförande i Skådebanan södra regionen.
Foto: Isak Laurell/SVT
NÄRKE Örebros invånare ombads nyligen att skänka hela 180 meter konservburkar till Olaus Petri kyrka i Örebro. Svenska kyrkans mål var att konservburkarna skulle staplas runt Olaus Petri kyrkan inför en högmässa. – Nu hoppas vi bara att örebroarna är med oss, sa diakonen Annika Bertilsson i ett pressmeddelande. Syftet med att skänka just konservburkar var att fylla på kyrkans matbank. Konserver med mat som exempelvis pasta, ravioli och vita bönor välkomnades. Det fanns en anledning till varför kyrkan hoppades på just 180 meter konservburkar. – Vi har en målbild. Tänk om vi kunde samla ihop 180 meter kon-
[]
Swedish Press | November 2020 8
servburkar, det skulle räcka till att ställa upp alla konserver i en obruten linje runt hela OP-kyrkan, sa Maria Consales, som är diakon, i ett pressmeddelande. Efter att donationerna mottagits av Olaus Petri kyrka skickades de till församlingens diakonala arbete.
LAPPLAND NORRBOTTEN
VÄSTERBOTTEN
JÄMTLAND
HÄRJEDALEN
ÅNGERMANLAND
MEDELPAD HÄLSINGLAND
DALARNA GÄSTRIKLAND
Målbilden är att få in burkar som räcker till att bilda en obruten linje runt kyrkan. Foto: SVT
GÄSTRIKLAND Optikkedjan Synsam, som säljer solglasögon, glasögon och linser, flyttar sin produktion från Kina till Ockelbo i Gästrikland, Sverige. – Ockelbo står rent geografiskt bra och är en av anledningarna till varför vi valt Ockelbo, sa Håkan Lundstedt, vd och koncernchef i Synsam Group. I Ockelbo kommer en ny fabrik att börja byggas efter årsskiftet. Synsamfabriken kommer att skapa många jobb. – Det är glädjande att vi får 150 nya arbetstillfällen, och sådana här etableringar kan dessutom bana vägen för ytterligare arbetstillfällen, sa Magnus Jonsson (S), kommunstyrelsens ordförande i Ockelbo. Flytten från Asien till Sverige kommer att bidra till större inflytande över produktion och kvalitet. – Beslutet är också kopplat till både miljö och sociala förhållanden, sa Håkan Lundstedt. JÄMTLAND Destinationsbolaget i Åre har sedan 2014 kämpat för en aktivitetshall i Åre och nu har drömmen blivit sann. Nyligen invigdes nämligen en imponerande hall på 3300 kvadratmeter med klätterväggar, skumgummigropar och trampoliner i centrala Åre. Bygget
VÄSTMANLAND VÄRMLAND DALSLAND BOHUSLÄN Göteborg
UPPLAND
SÖDERMANNÄRKE LAND
Stockholm
ÖSTERGÖTLAND
VÄSTERGÖTLAND
GOTLAND SMÅLAND
HALLAND
ÖLAND SKÅNE
BLEKINGE
Malmö
av den efterlängtade aktivitetshallen kostade cirka 60 miljoner kronor. Region Jämtland Härjedalen bidrog generöst med 12.5 miljoner kronor. – För regionen är sådana här satsningar jätteviktiga för att stärka besöksnäringen, sa Elise Ryder Wikén, ordförande i regionala utvecklingsnämnden i Region Jämtland Härjedalen. Summary in English: A preschool outside of Löddeköping, Skåne, recently visited “Barnens scen” in Malmö. While there, the children watched a dance performance and got the chance to perform themselves. The fun day was made possible by support from government authority Kulturrådet (Swedish Arts Council). Örebro residents were recently asked to donate 180 meters of canned goods to Olaus Petri church in Örebro, Närke to replenish the church's food bank. Optics chain Synsam is moving their production from Asia to Ockelbo in Gästrikland, Sweden. The chain is building a new production plant expected to create lots of job opportunities. A much longedfor activity hall with climbing walls and trampolines has been inaugurated in central Åre, Jämtland.
[Business] News Electricity Divide and Divisive Petroleum
I
Preem drops expansion plan
n the September issue of Swedish Press (page 6) we reported on Swedish petroleum giant Preem’s intention to expand its refinery in Lysekil near Gothenburg. The expansion would have created many new jobs for the benefit of the Lysekil community. According to Prime Minister Löfven, it would also have discharged another 1 million tons of harmful CO2 into the atmosphere, making Preem the biggest emitter of the climate-destroying gas in Sweden. The expansion plan proved highly divisive, with the city authorities welcoming the prospective boost to the local economy while ecologists staged massive protests to foil the plan. The division ran so deep that it threatened to derail the present Social
A
Housing market booming
s the coronavirus heads for a second peak around the world, one would have expected the property market to stall like so many other businesses. Paradoxically, the opposite
appears to be true in many countries, Sweden included. As working from home becomes commonplace in both the near term and long term, Swedes are rushing to buy more comfortable and spacious accommodation. Since there is now less of a need to live close to the place of work, buyers are motivated to move to more rural communities where house prices are more affordable and the quality of life is better than in the big cities. Equally surprising, foreigners are also rushing to invest in Swedish real estate. The reasons appear to be that a great deal of idle foreign investment capital is looking for a safe home in these turbulent times, and that the Swedish socio-economic environment is seen as meeting expected stability and profitability criteria.
Power Production in Sweden
Introduction
A Swedish North-south Divide
Democrat government, leading to the possibility of snap elections. To the government’s relief, Preem announced on 28 September that it was shelving the expansion plan. The company’s CEO denied that the protests had been a factor in the decision-making. Instead, he blamed the cancellation on COVID-19 and the attendant drop in worldwide fuel consumption which made the proposed expansion no longer commercially viable. Preem will now focus on developing fossil-free fuel alternatives at its existing Lysekil plant.
By Bengt Palmgren, Energy Entrepreneur Why Hydrogen
A
Hydrogens Future Role The Right Response Appendix
recent conference arranged by the leading Swedish industrial magazine Dagens Industri highlighted the problem that, from time to time, southern Sweden suffers power shortages caused, among other things, by an early dismantling of functioning nuclear power. Most of the electricity production takes place in northern Sweden. Lack of power line capacity from northern to southern Sweden has accentuated the power shortage. The shortage has led to unplanned procurement of nuclear-generated electricity from the Ringhals nuclear power station and the need to use fossil-fuelled power plants to satisfy peak demand. The cost to taxpayers
Page 82
23 September 2020
Di Framtidens Elmarknad 2020
amounts to around 300 million SEK ($34m). The power line that runs from Central Sweden to Skåne, which Svenska Kraftnät procured for 7 billion SEK ($790m), has not yet been brought into operation due to technical problems. Unfortunately,
the electricity shortage threatens the business community in southern Sweden, and now several business leaders are sounding the alarm that investments are under threat. For example, Sweden’s leading bakery Pågens Bröd has scrapped its planned investments in Malmö.
[]
Swedish Press | November 2020 9
[ ]
Company File
Trapping Rather Than Releasing Harmful CO2 By Peter Berlin
W
ind turbines are nothing new. Some people love these electricity-generating behemoths because they help to save our climate. Others hate them because they are an eyesore and kill birds. A few even question whether they actually do help save the climate, since it is alleged that the process of making them produces enough greenhouse gas to negate their climate-saving advantage. An eyesore – really? So how come people travel all the way to Holland to admire their comparatively clumsy and inefficient old windmills? As for slaughtered birds, be aware that, in the United States alone, cats kill 500,000 birds every year for every bird that is guillotined by the sharp blades of wind turbines. Wind turbine towers can be up to 150 m (450 ft) high and are made of steel or reinforced concrete. Significant levels of CO2 are indeed produced during the manufacturing process which detracts somewhat from the claimed ecological benefit of the turbines.
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 10
Modvion’s patented module system. All Photos: Modvion
Enter the Swedish company Modvion – a Swedish engineering and industrial design company developing modular designs in renewable engineered wood to simplify and improve construction logistics. Modvion has developed a modular wind turbine prototype with a tower made of wood. As wind towers rise above 100 meters (300 ft) in height, transportation poses considerable problems given that base diameters for 100+ meter towers exceed 4.3 meters (13 ft), the limit for road transport width in most parts of the USA and the EU. The modularity of the Modvion design makes the wind turbines easier to transport from the manufacturing plant to their final destination. Trees capture CO2 from the atmosphere in order to grow. Making the wind turbine towers out of wood traps the CO2 that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere if the wood were burned or turned into pulp and paper. Laminated wood is stronger than steel for a given weight. The manufacture of the wood modules produces 25 percent less
greenhouse gas than equivalent steel or concrete structures, and they are lighter and cheaper to make. So what is there not to like about Modvion’s innovative approach? The Modvion wind turbine prototype is 30 m (90 ft) tall and has been installed on an island outside of Gothenburg. Full-scale commercial production will begin in 2021, boosted by a multi-million Euro grant from the European Union. Of course, wind turbines can only generate electricity in the presence of wind, just as underwater generators depend on the presence of currents or waves, and solar panels rely on the presence of sunlight. This unpredictability is a common weakness in renewable energy generators. To achieve the same level of power supply continuity the way fossil-fuelled and nuclear power plants can, a method must be found to overcome the outages by storing and releasing the output from renewable energy generators according to need. This is where batteries come in. At present, the cost, weight and efficiency of batteries are not up to the task on the kind of scale needed to sustain a whole country, but another Swedish company – Northvolt – is in the process of solving the problem (see page 10 in the March 2018 issue of Swedish Press). The renewable energy sector is hungry for innovation. With this appetite comes profitability and job opportunities on an ever-increasing scale, and companies like Modvion embody the trend. See also www. modion.com.
The Birth and Growth of
By Peter Berlin weden’s second largest city is called Göteborg in Swedish and is pronounced Yuhtebory. “Gothenburg” is an example of an exonym – a foreign corruption of a native word or name occasioned by the inability of foreigners to pronounce the original correctly or, in this particular case, for historic reasons. Gothenburg, or variants thereof, was the name of the first semblance of a city that was established at the mouth of the Göta River in 1604. The founders were primarily maritime folks from the Netherlands, Germany and Scotland, and
S
they found it easier to wrap their tongues around “Gothenburg” than Göteborg. The Danes burned the city to the ground in 1611, so the Dutch, the Germans, the Scotsmen and a few Swedes had to rebuild it from scratch. According to legend, as the Swedish king was looking for a suitable location for the new city, suddenly a dove fleeing from an eagle landed at his feet, seeking shelter. King Gustavus Adolphus took that as a sign from God that this would be the location of the city, and uttered the immortal words: “Here shall the city lie!” Gothenburg became Sweden’s trade window to the rest of the world via Göta River, Kattegatt, the
North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The window was narrow indeed, with the Danish province of Halland to the immediate south and the Norwegian province of Bohuslän to the north – hostile neighbours for the most part. In 1658 the Swedish king had had enough of constant Danish-Norwegian incursions and seized both Halland and Bohuslän. As a result, Gothenburg’s existence became less precarious but remained as cosmopolitan as ever. By the time the city received its royal charter in 1621, the city council had four Swedish, three German, three Dutch, and two Scottish members.
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 11
The website of the Gothenburg City Museum (www.Goteborg.com) includes a video which takes you on a virtual tour through Gothenburg 400 years ago. Anybody who has spent time in Amsterdam or Leiden will recognize the strong Dutch influence in the city’s layout, complete with canals, drawbridges, church spires, ornate house façades and an orthogonal grid of paved streets. Some of the fortifications remained from the 1611 city project, and a few exist to this very day.
Stora Hamnen seen from Brunnsparken in the 1850s. Photo © Port of Gothenburg
Building the city on the banks of Göta River made sense, because they offered moorings that shielded the ships from the worst storms of the North Sea. The river drains Lake Vänern, Sweden’s biggest lake which had a merchant fleet in its own right that served the many towns along its shores. The 93 km (58 mi) long river was not yet fully navigable, but in the early 1800s work began to connect Vänern with Gothenburg by building
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 12
The Swedish Ship Götheborg. Photo © SOIC.se
locks and canals that allowed ships to bypass the waterfalls. This section was called the Trollhätte Kanal. Subsequently, more canals and locks were constructed further east to allow navigation across Vänern, Vättern and Roxen all the way to the Baltic Sea. That portion of the waterway became known as Göta Kanal. Thanks to this monumental civil engineering project, it is still possible to travel between Gothenburg and Stockholm on private pleasure boats or small but comfortable passenger ships. During the 1700s, the port of Gothenburg grew steadily in importance. Sweden’s main exports were iron and wood, while silk, tea, furniture, porcelain, precious stones and similar luxury items were brought in from afar. Like certain other European seafaring nations, Sweden had its own East India Company that did much of its business with countries in Asia, most of all
China. The company was founded in 1731 and grew to be one of Sweden’s largest trading companies. However, the turn of the century saw a decline in the company’s fortunes, and it closed down in 1813. In the mid-1800s, tens of thousands of Swedes made their way to Gothenburg as the first step to seeking a new life in the New World. Their arrival gave rise a whole new business sector consisting of hotels, travel agents, and stores selling supplies that the emigrants would need for their onward journey. The flow of emigrants continued well into the 1920s. Driven by poverty, famine, class discrimination and religious repression back home, it is estimated that 1.3 million Swedes left for
Postcard of America liner MS Gripsholm docked in Gothenburg in the 1920s.
America during that period. Put this in the context that the population of Sweden in 1850 was 3.5 million and in 1900 had risen to 5.1 million. In the early part of the 20th century,
Gothenburg had grown to become Sweden’s second largest city after Stockholm. Its maritime tradition inspired the founding of Götaverken which in the 1930s was the world’s biggest shipyard in terms of launched gross tonnage. Gothenburg also provided the right economic climate for the establishment of industrial icons such as SKF and Volvo, the latter being the city’s most important employer even now.
Campus Lindholmen of Chalmers University of Technology. Photo © Chalmers University of Technology
Today, Gothenburg is a bustling cultural and commercial centre with few rivals in the rest of Scandinavia. Following big fluctuations in the world economy, the city has sought to reduce its predominant reliance on heavy industries for its prosperity. Banking, finance, pharmaceutical, conference and tourism sectors now contribute
The Göteborg Opera designed by Jan Izikowitz was built in 1994.
to the city’s business growth. Two of Sweden’s most renowned universities – University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology – are found there, not forgetting the internationally acclaimed Gothenburg Opera and the Symphony Orchestra. Some notable people with connections to Gothenburg who may be familiar to our readers: Alicia Vikander (actress), Ingemar Johansson (boxer, World Heavyweight Champion 1959), Marcus Samuelsson (chef ), Wilhelm Stenhammar (composer), Evert Taube (artist, composer, singer), Björn Ulvaeus (ABBA singer-songwriter), and of course NHL players Daniel Alfredsson, Christian Djoos, Loui Eriksson, Carl Klingberg, John Klingberg, and Henrik Lundqvist.
Gothenburg is doing well in international rankings. Forbes has classified the city as the 12th-most inventive city in the world. The Global Destination Sustainability Index has named Gothenburg the world’s most sustainable destination every year since 2016. (The United Nations defines sustainable cities as “those that are dedicated to achieving green, social and economic sustainability.”) In 2019 Gothenburg was selected by the EU as one of the top 2020 European Capitals of Smart Tourism, and in 2020 the EU granted Business Region Göteborg the European Entrepreneurial Region Award 2020. Maybe none of this would have come to pass, had it not been for a frightened dove that landed at the feet of the King some 400 years ago ... An exhibition titled The Thing about Gothenburg opens June 4, 2021 at the Museum of Gothenburg. Visitors get to revel in the most beloved, hated and iconic Gothenburg objects and discover new aspects of the city. Accompanied by a chorus of voices from history, the exhibition examines the question: what is really “the thing” about Gothenburg? (See also our interview with Peter Grönberg on page 14.)
Map of Gothenburg published by N. P. Pehrsson in 1888.
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 13
E X K L U S I V
I N T E R V J U
“Det ligger i vår DNA att jobba med internationell handel” Intervjuad av Peter Berlin
Peter Grönberg. Foto: Anders Thessing
Sedan juni i år är Peter Grönberg VD på Göteborg & Co. Företagets uppgift är att uppmuntra alltfler människor att besöka och slå sig ner i Göteborg genom att samordna expansionen av stadens infrastruktur i form av hotell, restauranger och konferenslokaler. Peter kommer närmast från en tjänst på Volvo Group där han bland annat ansvarat för företagskultur, organisationsutveckling, ledarskap, mångfald och arbetsgivarvarumärke. Han har arbetat många år inom Volvokoncernen och har innehaft ett flertal olika befattningar på ledande nivå. År 2014 blev han utsedd till årets ledarutvecklare av tidningen Chef.
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 14
M E D
P E T E R
G R Ö N B E R G
P
eter Grönberg är född i Göteborg. Hans pappa kom från Norrland och hans mamma från Mölndal. Pappan tog realexamen och lämnade bondlivet i Norrland för att läsa statsvetenskap i Uppsala. Sedan blev han civilingenjör i Stockholm. 1969 åkte han till Tanzania där han tjänstgjorde på SIDA. ”Så kom han hem och träffade mamma i Göteborg och så bodde vi där ett tag,” berättar Peter. ”Men tack vare pappas fortsatta tjänst inom SIDA blev det så att jag växte upp i Kenya, Tanzania, Etiopien och Saudiarabien fram tills jag var 16. Sedan dess har jag tillbringat stora delar av mitt liv i Göteborg och bor just nu i Örgryte”. Peters intresse för ledarskap och organisationsutveckling väcktes redan när han var ung. ”Jag började spela tennis väldigt tidigt, så jag hade förmånen under alla utlandsåren att spela och tävla mycket i tennis. Blev snart intresserad att bli tennis-coach och ledare. Under tio år jobbade jag som coach parallellt med studierna på Chalmers – det handlade om mellan 15 och 20 timmar i veckan. Därigenom fick jag upp synen för prestation, ledarskap och teknik. Detta är enbart en del av de faktorer som gör en framgånsrik. Det handlar oerhört mycket mer om din inställning till dig själv och förmågan att hantera stress och kunna fokusera på positiva saker. På den tiden, under 90-talet, fanns det ju många mycket duktiga tennisspelare och -ledare i Sverige. Så det var egentligen den ingången som tennistränare under tio år som jag fick upp synen för ledarskap.” Peter blev chef för tennisskolan på den lilla orten Lindås utanför Göteborg. Tillsammans med några kompisar ledde han ett 50-tal ungdomar. Utöver intresset för ledarskap fick han även upp ögonen för vikten av mångfald och
Den ikoniska Poseidon statyn av Carl Milles vid Götaplatsen i Göteborg. Foto © Rolf Svedjeholm
jämställdhet. Tack vare åren i Afrika fick han se och erfara många kulturer och olika sätt att leva på. ”Framför allt i Saudiarabien fick jag uppleva hur tillvaron kunde te sig i en diktatur när det gäller mänskliga rättigheter, i synnerhet kvinnors rättigheter. Så det var både uppväxten i utlandet och tennisspelandet som öppnade upp mitt intresse. När jag kom ut från Chalmers, så var jag ganska inställd på att jobba med att utveckla organisationer. Jag har alltid varit intresserad av att utnyttja det bästa hos människor inom en organisation. Jag fick mitt första linjechefsjobb redan när jag var 26 år gammal med globalt ansvar för Volvo Lastvagnars utveckling. Jag hade då ett team på 60 personer utplacerade i Brasilien, USA, Frankrike och här i Sverige. Sedan dess har jag jobbat med ledarskap i en massa olika roller.” Vad är det som gör Göteborg så speciellt? Peters svar: ”Göteborg ligger ju vid havet och är därmed Sveriges port mot världen sedan 400 år tillbaka. Jag tror det ligger i vår DNA att jobba med internationell handel och relationer. Det har satt prägel på staden – ett globalt arbetsliv med omfattande forskning och utveckling.” Peter fortsätter: ”Sedan tycker jag att staden har gjort en fantastisk resa under de senaste 30 åren. Vi börjar bli väldigt bra på att fungera som kopplingen mellan den traditionella industrin
E X K L U S I V
I N T E R V J U
och övergången till tjänsteutveckling. Sedan har vi resan med hållbarhet. Vi är ett metropol i litet format med ett väldigt rikt kulturliv. Det finns fin arkitektur och närhet till ganska orörd natur och rent vatten. Det är en stad där man hittat balansen mellan arbete och fritid. Det ser vi också när man gör de här värdemätningarna mellan dem som besöker staden och oss som lever i den – alla anger liknande värden i form av familjärt och trevlighet.” Nu står Göteborg inför ett intressant utvecklingssteg. Det kommer att investeras tusen miljarder kronor ($100 bn) fram till 2035, och staden kommer att växa med ungefär 130 000 invånare. Det är ett stort steg, och det grävs och byggs som aldrig förr i staden. Göteborg har legat på första plats i fyra år på Global Destination Sustainability Index. Indexet har 69 kriterier fördelade på fyra huvudområden: City Environmental Performance, City Social Performance, Supplier Performance och slutligen Destination Management Performance. Så här förklarar Peter utmärkelsen: ”De första två områdena handlar om hur vi hanterar ekologisk och social hållbarhet i staden. Supplier Performance gäller hur bra vi jobbar mot hotellen och restaurangerna. Destination Management Performance innebär i praktiken en utvärdering av hur vi på Göteborg & Co sköter vårt uppdrag. Vi har gjort bra ifrån oss inom alla fyra områdena. Speciellt kan man lyfta fram att vi kommit väldigt långt med att miljöcertifiera alla våra mötesanläggningar. Där ligger vi på 100 procent enligt kriterierna. Inom evenemang och möten så har vi jobbat inte bara miljömässigt utan även med social hållbarhet. Ett exempel är vårt årliga kulturkalas som är tillgängligt och gratis för alla göteborgare. Femtioen
M E D
P E T E R
Skansen Kronan. Foto © Per Pixel Petersson/ Göteborg & Co
procent av alla göteborgare besöker det här kalaset varje år. Det ungefär hälften män och hälften kvinnor som infinner sig. Man kan säga att det kommer lika många från Örgryte som från Angered, alltså från mer välbergade och mer utsatta områden. Också när det gäller utbildningsbakgrund ser man en jämn fördelning.” Emellertid har COVID-19 ställt till det ordentligt. ”Pandemin har påverkat hela besöksnäringen på ett drakoniskt sätt,” menar Peter. ”Det handlar främst om flyg och kryssningar. Pandemin påverkar hotellen, restaurangerna, konferenserna, kultur och idrott. Hela ekosystemet har lidit av att vi inte har kunnat träffas och resa. Många andra industrier som t.ex. Volvo har upplevt en nedgång på kanske 10 procent i omsättningen. När det gäller vårt ekosystem, så föll omsättningen med hela 90 procent över en natt i mars 2020. Det internationella resandet är ju egentligen helt borta. De besökare som finns kommer mestadels från Sverige. Som företag strävade vi från början efter att försöka få en överskådlig bild av hur pandemin påverkat näringen och att hjälpa näringen. Det var inte så lätt att orientera sig om vad som kom från kommunen, regionen och staten. Utmaningen nu är att utröna hur vi kan få besökare och de som arbetar hemifrån tillbaka in i staden. Så vårt uppdrag är nu ännu mer relevant än någonsin.”
G R Ö N B E R G
Det bor många utlänningar i Göteborg. Näringslivet och forskningen i staden är väldigt globaliserade. Man har en lång tradition där storföretag som exempelvis Astra Zeneca, SKF och akademiska institutioner konkurrerar på en internationell marknad både om kunderna och om yrkeskompetens. Just nu är nämare 100 000 personer verksamma inom utlandsägda företag i Göteborg – dubbelt så många som för 20 år sedan. Antalet expats har också ökat. Enbart organisationen Expats in Gothenburg har 17 000 medlemmar i dagsläget. Det görs stora satsningar för att utveckla den medico-tekniska sektorn, samtidigt som man ställer om bilindustrin för att producera elektriska och självstyrande fordon. ”När det gäller förbindelser med Nordamerika, så är USA vår fjärde största utlandsmarknad uppmätt i form av antal övernattningar på hotell i Göteborg,” berättar Peter. ”De tre allra största är Norge, Danmark och Tyskland. Den amerikanska marknaden av besökare är den som växt snabbast de senaste åren. USA är också den största exportmarknaden för näringslivet i Göteborg. Det finns över 200 USA-ägda företag i vår region. Kontakterna med Kanada är inte lika intensiva, och man skulle önska att det bleve fler. Svenskar och kanadensare har mycket gemensamt när det gäller världsåskådning, närhet till naturen och inom sporten.”
Summary in English: Peter Grönberg discovered his knack for leadership as a young tennis player. Growing up in Africa, he also became aware of the meaning of human rights. In his role as CEO of Göteborg & Co, he is in charge of promoting tourism, conferences and settlement in Gothenburg, especially these days when COVID-19 is wreaking havoc in the hospitality sector.
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 15
[
]
Putting Sweden on the Map At Home
Global
Roy Andersson, Roy Andersson – Swedish film director, screenwriter, film producer and commercial filmmaker
Roy Andersson. Photo © Fred Scott
Roy Andersson, 77, is considered one of Europe’s most distinguished living film directors. Andersson has made several internationally acclaimed movies, including feature films ”En kärlekshistoria” (A Swedish Love Story), ”Sånger från andra våningen” (Songs from the Second Floor), ”Du levande” (You, the Living), ”En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron” (A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence) and most recently ”Om det oändliga” (About Endlessness). Swedish Press spoke to the Gothenburg native about his hometown, recent achievements and upcoming holiday plans.
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 16
Tell us about your childhood. I was born and raised in Gothenburg in a working-class family. I am the eldest of four sons. Our childhood was spent with our parents in two parts of the city. At first we lived in Nordstaden, which is a district in central Gothenburg north of Stora Hamnkanalen and part of Gothenburg’s original urban area. My parents moved there after my father was offered work as a property manager in the district. His work benefits included free housing, so our family moved into one of the property apartments. The area we lived in was quite shabby, so when I was five years old we decided to leave Nordstaden. From there we moved to Hisingen, an island belonging to the municipality of Gothenburg and Västra Götaland County. When did you become interested in film? When I was a young boy I wanted to be an author. But that changed as I enjoyed watching movies, especially a 1945 Swedish children’s movie called “Barnen från Frostmofjället.” My interest in film grew most strongly in the 70’s. I watched European cinema from that decade, especially French and Italian films. My favorite Italian film is “The Bicycle Thief” by Italian director and actor Vittorio De Sica. I am also a big fan of Spanish-Mexican
filmmaker Luis Buñuel who worked in France, Spain and Mexico. These were serious filmmakers and I wanted to become like them. Where did you study? After graduating from “latinlinjen” at Hvitfeldtska läroverket (The Hvitfeldt High School) in central Gothenburg in 1963 I studied at the University of Lund. In 1967 I applied and was admitted to Filminstitutets filmskola (later Dramatiska Institutet, or University College of Film, Radio, Television and Theatre) in Stockholm. Filminstitutets filmskola was the only film college in Sweden at that time and I managed to get in on the first try. One could not apply to the film school until the age of 24 so I had to wait and, in the meantime, completed university studies in literary history and philosophy. What’s your connection to Gothenburg today? I live and have my film studio in Stockholm. My main connection to Gothenburg today is that I have family there. One of my brothers sadly passed away a few years ago, but I still have two brothers living in Gothenburg. I haven’t been to the city for a while, but I enjoy visiting Gothenburg and my brothers.
Swedes
What’s the most important quality in a film director? Total accuracy! Financing a film is costly and one cannot be careless in the process. I do not care for carelessness. If you are not going to give it 100 percent, you may just as well not do it. What other film directors inspire you in your work? I like Swedish directors Ruben Östlund and Gabriela Pichler, as well as the American film director and screenwriter Jim Jarmusch. I really enjoyed Jarmusch’s movie “Stranger Than Paradise” and am mainly inspired by his sense of humor. I am also inspired by Czech directors Giro Menzel and Milos Forman. The everyday comedy in their films inspires me. I find inspiration in paintings and art. I enjoy the works of Spanish romantic painter and printmaker Francisco Goya. Images inspire me. Sweden has had great success internationally in culture, music and film. You are a part of that. How do you view your work? When I meet with reporters abroad they call me and my film style unique. They feel that there is something special about my movies. It makes me stand out.
... a Swedish Film Giant In which other areas do you think Sweden has excelled most globally, especially in North America? We have distinguished ourselves through our policy of solidarity, and I am proud of that. Unfortunately, I feel that it is weathering a bit now. But overall, Sweden is not lagging behind. Rather the opposite! How do you think the image of Sweden is changing and developing internationally (particularly in North America)? Sweden in the past was introspective and very provincial. Today, we are considered modern and new because our horizons have widened. What is your latest film? “Om det oändliga”, which I directed and scripted. It premiered in September 2019 at the Venice Film Festival. How would you describe the film? “Om det oändliga” moves between the present and the past and depicts historical figures such as Adolf Hitler and Ivan the Terrible. The loose structure was inspired by “Tusen och en natt” (Arabian Nights). The plot is carried by a fairy who also acts as a narrator. The film reminds us of the fragility and beauty of our existence and, with that in mind, of our need to maintain that endless treasure and pass it on. I would like to describe the film as a “film-poem”. It’s a poetic film, visual with little dialogue. And, pretty funny!
In 2014, you became the first Swede to win the Golden Lion at the Film Festival in Venice with the film “En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron.” Last year you competed with the film “Om det oändliga” and won the Silver Lion for best direction. What have these prestigious awards meant to you? Receiving these prizes is a great honor. They are great confirmations and boosts of energy. I am proud of my films and happy that I have had the strength to make them. It is also easier to seek finance when you are recognized for your movies. Speaking of awards – you recently received the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Odessa International Film Festival. Congratulations! Thank you! The festival has one of the largest audiences in Eastern Europe, and the Lifetime Achievement Award is honorary. I am very happy and satisfied with it. What’s next? I long to write! I’ll most likely work on fragmentary reflections on life. What are you doing for Christmas? I am being interviewed by another 12 journalists before the holidays. Once those interviews are completed I will take some time off. My partner Anne-Marie lives in Lund, Skåne in Southern Sweden, so that’s most likely where we will be celebrating. Interviewed by Sofie Kinnefors
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 17
H E RITAG E
Welcome to Gunnebo House and Gardens
Gunnebo House – The True Story Behind a Fairytale By Peter Berlin
O
nce upon a time in Gothenburg there was a very wealthy merchant named John Hall. He and his family lived in one of the city’s most palatial edifices. In 1782 John Hall hired the city architect to design and build a 25-room mansion on the outskirts of Gothenburg as a summer residence. It was made of wood instead of traditional masonry. The project, which he named Gunnebo House, included an orangerie, a hermitage, several outbuildings, a formal English garden with a big fountain, and a kitchen garden. This may sound like a fairytale, but it is actually a true story. Sadly, the story does not end well.
In the mid-18th century, John Hall was probably Gothenburg’s richest citizen. He owned the trading company John Hall & Co and made his fortune dealing mainly in wood, wrought iron, and oil extracted from herring. His architect, Carl Wilhelm Carlberg, had travelled abroad to seek inspiration, as was the custom in those days among artistically inclined people with deep pockets or affluent sponsors. He was particularly inspired by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio whose style he borrowed when designing Gunnebo House and its gardens. It took nearly 20 years to complete the entire property, although the family was able to move in after 14 years.
Aerial view of Gunnebo House & Gardens. Photo: Sofia Kvistborn/Gunnebo Slott och Trädgårdar
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 18
The salon. Photo: Peter Kvarnström/Gunnebo Slott och Trädgårdar
Family time at Gunnebo House. Photo: Happy Visuals/Göteborg & Co
Photo: Jonas Ingman/Gunnebo Slott och Trädgårdar
Wedding at Gunnebo House. Photo: Gunnebo Slott och Trädgårdar
Unfortunately, John Hall died in 1802, around the same time that Gunnebo House was completed, so he didn’t have much opportunity to enjoy his summer residence. His son John Hall Jr inherited both John Hall & Co and Gunnebo House. He was an odd character who knew several languages but spoke very little. He never shaved or went to the barber, so his face was almost entirely covered with hair. His mind and heart were in the fine arts rather than in the harsh world of business. His income dwindled while his debts grew. In a desperate attempt to service his debts, he sold most of the furniture and fittings at Gunnebo House, but that did not stave off his creditors who eventually laid claim to the property itself. John Hall Jr challenged the forfeiture in court – a case which he eventually won, but the legal fees drained away whatever capital he had left. In 1807 his company was declared bankrupt, his wife divorced him in 1809 and he died a pauper in 1830, leaving no heirs.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, Gunnebo House changed hands several times. Some of the new owners modified the property, while others neglected it to varying degrees. The magnificent orangerie was pulled down. Eventually the house became derelict. In 1949 it was taken over by Mölndal Municipality. An ambitious restoration followed and continues to this day. Some of the original furniture which John Hall Jr had sold off was recovered, while other pieces were remanufactured. Gunnebo House has had many prominent visitors, including King Gustav III, King Gustav V, the Venezuelan revolutionary Francisco de Miranda, and US President George W Bush. Nowadays, Gunnebo House is a museum open to the public. There is a restaurant, bakery, gift shop, party rooms and conference facilities. Every summer, an open-air theatre is held in the gardens. Read more on www.gunneboslott.se.
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 19
[Lifestyle]
Top Sju
1800 All Saints Day (Allhelgonadagen) on November 1 marks the beginning of winter in Sweden. During the All Saints Day weekend people in Sweden honor passed loved ones by attending church services and decorating the tombs of the deceased with flowers and lit candles. The tradition of gracing tombs with lit candles during All Saints Day weekend became popular in Sweden towards the end of the 1800s.
27 Swedish TV game show series “På spåret“ on Swedish Television SVT premieres on November 27. A total of nine teams will be competing during the 2020/ 2021 season. Marianne Ahrne and Anders “Ankan” Johansson, Farah Abadi and Johan Glans, Emma Molin and Hanna Dorsin, Magdalena Forsberg and Claes Elfsberg, Frida Boisen and Hamid Zafar, Irena Pozar and Patrik Arve, Dilan Apak and Moa Lundqvist, as well as Sanna Lundell and Plura Jonsson will give their all in what makes the 29th season of the show. Kristian Luuk and Fredrik Lindström will act as hosts.
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 20
10 Nobel Prizes are usually presented at ceremonies and celebrated during a grand banquet on December 10, but due to the prevailing Covid 19 pandemic, there won’t be a banquet or traditional awarding of the Nobel Prize at the Stockholm Concert Hall this year. Nobel Prize winners will instead participate via video link from their home countries in a televised award ceremony transmitted from Stockholm City Hall.
24 Media company Bonniers has released an advent calendar consisting of 24 books for grown-ups by authors from Bonnier’s publishers. In the calendar literature lovers will find short stories, cartoons, fact books and cookbooks by beloved authors such as Viveca Sten, Jonas Karlsson, Nina Hemmingsson, Martin Kellerman, Zeina Mourtada
and Emil Jensen. The atmospheric Christmas calendar cover was designed by Swedish author and illustrator Lotta Kühlhorn. Bonnier’s advent calendar costs 249 SEK.
tion. This year the Swedish mulled wine is influenced by Morocco. Traditional mulled wine spices are accompanied by notes of green tea and mint, inspired by the Moroccan Maghrebi tea. This year’s bottle design was inspired by stylish Moroccan tiles. The bottles green-blue color is meant to symbolize a cooling sea. Blossa 2020, which has an alcohol content of 15 percent and costs 124 SEK for 750 ml, is in store now.
2020
28
IKEA’s 2020 Christmas collection is here! Containing several new holiday products, with a special focus on the kitchen and dining table, such as glasses and plates, the collection aims to create a cozy atmosphere in all rooms of the home. Classic Christmas decorations such as stars and light strings, as well as wrapping paper, ribbons and labels are also available. IKEA’s holiday collection is in store now.
Skansen’s traditional Christmas is taking place on a larger surface area than usual this holiday season due to the current pandemic. Visitors to the open-air museum on Djurgården in Stockholm can look forward to an atmospheric and well-organized walk in old-fashioned Christmas surroundings. Visitors will also be able to purchase Christmas gifts, such as locally produced crafts made from textile, wood, ceramics and wool. Skansen’s regular eateries are open and offer traditional Swedish Christmas food (julbord) to hungry guests. Christmas is celebrated at Skansen during the Advent weekends starting on Nov 28. For updates visit www.skansen.se.
18 For 18 years in a row, Swedes have been looking forward to the launch of popular mulled wine (glögg) Blossa’s annual holiday edi-
[Lifestyle] Book About hope, optimism and perseverance when faced with adversity – My Maja: A Grandson’s Tribute by Dr Donald Grossnickle
In one of the letters he reflects on the scarcity of published material about single, educated Swedish women emigrating to America. My research failed to help me find Swedish immigration stories of professionals and well-educated women such as what I know about you. Your profile as a nurse coming from a rather wealthy family is not well described with details sharing stories of how you came and adjusted to life in America. […] Despite all my research I never really found any literature that describes an immigration story quite like yours.
By Peter Berlin
T
his is a book about resilience and the ability to adapt to challenges. Marie (Maja) Källgren arrived in America in 1922 as a single, cheerful 25-year-old. She came from an upper-class family in Sweden and could afford an upperclass ticket on the ship that brought her from Gothenburg to New York. Unlike her fellow passengers in steerage, she was allowed to skip the gruelling immigration process on Ellis Island and proceeded directly by train to Chicago. There she met a first-generation Swedish-American, Carl Oscar Wittenstrom, who was to become her husband. So far so good. After she passed away in 1969, Grossnickle discovered in her daughter’s attic a trunk of the sturdy kind that emigrants from Sweden used to ship their personal belongings to the New World. The trunk contained a goldmine of biographical information about Maja’s life, including sadder episodes which she had withheld from her grandson during their many chats. These memorabilia served as an important inspiration for Grossnickle’s book. The author learns that dark clouds began to pile up on her horizon. Her firstborn child died shortly after
birth. In 1929 the Great Depression hit America overnight, forcing her husband to eventually close his business. He died of a heart attack in 1932, leaving Maja alone to raise their three surviving children. As a widow and single mother, she found a nursing job and worked night shifts to sustain her family. Faced with so much adversity, she suffered from deep depression and was committed to an asylum. She recovered, only to attempt suicide a decade later. A stranger found her lying unconscious on the ground in a cemetery and had her brought to a hospital. Once again she recovered, found her inner strength and began entertaining her young grandson, the book’s author, with stories about the happy times in her life. As a literary device, the author includes several letters he wrote to his grandmother long after she died.
Grossnickle seeks to ascribe heroic virtue to his grandmother’s resilience and document his admiration for her Swedish grit. In another letter to his grandmother, the author offers the following dedication: Well, dear Grandma, I will have to wait until our heavenly reunion to share more memories and share our face-to-face sweet love again. It is so clear that the memories, the traditions have not faded with time. Your memory is fully alive. My Maja: A Grandson’s Tribute makes for a suspenseful and inspirational read. The book is 160 pages and independently published in July, 2020. It is available Dr Donald Grossnickle on Amazon.
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 21
Hemma hos
‘Let’s Colour Gothenburg’ Celebrates the City and Brings Jobs to Young People
[Design]
By Kristi Robinson
F
rom Gothenburg’s cultural center, Kulturhuset Blå Stället in Angered, to art centre Röda Sten Konsthall in Klippan, “Let’s Colour Gothenburg” is considered the world’s longest art trail, and it was created in preparation for Gothenburg’s upcoming 400th anniversary. Stretching for 21 km, parts of the city landscape have been transformed with vibrant street art. Building façades, pavements, pedestrian and bike tunnels, trash bins, and park benches have all become urban canvases for international and local artists invited to take part. “Let’s Colour Gothenburg” was responsible for a number of art projects around the city, one of which was the international competition “Gothenburg Art 21”. This art competition had a bit of a twist. While aiming to unify different areas of the city with the winning artwork, the project had the unique motivation to provide jobs to local youth. Young people living in areas of Gothenburg with the lowest rates of employment were given the opportunity to train and work as professional painters. Rather than having the winning artists paint their murals, it was the responsibility of the trained young painters. It was only the two diamond level winners – Sweden’s Llefen Carrera and Isaac Barreda from France – who painted their own murals.
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 22
Artist Christo Guelov’s ‘Lego’s Bridge’. Photo © Christo Guelov
One of the standout pieces from the competition was from Bulgariaborn, Madrid-based artist Christo Guelov. Guelov’s ‘Lego’s Bridge’ was chosen for its playfulness and high recognition factor. The local young painters turned the Älvsborg Bridge over the Göta River into Guelov’s concept of Lego’s Bridge. On building walls in Majorna the young painters skillfully manifested the creative visions of a Spanish artist who goes
under the name Concerto Street Art, with his art piece “Calm Waters”, and that of Argentina’s Irene Lasivita. Without putting a gender on the subject, Lasivita’s mural titled “Gender Revolution” was described by the jury as “a magic painting with radiance of tolerance”. Further down the art trail in Gamlestaden, the work of Brazilian architect and visual artist Romulo Lass was painted in a pedestrian and bike tunnel. Young artists from Gothenburg together with youth from Spain painted Lass’ graphic piece “Astronauts in Love”, along with five other works in tunnels along the trail. This exchange, facilitated by “Youth Power 2020” and created by “Let’s Colour Gothenburg”, seeks to promote meeting and collaboration among young people through art. As the city prepares to celebrate its 400th anniversary, the “Let’s Colour Gothenburg” project has brought colour and culture to the streets. More importantly, the project has nurtured the abilities of young people to create something they can be proud of – a legacy for the city and its youth.
Hemma hos
Left: Mural by Charqui Punk in Hammarkullen. © Göteborg 2021 | Below: Diamond winner of Gothenburg Art 21: Llefen Carrera from Sweden with “Nature’s Dust”. Photo © Gothenburg Art 21 | Bottom: Gold winner of Gothenburg Art 21: Thaigo Mazza from Brazil with “We are nature”. Photo © Gothenburg Art 21 | Right: ‘Gender Revolution’ by Irene Lasivita. Photo © Göteborg 2021 | Bottom right: ‘Calm Waters’ by Concerto Street Art. Photo © Gothenburg Art 21 | Bottom page 22: ‘Astronauts in Love’ by Romulo Lass. Photo © Gothenburg Art 21
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 23
Hemma hos
[
]
Treats
I
n early August, my sister Deborah drove three hours to my house for a smorgasbord of Swedish goodies that I had squirreled away for a special occasion. Our social distancing picnic’s highlight was the potatiskorv. I admit to cheating a bit, because I purchased premade links. When I was a young bride, my mother and Grandma Peterson ceremoniously gave me a meat grinder to make potatiskorv, but that grinder still sits quietly unused in its original box. Being a modern woman, I found a convenient way to have a similar taste for potatiskorv: I buy my links. Even so, I follow the traditional method of cooking the potatiskorv, simmering the circular links in water and quickly sautéing them to lock in the flavor. Most importantly, I make my own lingonberry sauce from fresh frozen. No lingonberries from a jar or tin is ever served with freshly cooked potatiskorv! Only then can the meal be properly presented on a serving platter. When the taste of potatiskorv dipped in lingonberries exploded inside my mouth at our picnic, the familiar flavor instantly brought me great comfort during our 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. From one bite, I melted into tenderhearted memories and felt safe and loved back home. I saw Mom and Grandma Peterson hand-cranking the meat grinder and laughing. I saw my three sons seriously debating among themselves which korv recipe is better. Home-cooked food had never tasted better than at that moment. Our family has always longed for the tastes and smells of home
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 24
à la Sharon
during difficult times. On December 16, 1942 while stationed as a U.S. Marine in the South Pacific, my Dad wrote to his mother, “I’m waiting for the day when I have your limpa, fruitcake, sill, lutefisk, and potatiskorv. I’m going to demand that stuff even if it’s a hot August day when I get home to Willmar. I better not get started or I’ll begin pitying myself.” So, Dad, on a hot August day in 2020 your two daughters shared some of those same foods
Potatiskorv Ingredients: • 1½ lb ground chuck • 1½ lb ground pork • 1 medium onion • 6 medium potatoes (raw) • 1 – 2 tablespoons salt • 1 teaspoon pepper • 1 cup of water • ½ lb hog casings
while we hunkered down during a pandemic. And it’s just as good as you remembered it. By Sharon Franklin Driscoll
Grandma Franklin’s Potatiskorv Preparation: Grind meat, onions and potatoes together in a hand meatgrinder. Add salt, pepper and water. Stuff casing loosely. (Note: Casings may need to be soaked several hours to soften.) Makes 5 – 7 sausages 12” – 18” each. Tie in rings. Freeze. To serve: Simmer 1 hour in gently boiling water. Be sure to puncture the casings in many places (about every 2 inches on each side).
Lingonberry Sauce Ingredients: • ¾ to 1-pound package of fresh frozen lingonberries • 3 or 4 tablespoons water • ¾ to 1 cup sugar
Fresh Frozen Lingonberry Sauce Preparation: In a saucepan, over medium heat, add the frozen lingonberries and water, stirring constantly, till thawed and just beginning to boil. Add sugar. Cook another 5 to 10 minutes stirring frequently. Should fill a one cup canning jar. Serve warm or cold.
H E RI TAG E
An Insider’s Look at Swedish Culture Fler amerikanska domare borde studera i Sverige Av Yvonne Gossner
I
Sverige har vi den senaste tiden stolt kunnat läsa om den framlidna Ruth Bader Ginsburgs liv (1933-2020). Inte bara för att hon som domare i USA stred för det som vi i Sverige sedan länge anser som en självklarhet gällande mänskliga rättigheter, jämställdhet och kvinnors rätt till abort. Utan också för att hon tillbringade en tid i Sverige som student på 60-talet och sedermera blev hedersdoktor på Lunds universitet 1969. Hon var ledamot i USA:s högsta domstol 1993 – 2020. Att Sveriges liberala synsätt påverkade Ruth Bader Ginsburg starkt framgår i intervjuer av svensk media. Det sägs att hon var helt fascinerad över att t.ex. en svensk domare kunde jobba ända fram till slutet av graviditeten, vilket på 60-talet var en omöjlighet i USA. Att Sverige gjorde ett starkt avtryck på en av USA:s genom tiderna mest omtalade domare är därför inte svårt att förstå. Som svensk vill man gärna tro att hennes erfarenheter i Sverige faktiskt bidrog till en mer liberal debatt i USA. I amerikanska medier nämns hennes studier i Sverige mycket sparsamt, vilket kan tänkas bero på en viss nationell stolthet i amerikanska media. Många av mina amerikanska vänner har sett upp till denna kvinna oavsett politisk ståndpunkt. Detta mycket p.g.a. att Ginsburg var en stark kvinna som klarade de mest prestigefulla studierna samtidigt
Under sitt korta Sverigebesök kreerades den uppmärksammade amerikanska domaren Ruth Bader Ginsburg till jubelhedersdoktor vid Juridiska fakulteten under en högtidlig ceremoni i Stockholm. Foto: Niklas Björling/ Lund University
Ruth Bader Ginsburg i samtal efter ceremonin. Foto: Niklas Björling/Lund University
som hon gjorde en enastående karriär trots att hon var gift och hade barn. Att som ensam kvinna strida för kvinnors rättighet i en mansdominerad värld samtidigt som hon själv levde efter det hon stred för, gör att Ginsburg var en stor förebild för många människor inte bara i USA utan i hela världen. I Sverige är jag dock inte lika säker på att alla visste vem hon var fram tills dödsbeskedet. Många svenskar höjde nog på ögonbrynen över att hon hade studerat i Lund där hon skrev boken “Civil Procedure in Sweden” 1965 som ledde fram till att hon blev hedersdoktor vid Lunds universitet och även
lärde sig svenska. Så sent som 2019 blev Ginsburg dessutom Hedersjubeldoktor vid samma svenska universitet. Jag måste erkänna att jag känner en viss stolthet över att jag själv har studerat på samma universitet i Lund som Ginsburg gjorde en gång i tiden. I skrivandets stund följer många svenskar den minst sagt underhållande valkampanjen i USA med stort intresse och med viss skepticism. Att Ginsburg kommer att lämna efter sig ett enormt tomrum står helt klart, oavsett vilken kvinna som efterträder henne i den amerikanska högsta domstolen. I en tid då vi stänger gränser allt mer och utlandsstudier försvåras p.g.a. den epidemi vi just nu befinner oss i, gör att vi borde inse hur mycket vi har att lära av varandras länder och hur viktiga utlandsstudier faktiskt kan vara för ens framtida karriär. Fler amerikanska juridikstudenter borde därmed studera i Sverige, precis som Ruth Bader Ginsburg gjorde en gång i tiden! Summary in English: Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the prominent member of the US Supreme Court who passed away on September 18, did research at the Swedish University of Lund in the 1960s. Her work in Sweden profoundly influenced her thinking on human rights and gender equality. The same university later awarded her two Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees. She was a living example of how studying abroad can benefit a person’s professional career – food for thought for American law students. Footnote: Yvonne Gossner är en f.d universitetsadjunkt och Swedish influencer, numera ägare av Learn Swedish Culture AB. www.learnswedishculture.com
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 25
[
]
Road to 2045
Road to 2045
Finding Uncommon Solutions to Common Problems By Jakob Lagercrantz
I
t was in December 1987. Birgitta Dahl, the hard-nosed Environment Minister of Sweden, visited the port and refinery area close to the city of Gothenburg. She noted the high hydrocarbon emissions and named the area the “Vestibule of Hell” because of high pollution levels. Being branded as an area close to hell was a negative eye opener. The local politicians were shocked – a minister visiting the industrial center of Sweden who had the gall to challenge them on their home turf. But the Gothenburg politicians, led by the long-term strongman of Gothenburg Göran Johansson, acted differently. Gothenburg is the industrial center of Sweden, with several clusters of industries, including refineries. Instead of opposing his party colleague, Göran Johansson looked inwards. It was decided to form the Environment Secretariat of Gothenburg, tasked with working with industry to improve emissions. A manager was recruited
from Greenpeace, and a small secretariat was set up to identify new ways to work with industrial companies in western Sweden. 1988 was the year of the devastating seal epidemic that resulted in sick harbour seals being washed up dead on the beaches of western Sweden. Half of the western European harbour seal population was lost to the virus, and public reactions were fierce. We were only two years after Chernobyl. This was the year the Green party won entrance to the Swedish Parliament. It was a good time to promote sustainability. The newly formed Secretariat looked for ways to involve industry in finding solutions to problems, rather than relying only on pressures coming from the legislative bodies of the city and the county. This way of working was innovative and untested. Industry was used to fight in the courts for permission to pollute. Now a group from the city, with good knowledge of the issues, wanted to discuss possible solutions. The end result would be the same: less pollution, but now dealt with by a mixed group focused on a common challenge.
The informal way of working of the Gothenburg Secretariat was another important success factor. This was not a political body, nor was it part of the control authority of the city. It was built on seeking a common interest to find solutions and was staffed by people who really understood the industrial processes. The focus was more on action than on producing reports. The Environment Secretariat launched a number of projects that proved to be catalytic. The Secretariat asked Volvo to allow them to review the means of transport to and from the plant in Gothenburg. With external experts they suggested the emissions could be halved in ten years. Volvo looked at the figures and achieved the same goal in half the time. The catalyst was a perspective from the outside. The same happened when the Secretariat brought in external expertise to measure the diffuse emissions from the refineries. They proved to be 10 – 20 times higher than expected, and the refineries themselves got engaged in stopping the leaks. The industry saved money by plugging the leaks – and decreased emissions at the same time. Establishing alliances to find uncommon solutions to common problems has been a feature in Swedish societal development for a long time. It can build on and multiply the energy and innovation of the parties, with a view to discovering innovative solutions. Route EL16: Gothenburg’s new fully electric high-capacity buses for extra services on route 16. Photo ©.goteborgelectricity.se
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.
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 26
[
]
Swedish Press Connects
Början på slutet för samordningsnummer?
Början på slutet för samordningsnummer för svenska barn? Samordningsnummer är ett bekymmer för många utlandssvenskar. De digitala systemen i samhället klarar inte några avvikelser från standarden, vilket försvårar för hemvändande svenska familjer när de ansöker om plats på förskolor och skolor för sina barn födda utomlands som saknar svenska personnummer.
S
amordningsnummer är en identitetsbeteckning för personer som inte är eller har varit folkbokförda i Sverige, exempelvis barn som föds utomlands av svenska föräldrar. Syftet med samordningsnummer är att myndigheter och andra samhällsfunktioner ska kunna identifiera personer även om de inte är folkbokförda i Sverige. Kritiken mot samordningsnumren har kommit från olika håll i samhället och under en längre tid, bland annat från Svenskar i Världen. Regeringen har insett nödvändigheten av att göra en översyn av systemet för samordningsnummer och beslutade därför 2019 om kommittédirektivet Åtgärder för att minska fel i folkbokföringen (Dir. 2019:54). Uppdraget ska redovisas senast den 1 april 2021.
Svenskar i Världen anser att barn till svenska medborgare ska få svenska personnummer oavsett var i världen barnen än föds, och att de barn till svenska medborgare som idag har tilldelats samordningsnummer ska få svenska personnummer per automatik. Då samordningsnummer är en så pass omfattande utmaning för många utlandssvenskar, lyftes detta fram på Utlandssvenskarnas parlament i fjol och sammanfattades i resolutionen ”Personnummer till svenska medborgare födda utomlands, samt anpassade samhällsfunktioner för samordningsnummer”. Svenskar i Världen har tillfört utlandssvenskarnas perspektiv i den pågående utredningen och fått besked från utredningssekreteraren att de tar med sig synpunkterna i det fortsatta utredningsarbetet. – Vi tackar så mycket för synpunkterna och att ni belyser de problem som finns ur ert perspektiv. Vi tar med oss synpunkterna i det fortsatta utredningsarbetet. Vi återkommer längre fram om vi ser behov av ett möte för att diskutera frågorna vidare, svarar utredningssekreterare Jonatan Lundqvist.
Utlandssvenskarnas perspektiv
Med anledning av den pågående utredningen har Svenskar i Världen, inom ramen för sitt remissarbete, återkopplat till kommittén. – Det är viktigt att tillföra perspektiv som tillhör de många utlandssvenskar vars barn har fått eller kommer att få samordningsnummer. Svenska medborgare födda utomlands av svenska föräldrar, alternativt att en av föräldrarna är svensk medborgare, missgynnas av att de tilldelas samordningsnummer istället för svenska personnummer, säger Cecilia Borglin, generalsekreterare på Svenskar i Världen. Bland annat är det näst intill omöjligt att ställa dessa barn i kö till skolor eller förskolor vid hemflytt eftersom de digitala systemen i samhället inte klarar några avvikelser från standarden. – Inom ramen för kommitténs framtida förslag önskar vi därför att speciell hänsyn tas till dessa barn, säger Cecilia Borglin.
Summary in English: Every Swedish citizen and resident is given a personal identification number which facilitates the person’s access to services such as schools, medical care, banking, etc. Currently, there are two numbering systems – “personnummer” and “samordningsnummer”. The personnummer is given to individuals who are permanent residents in Sweden, while the samordningsnummer is typically given to temporary foreign residents or children of Swedish citizens born abroad and moving home. Having two systems creates some confusion in the administration of access to services in Sweden, in particular as regards returning Swedish children wishing to enrol in schools. SVIV has been active in persuading the government to resolve the difficulties by instituting a unique personal identification numbering system for all Swedish residents, whether permanent, temporary or returning.
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 27
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
Calendar & Events
28
30
32
34
36
A guide to fun and interesting Swedish events outside Sweden
66
64
62
60
58
56
54
66
CHICAGO Swedish American Museum 5211 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60640 Tel: 773-728 8111 | info@samac.org www.swedishamericanmuseum.org The main exhibit, The Dream of America: Swedish Immigration to Chicago, and The Galleries are opened but the Brunk Children’s Museum will remain closed until further notice. Visit the Swedish American Museum website for updates.
PORTLAND Nordic Northwest Nordia House, 8800 SW Oleson Rd., Portland, OR 97223 | Tel: 503-977 0275 www.nordicnorthwest.org Nordia House is now open. Ongoing through November 30 – Mind The Earth: Climate Change – Climate Action – The exhibition uses satellite imagery to share new vantage points about the global climate crisis.
MINNEAPOLIS American Swedish Institute 2600 Park Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55407 Tel: 612-871 4907 | www.asimn.org ASI has reopened to the public since September 11. Nov 14, 2020 to Jan 10, 2021 – Exhibition: An extra/ordinary Holiday in Extraordinary Times. Nov 14-15, 21-22, 28-29 – Sat 10 am to Sun 4 pm: Julmarknad On-Site Weekends – While ASI’s largest festival and holiday event is going (mostly) virtual this year, on weekends you’ll find 3 to 4 vendors on-site at ASI outside in the courtyard. Nov 15 – Sun 4 to 6 pm: Drive Thru Lutfisk Dinner – Whether you love or hate this infamous Scandinavian dish, ASI’s annual Lutfisk Dinner is a culinary experience that everyone should have at least once. This year we are bringing our Lutfisk Dinner to you drive thru-style! Pick up your meal to go or enjoy from your car on site.
SEATTLE Swedish Cultural Center 1920 Dexter Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98109 Tel: 206-283 1090 | www.swedishclubnw.org info@swedishculturalcenter.org Oct 31 to Nov 1 – Sat & Sun 10 am to 3 pm: Swedish Club Holiday Bazaar – Mostly outdoors in tents. Wear your raincoats, bring your umbrellas and enjoy holiday shopping as if we were in Sweden or Norway! Holiday crafts, gifts, Christmas sheaves and some used items. We'll serve meatballs or pea soup in a cup, baked goods, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, hot cider and glögg.
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 July 3 with normal operating hours. Ongoing through May 2021 – Around the World: The Global Curiosities of Carl Otto Lindberg! This exhibition explores the life of a Swedish-American mining engineer. Ongoing through Mar 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. 8
10
12
14
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 28
16
National Nordic Museum 2655 NW Market Street, Seattle, WA 98107 Tel: 206-789 5707 | nordic@nordicmuseum.org www.nordicmuseum.org Nov 19-22 – Thurs to Sun 10 am to 5 pm: 43rd annual Julefest – A Julefest-themed Virtual Crafts & Cocktails will be on Thursday, November 19. Then November 20-22, you'll find an expanded selection of goodies in the Museum Store, plus amazing holiday decorations throughout the Museum. We can't have Santa this year, but you can still take a seasonal selfie with the perfect holiday backdrop! 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. 18
20
22
24
26
OTTAWA Embassy of Sweden Ottawa 377 Dalhousie Street, Suite 305, Ottawa ON K1N 9NB Tel: 613-241 2277 www.swedishembassy.ca The Government has extended the ban of entry to the EU via Sweden until 31 October 2020. VANCOUVER Scandinavian Community Centre 6540 Thomas Street, Burnaby, BC V5B 4P9 Tel: 604-294 2777 | info@scancentre.org www.scancentre.org Due to COVID-19, the Scandinavian Community Centre is opened only to booking and hosting small scale events, activities and rentals. Please call 604-294 2777 or e-mail info@scancentre.org. Visit www.scancentre.org. for further updates. Nov 21 – Sat: The annual Swedish Christmas Fair will be arranged differently this year. A “Swedish Christmas Fair Bake Sale” website will be set up and will include a menu of baked items available to order and pay for in advance. Each order will receive an order confirmation and an assigned time slot for pick up on Saturday November 21st. Time slots are scheduled to prevent violation of set Covid-19 regulations. 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 Nov 7 – Sat: Scandinavian Cultural Centre Manitoba 150 – 2020 is the 150th anniversary of Manitoba’s entry into the Canadian confederation. As part of this celebration, the Scandinavian Centre is launching a unique on-line festival starting on Nov 7th featuring the SCC Mini Virtual Museum – stories of Nordic settlers, history of Folklorama and cultural exhibits; Virtual Concerts – highlighting our local dancers, musicians and singers, and a whole lot more! On Nov 7th visit www.scandinaviancentre.ca for more details and links to follow these on-going events. 28
30
32
34
36
64
62
60
58
56
54
[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
[Swed sh Press] N Y A
i
S V E N S K A
P R E S S E N
Swedish Heritage in BC 1812 Duthie Ave. Burnaby BC. Laila Axen Tel: 604-526 7464. Visit us at www. swedishheritageinbc.org. E-mail: swedishheritagebc@gmail.com Sweden House Society President: Rebecca Keckman Vice President: Dorothy Carlson Treasurer: Carole Walkinshaw, Email: swedenhousechair@gmail.com Swedish Club of Victoria Dinners, Events and Meetings, for information contact Annabelle Beresford @ 250-656 9586 or Swedish Club of Victoria Facebook. 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
first Sundays of the month. Rental venue for meeting, parties, etc. www.swedishclubnw.org Classified Advertising Sales Reps wanted Swedish Press is looking for full or part-time advertising sales representatives. E-mail info@swedishpress.com for more information. Swedish Press Classified Ad Rate is as low as 50 cents per word (minimum $10). Send your ad to advertise @swedishpress.com
Need a Dala Horse or Tomte? Check out the great selection of Scandinavian gifts, imports and goodies in our catalog or at:
www.hemslojd.com
800-779 3344 or 785-227 2983 PO Box 152 • 201 N Main St Lindsborg KS 67456 USA
Yes, I would like to subscribe to Swedish Press
Start or renew my Swedish Press subscription Buy a subscription for a friend Print 1 year $ 45 2 years $ 75 3 years $115 Digital 1 year $ 32 2 years $ 54 3 years $ 82 Overseas 1 year $115 2 years $215 3 years $315 Yes! I would like to donate $50 $75 $ to uphold Swedish heritage and promote Sweden’s global impact to a growing audience. NAME OF SUBSCRIBER OR FRIEND CITY
PROVINCE/STATE
POSTAL CODE/ZIP
PHONE
DONOR’S NAME
DONOR’S EMAIL
Method of Payment:
VISA or Mastercard
COUNTRY
Cheque (Swedish Press Inc)
CARD NO.
EXPIRY DATE
NAME ON CARD
SIGNATURE
Augustana College Rock Island, IL 61201-2296 Phone 309-794 7204 sag@augustana.edu www.augustana.edu/sag
NAMEDAYS
E S T . 1 9 2 9
ADDRESS
Founded in 1981
Swenson Center
Subscribe online at www.SwedishPress.com • Take a photo of this coupon with your smartphone and email it to Subscribe@SwedishPress.com • Mail this coupon with payment to Swedish Press, PO Box 420404, San Diego, CA 92142, USA or 9040 Shaughnessy Street, Vancouver, BC V6P 6E5 Canada • Call toll free at 1 866 882 0088
Nov 1 Nov 2 Nov 3 Nov 4 Nov 5 Nov 6 Nov 7 Nov 8 Nov 9 Nov 10 Nov 11 Nov 12 Nov 13 Nov 14 Nov 15 Nov 16 Nov 17 Nov 18 Nov 19 Nov 20 Nov 21 Nov 22 Nov 23 Nov 24 Nov 25 Nov 26 Nov 27 Nov 28 Nov 29 Nov 30
Allhelgonadagen Tobias Hubert, Hugo Sverker Eugen, Eugenia Gustav Adolf Ingegerd, Ingela Vendela Teodor, Teodora Martin, Martina Mårten Konrad, Kurt Kristian, Krister Emil, Emilia Leopold Vibeke, Viveka Naemi, Naima Lillemor, Moa Elisabet, Lisbet Pontus, Marina Helga, Olga Cecilia, Sissela Klemens Gudrun, Rune Katarina, Katja Linus Astrid, Asta Malte Sune Andreas, Anders
GRATTIS PÅ FÖDELSEDAGEN Nov 13 Sanna Brynn Shaman, 14 år Nov 24 Rebecca Nymark, 16 år
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 29
[
]
Sista ordet
‘The ship pitched up like a stallion ...’ Sleepless in Gothenburg By Peter Berlin
I
n the early 1970s my wife Shirley and I lived in The Netherlands. One blustery day at the end of April we set out on a journey to Stockholm, taking the night car ferry from Amsterdam to Gothenburg. As we drove north towards Amsterdam, strong wind gusts buffeted our station wagon to the point where I had difficulty keeping it on the road. Arriving at the ferry port, we were waved onboard as if nothing unusual was happening. The vehicle deck quickly filled up. We climbed the stairs to Reception and were shown to our cabin. So far so good. We decided to have dinner in the ship’s restaurant before settling down for the night. While the ship moved slowly through the Noordzee Kanaal connecting Amsterdam with the North Sea, we ate and drank as if there was no tomorrow. In fact, we were soon to find out that there might not be a tomorrow. No sooner had we finished our meal when the ship pitched up like a stallion and nosedived like a
[ ]
Swedish Press | November 2020 30
pelican. The cycle repeated itself – not once, not twice, but seemingly forever. The ship had exited the canal and was in the clutches of the North Sea in full storm. We reeled out of the restaurant like drunks and found our way back to our cabin. Shirley immediately lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. Her complexion had taken on an interesting green hue. I sat down on the edge of the bed, grabbed a garbage can and retched – not once, not twice, but seemingly forever. Give me toothache, give me heartache, hit my own thumb with a hammer, and I can assure you that there is nothing worse than being seasick on an empty stomach. I turned to Shirley and said in a hoarse whisper: “I want to die!” No response. I lay down and tried to sleep while the waves crashed against the side of the ship’s hull. Suddenly a voice crackled through the intercom. “Attention, please. Would the owner of the yellow DAF with Dutch licence plate number XX-XX-XXX please report to Reception.” A few minutes later came another announcement: “Attention, please. Would the owner of the black
Volvo with Swedish licence plate number YYY-YYY please report to Reception.” Were the cars bouncing around on vehicle deck? The ferry was 16 hours late arriving in Gothenburg the next day. Depleted and exhausted, we descended onto the vehicle deck and looked anxiously for our car. It was still there and had not actually been flattened by any runaway 50-ton truck. It was getting dark. Bleary-eyed, we drove into Gothenburg looking for the highway to Stockholm. Given the condition we were in, any normal person would have checked into a hotel in Gothenburg to catch a proper night’s sleep before getting behind the steering wheel. But we had already lain comatose on the ferry for over 24 hours and were too tired to sleep. Driving out of Gothenburg, we noticed a big bonfire burning on a hilltop. Then another one, and another one, and many, many more. Each fire was surrounded by a group of people standing motionless as if they were dead. “I get it,” I said to Shirley, “we are dead and have gone to Hell.” “Not yet,” she replied wearily. “It’s Walpurgis Night in Sweden.”
Welcome to Vancouver – and the Swedish Cultural Society!
Svenska KulturfĂśreningen Swedish Cultural Society SwedishCulturalSociety.ca Scandinavian centre, 6540 Thomas St, Burnaby, BC
We look forward to serving our members and guests again soon with Swedish food, celebrations, language classes, etc.
V채lkommen tillbaka n채r tiden 채r r채tt 1920 Dexter Ave. N., Seattle | 206.283.1090 | www.swedishclubnw.org
