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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
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4 Letters to the Editor 5 From the Editor’s Desk Swedish Headlines 6 Headline News: Another Heist à la suédoise 7 Swedes in the News 8 Landskapsnyheterna
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Heritage 11 Voting Rights for Swedish Women Feature 12 Sweden Races to Meet its Sustainability Deadline Interview 14 An Interview with Max Knagge – SAS och flygbranschens “Survival of the Fittest” Global Swedes 16 Olof Lundberg – Former Director General of the International Maritime Satellite Organization
Swedish Press Connects 24 SCA – Swedish Council of America 25 SACCNY – The Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce, New York Road to 2045 26 Car-sharing: The Reform that is Waiting to Take Off in Sweden In the Loop 27 Canada, US & Beyond 28 Calendar and Events 29 Ads and Info 30 Sista Ordet Politiska veckor sprids till allt fler länder Cover images: (Left) Polestar 1 © Polestar (Right): Uniti One © Uniti Sweden AB
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Letters to the Editor Dear Ms Law, A short time ago you phoned and asked if I had anything of interest for your magazine. I had previously done a piece on “Following the Viking Trail” in April, 2015. At the time I had nothing, but in the meantime the President of our local Scandinavian Club gave a splendid talk on the Castles of Sweden. Unfortunately I was out of town and missed it, but the presentation received raves from our members. I called Michael Lindner, asking if he would be willing to “broaden his base” with information on one of his favourite subjects and he was most enthusiastic. He had previously given a lecture on a Swedish palace and goes back every summer to learn more. He is an architect and most interested in historic structures. I enclosed a copy of our club newsletter with a map and pictures, so you can get an idea of the coverage. I believe your readers would enjoy a
piece on Swedish castles and Michael would enjoy doing it. Thank you. Sincerely, Marian Clover Columbus, Ohio Editor’s comments: Michael Lindner is working on an article for us as we speak. Thank you for leading us to him! To the Swedish Press Magazine, Always a nice day when I receive your magazine. Kind regards, Einar Myslowitz Faaborg-Fyn, Denmark Joan, It is a pleasure working with you and the Swedish Press. Also, thank you for printing the Astoria Scandinavian Heritage Park article and the “Celebrating Swedish by Marriage in Astoria, Oregon” article. We got a lot of positive feedback. Sincerely, Judi Lampi Astoria Scandinavian Festival, Oregon
Dear Editor: Thank you so much [for publishing a piece about me under Lifestyle in the May 2018 issue]! I have been under the weather – meaning unable to read due to eye surgery – but wanted to get a hard copy of your May issue. Ordinarily, I would be able to get one at the Church of Sweden in Manhattan. Can you tell me how to get a few copies of the issue that features my interview and poems to share with my supporters? I will be glad to pay for this. By the way, I will be performing Swedish folk songs and reading from my new book on July 14, 2018 in Manhattan. Joshua Meander, the host of this event was very impressed with the “Swedish Press” online issue I forwarded to him. People here in NYC need to learn about Swedish culture and Swedish industry, especially now with what is happening with trade. I am attaching a flyer for the 14th. I will be reading tomorrow at a restaurant in Brooklyn and appearing in NYC as a poet included in an anthology out of Nepal, so I will be able to share my Swedish heritage with lots of people. Tack så mycket! Marion Palm Brooklyn, New York Left: Ernie Poignant, 99, of Abbotsford, B.C., Canada, created this cartoon depicting events in London after England defeated Sweden in a World Cup quarterfinal soccer match in early July. English fans entered the IKEA store in Stratford and “celebrated” England's victory by trashing some of the store’s furniture.
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.
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from the Editor’s Desk
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s the editor of Swedish Press, I consider it my duty to explore at least some of the delights that we report on in our issues – especially those that involve food and wine! For example, you may recall Göran Amnegård’s lobster ravioli recipe under Treats in our July/August issue (page 23). My wife and I promptly bought a pasta maker and got off to a sticky start. Having never made pasta from scratch before, we failed to add enough flower to the dough. As a result, the pasta maker seized up completely with a very gooey mess. Once we had solved that problem, we struggled with the unusually large size of the raviolis dictated by the chicken egg yolks. My wife then had the idea to use smaller yolks from quail’s eggs – see photo. To cut a long story short, the end result was delicious. (Thank you, Göran!) In the same issue we featured Bergström Wines under Company File (page 10). During a recent trip through Oregon we couldn’t resist dropping in at their vineyard to sample some of their wines. We sat on their deck overlooking the lush hills of Willamette Valley and tasted a flight of their wines while the sommelier gave us a brief tutorial about wine-making. Their bottles of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay don’t come cheap (between $37 and $399 a bottle), but the wine’s aroma, texture and flavour are truly divine. Along the way, we also spent an afternoon at the new Nordic Museum in Seattle which opened with a big PR splash on May 5 (see Swedish Press May 2018, page 20). Even though the Nordic countries encompass five different peoples speaking five different languages, the exhibits succeed in conveying their commonalities in terms of art, culture and innovation. Now to the present issue of Swedish Press. The trend to replace combustion engines with electric motors is accelerating, and the benefits for the climate are substantial. This is why we have chosen Sustainable Transportation the Swedish Way as the main theme for the present issue of Swedish Press. Some highlights: We offer extensive coverage of Sweden’s ambitious and multifaceted entry into the electric vehicle market. We also profile the Swedish company GreenStar Marine and its game-changing electric propulsion for sailing vessels (page 10). Max Knagge, General Manager for the Americas of Scandinavian Airlines, gives us an insight into the airline’s “green” initiatives (page 14). Olof Lundberg, former Director General of Inmarsat and also former CEO of Globalstar, discusses the fuel-saving benefits of mobile satellite communications for ships, aircraft and land-based vehicles (page 16). In addition to the transportation-focused main theme, we cover the latest social, political and business news from Sweden, along with special reports on sports, art, design, culture, history, ecology, and cuisine. As always, we welcome suggestions and comments from readers about our stories, including photographs when available. Meanwhile I wish you happy reading!
Peter Berlin Editor Peter@Swedishpress.com September 2018
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Another Heist à la suédoise
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By Peter Berlin n July 31, a couple of thieves walked into the Strängnäs Cathedral in broad daylight, stole some 17th century national treasures on display and made off with them in a speedboat on Lake Mälaren. The stolen artifacts included a gold crown and an orb from 1611 that were made for King Karl IX's funeral, as well as a jewel-encrusted crown dating back to 1625 that was used in Queen Kristina’s funeral. The theft was particularly brazen, given that the display case was equipped with a burglar alarm and that the cathedral was staffed at the time. The alarm went off when the thieves smashed the display case, but it remains unclear whether the staff intervened. A spokesman merely stated that nobody had been injured “physically or mentally.” Once notified, the police searched the lake, in the air, at sea and on land
but found no trace of the perpetrators. Given the international publicity that the crime has received, it remains a mystery how the thieves plan to monetize the stolen objects. There is concern that they might pry off the precious stones and melt the gold in order to sell them separately, in which case the treasures will be lost to the nation forever. This is not the first time that thieves have targeted Swedish royal jewellery. In 2012, a 19-year-old man admitted stealing 850,000 kronor ($95,000) worth of jewels from Princess Christina’s apartment near the Royal Palace in Stockholm. He reportedly sold most of the gems to drug dealers and threw a tiara off a bridge. In 2013, 16th-century copies of King Johan III’s crown, orb and scepter were stolen from the cathedral in Västerås during a night-time burglary. They were eventually found and returned to the cathedral. Nobody was arrested.
The two crowns and the orb in the centre were stolen from Strängnäs Cathedral. Photo: Swedish Police Dept/Stella Pictures
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Hot News out of Sweden
Temperature deviations from normal during July 2018. Source: SMHI
July is the month when much of Sweden shuts down and its citizens go on vacation. Many sun-starved Swedes traditionally look to the countries around the Mediterranean for their holidays, but the persistent heat blanketing Sweden from Skåne to Lapland this summer has prompted holidaymakers to either stay at home or seek refuge in cooler climes such as Scotland, Ireland and Iceland. As a result, Swedish travel agents that usually promote Mediterranean destinations are suffering. Unfortunately, staying at home poses a different problem for many Swedes, because raging forest fires are forcing people to evacuate their homes and country cottages. Firefighters from several EU nations are assisting the Swedes in controlling dozens of forest fires by land and from the air, with no end in sight.
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Swedes in the News
Swedish Music, Soccer and a Pole Vault Champion Robyn is back
The musical monologue, which features Körberg accompanied by pianist Carl Flemsten, takes the audience on a journey through Lola’s life, career and dreams. Sunil Munshi is the director as well as the actor/artistic and conceptual creator of Lola.
Lola shines! Tommy Körberg, 70, stars as “Lola” – a show artist and transvestite at the end of her career preparing for one last performance – in a new play about love, fear and exclusion premiering on September 22 at Skandiascenen, Cirkus in Stockholm.
throughout his life, including attempted murder, assault, robbery and drug dealing. Olofsson said in a statement that he is now looking forward to writing and editing his books. Go Granqvist!
Olofsson set free
Robyn. Photo: Maria Jose Govea
Swedish pop sensation Robyn, 39, is back on the scene with new single Missing U released on August 1. It’s been eight long years since the singer released an album – Body Talk featured electronic pop hits Call Your Girlfriend, Dancing on My Own, and Hang With Me. Robyn is also well known for having left a huge commercial record label to create her own. Missing U is a tribute to Robyn’s fans. “It is a song about this trippy thing that happens when people disappear, it’s like they become even more clear and you see them everywhere,” Robyn said in a statement. Robyn’s new album is set to be released later this year.
dreaming right now. It’s been one of the most special moments of my life and I’ll never forget it,” said Duplantis. Duplantis beat his personal best with 12 centimeters and is, with his incredible new record, best in Europe at pole vault.
Tommy Körberg. Photo: Knotan
Duplantis best in Pole Vault
Armand Duplantis. Photo: TT
18-year-old Swedish-American Armand Duplantis earned a gold medal after jumping an impressive 6.05 meters (19 feet, 10.25 inches) and thereby winning the European championship in pole vault in Berlin, Germany on August 12. “6.05 is the jump of my life. It was such an unreal competition, I feel like I’m
Notorious criminal Clark Olofsson, 71, is back on Swedish soil after being released from a Belgian prison. Olofsson was last convicted for gross drug offenses – a crime – which resulted in 14 years of imprisonment. In 2010 Olofsson, who has Swedish and Belgian citizenships, applied to serve his remaining sentence in Belgium instead of at Kumla Prison in Örebro. He was, however, not relocated to a Belgian prison until 2016. Olofsson, who is perhaps best known for his involvement in the Norrmalmstorg drama of 1973 (from which the term Stockholm Syndrome is derived), has been convicted of numerous crimes
Clark Olofsson. Photo: Björn Karlin
Andreas Granqvist. Photo: Alexander Demianchuk
Good news for fans of Swedish soccer! Sweden’s team captain Andreas Granqvist, 33, has revealed via Instagram that he will continue to play for Sweden’s national team and is looking forward to the World Cup of 2020. Andreas Granqvist became the Swedish National team’s best goal-scorer thanks to his phenomenal penalty kicks. After having lost to England in the quarterfinals, Granqvist initially said that it was possible that this would be his last World Cup tournament. Luckily Granqvist changed his mind after having discussed the matter with Swedish soccer coach and manager of the Swedish national team Janne Andersson and former professional soccer player Henrik “Henke” Larsson.
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[Landskapsnyheterna] SKÅNE
UPPLAND
Polisen har kallats till en tomt i Åhus, Kristianstads kommun efter att en 42-årig man tänt sin kolgrill trots eldningsförbud. Till följd fick han dryga böter. Den 42-åriga mannen hävdade först att han varit sjuk och därför inte kände till eldningsförbudet. – När jag väl kände att jag var frisk och på benen skulle jag förbereda något trevligt till familjen och tänkte att grillning kunde vara en god idé. Men jag kom inte så långt, sa mannen till tidningen Metro. Mannen erkände dock senare sitt brott och får till följd böta hela 19 500 kronor. – Jag inser att det jag gjort är allvarligt, och nekar inte till att jag grillat. Filén låg ju där när polisen kom, så att säga. Men 19 500 kronor och fem år i belastningsregistret svider rätt hårt faktiskt, sa mannen. GOTLAND Gotlandspolisen fick nyligen larm om att någon hittat 80 kilo koppar intill ett dike i Stenkumla i Gotlands kommun. Polisen misstänker att det rör sig om stöld och har upprättat en anmälan. Polisen har dock ingen misstänkt. – Vi tror att gärningspersonen ska ha lämnat kopparn i diket för att plocka upp den igen vid ett senare tillfälle. Vi söker nu någon ägare som kan ha förlorat en stor mängd koppar nyligen, sa Roger Nyd, stationsbefäl för Gotlandspolisen. Kopparstavarna som hittats används ofta i större elkablar. Koppar kan enligt polisen ge bra betalt om man säljer det i större mängd. – Jag tror att man kan få omkring 40 till 50 kronor kilot ungefär. Det är ett ganska vanligt brott att man stjäl från olika strömkablar och annat, sa Roger Nyd. Polisen har bett vittnen och den potentiella ägaren av kopparn att höra av sig.
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Snorklaren Filip Lindquist, 47, hittade en chipspåse från 1986 när han var nere på havets botten i Staveström i Ljusterö i Stockholms län. Påsen som hittades på fem meters djup var i gott skick. – Den var ju nästan i nyskick. Det var konstigt. Det var som att den hade blivit konserverad på havets botten. Man fattar då att plast bryts ju inte ner överhuvudtaget i havets botten. Det kommer aldrig brytas ner. Allt som hamnar där stannar där, sa Filip Lindquist. Filip, som la ut en bild på chipspåsen på sociala medier, vill påminna andra om hur viktigt det är att inte skräpa ner i naturen. Inlägget har delats mer än 1600 gånger. – Det är ganska mycket delningar för en privatperson. Den engagerar nog ganska mycket. Inte nog med att man känner igen designen och så tänker man 86, det är jättelänge sedan, samtidigt som det pågår mycket diskussioner om plast, sa han. VÄSTERBOTTEN Den kommunala musikskolan i Dorotea, Västerbotten har räddats. Kommunen övervägde under en period att lägga ner skolan på grund av ett ekonomiskt underskott, men ett statsbidrag på 200 000 kronor gjorde det möjligt att hålla skolan kvar. – Det är hur kul som helst, underbart! Musikskolan är så viktig, särskilt i små kommuner som har ett mindre utbud än större städer, sa Nicke Grahn, vice ordförande i kultur- och utbildningsnämnden. Dorotea kommun hoppas kunna göra besparingar efter valet till kommunfullmäktige i höst och fortsätta driva musikskolan. NORRBOTTEN Katten Pelle från Luleå i Norrbotten tvingades nyligen lämna sitt hem på Ingridshems vård- och om-
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sorgsboende i Gammelstad på grund av att han blivit mer aggressiv. – Under senare tid har Pelle förändrats och börjat vakta på sitt revir, sa Ann-Christin Lahti, områdeschef inom äldreomsorgen. Pelle hamnade även i slagsmål med en hund för en tid sedan. – På grund av Pelles förändrade beteende, i kombination med hans höga ålder, såg vi ingen annan utväg än att tvingas ta bort honom. Som djurägare har man ett ansvar att inte skada människor och andra djur, sa AnnChristin Lahti. Pelle, som varit en del av äldreboendet i 15 år, skulle först avlivas, men skonades till slut. Räddningen blev föreningen Kattakuten. – Pelle hade fått en tid för avlivning i tisdags så då åkte vi och hämtade honom. Nu har han sitt stödboende hemma hos mig tills någon vill ta hand om honom, sa Camilla Zerpe Karlsson, ordförande i Kattakuten Norrbotten.
[Business] News From Trade War to Sanctions War Swedish Industry Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Swedish Pilots Take Strike Action
By Peter Berlin
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n May 2018, President Trump decided to pull the United States out of the landmark international agreement with Iran to lift trade sanctions in exchange for Iran curtailing its nuclear ambitions. New US sanctions took effect on August 7. The sanctions target a range of industries, notably Iran’s ability to buy commercial airplanes, vehicles and gold. It will be followed by a set of additional and even more stringent measures by 4 November, including an embargo on the import of Iranian oil and sanctions on its banking sector. “Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States,” President Trump tweeted. Despite EU’s resolve to continue honouring the original agreement, many European companies are already pulling out of Iran for fear of losing the much more important US market. One such company is Scania, the Swedish manufacturer of heavy goods vehicles whose annual exports of trucks and buses to Iran amounts to 5 percent of the company’s overall production. At stake is not only Scania’s presence in the US market, but also its ability to receive payment from Iran, given that most transactions are conducted in US dollars and therefore involve the US banking sector which will be prohibited from dealing with Iran. All the while, the EU is putting pressure on member state companies to continue trading with Iran as per the original nuclear deal. In some instances the EU is even willing to partially compensate companies for
Photo: Scania/Gustav Lindh
losses incurred due to the new situation. However, the procedure a company must go through to obtain compensation is complex, time-consuming and untested, so Scania and others are likely to cut their losses and sever their commercial ties with Iran. No Smoke Without Fire? Swedes are some of the world’s biggest users of snus (snuff ) and tuggtobak (chewing tobacco). The custom is so exceptional that when Sweden became a member of the EU in 1995, the Union exempted the country from the harmonized tax regime that is meant to apply to all forms of tobacco intended for smoking. Hence the Swedish government imposes stiff taxes on smoking tobacco but less so on snuff – usually a powder that is inhaled through the nose – and chewing tobacco which is… chewed. Ten years ago, the Swedish company Prillan Concept came up with the idea to market a form of low-tax do-it-yourself chewing tobacco made out of “raw” tobacco, a by-product of tobacco processing. But the plot thickens, because in June a Swedish court ruled that raw tobacco can also be smoked. and that Prillan’s product should be taxed accordingly. Prillan, which stands to be liable for back taxes amounting to SEK 100m ($ 11m), has lodged an appeal against the court’s verdict. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the company will almost certainly file for bankruptcy.
The Irish low-cost airline Ryanair, which dominates the European short- and medium-haul market, has long resisted entering into collective labour agreements with its pilots. As a consequence, the pilots are deprived of the pension, healthcare and time-off benefits that are otherwise the norm in the airline industry. On August 8, a bargaining negotiation was planned between Ryanair and a team representing 40 of its Swedish pilots, but when the airline found out that the pilots had invited a union representative to attend, the carrier abruptly cancelled the meeting. In response, the Swedish pilots planned a 24-hour strike on August 10. The strike action affected 22 flights to and from Skavsta Airport south of Stockholm. On the same day, Ryanair pilots in Ireland, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany took similar actions, and for similar reasons, leaving 30,000 passengers in limbo. Since last year there have been five one-day strikes across Europe against the airline. The carrier’s response has been to threaten the pilots with dismissal and to minimize service interruptions by filling the vacant cockpit seats with non-striking pilots. Despite these mitigating measures, many passengers have been left stranded due to last-minute flight cancellations. The unrest among its flight crews is beginning to damage the reputation of the airline which has always prided itself with being one of the most punctual in the world. However, threatening to harm the carrier’s reputation is a two-edged sword for the pilots, because if travellers begin to abandon it, the airline will have to reduce its operating costs, resulting in potential pilot redundancies.
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Company File
GreenStar Marine: Riding the Waves of Nature By Peter Berlin
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he din produced by a typical combustion engine obliterates the serenity associated with sailing. From slicing through the ocean waves, the boat has now been reduced to a toiling tub. If only there were a method to at least eliminate the annoying noise, smell and vibrations from the engine! Well, there is such a method, and it is a simple one: replace the combustion engine with an electric motor powered by batteries. But won’t the boat need an equally noisy and smelly gasoline-driven generator to keep the batteries charged? Not necessarily. As long as the boat is moving under wind power, the water flowing around the hull will turn the propeller and drive the motor – which doubles as a generator – to charge the batteries. When the batteries are fully charged, the propeller blades can be folded by remote control to reduce the drag. This modus operandi forms the basis of the electric propulsion systems developed for sailing yachts by the Swedish company
GreenStar Marine International AB (www.greenstarmarine.se). The company, with headquarters in Gothenburg, offers complete electric propulsion systems tested and dimensioned to deliver maximum power and run time.
GreenStar 10 is their smallest motor with power comparable to a 10 hp combustion engine. The motor is compact, easy to install and almost maintenance free. GreenStar 10 is best suited for boats weighing up to 3,500 kg. The system is delivered complete with motor, lever, chargers, battery monitor and shore power system. It features a plug-and-play connection for easy installation. The drive system is 24 Volts DC. Depending on the number of batteries used, the driving range can be adjusted. Using modern lithium batteries, the range can be increased up to 3 times compared to conventional lead batteries with comparable weight. GreenStar 36D is the most powerful among several available
3. SpeedShift central unit 2. SpeedShift ecoCharge
4. Battery Charger
5. Battery Monitor
1. SpeedShift speed control
6. Motor
7. Shore power system
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Swedish Press | September 2018 10
8. Batteries
How the GreenStar system works Photos © GreenStar Marine
alternatives. It combines the power of two large motors driving two propellers for added manoeuvrability and yields a total power output comparable to a 36 hp combustion engine. It is suitable for sailing yachts weighing up to 15 tons. The amount of power that can be generated to charge the batteries depends on the shape of the hull and how freely the propeller can work. Usually 10 minutes of motor drive can be generated in 45 minutes at a sailing speed of 5 knots. When sailing faster, more power will be generated, and vice versa. Some background information. In 2010 a group of Swedish engineers teamed up with an American entrepreneur. Together they created GreenStar Marine to exploit the possibilities offered by modern battery technologies. Their ambitions were helped by a growing awareness of the environment and energy consumption worldwide, which stimulated the demand for electric alternatives in marine propulsion. The company now has a group of experts based at the company’s headquarters in Gothenburg, specializing in marine hybrid and plug-in electric marine propulsion. Their main task for the past 10 years has been to successfully develop efficient and environmentally friendly solutions for marine propulsion.
H E RI TAG E
‘Voting was a luxury enjoyed solely by men...’ Voting Rights for Swedish Women By Sofie Kinnefors
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hen the parliamentary election takes place on Sunday, September 9, to allocate the seats in Sweden’s Parliament, Swedes – men, women, young, old, wealthy, poor – from all walks of life will be lining up outside of polling stations across the country to cast their vote. A matter of course that most Swedish citizens take for granted. On May 24, 1919 – ten years after the right to vote for a majority of the Swedish male population was established in 1909 – women’s right to vote in Sweden was finally ratified in Parliament. Women’s right to vote was introduced later in Sweden Signe Bergman, feminist than in our and chairperson for Landsföreningen för neighboring Kvinnans Politiska countries. Rösträtt between 1914 and 1917. Finland was the first country in Europe to introduce universal and equal voting rights for men and women in 1906. Norway followed suit in 1913, and Iceland and Denmark in 1915. Let’s rewind to the early 1900’s when voting was a luxury enjoyed solely by men at the top of society. Before 1919, the right to vote was essentially linked to how much tax you paid. Voting was enjoyed
Meeting poster from 1917.
only by well-off and privileged men in society who paid high taxes. Less fortunate men did not get to vote; nor did women. Even though the question of women’s right to vote was brought up in the Swedish Parliament numerous times, men’s right to vote was made a priority. Women and politics were seen as incompatible, and many people found that women fighting for their right to vote had crossed the line of what was considered appropriate for women. The issue of women’s right to vote was first raised in the Parliament in 1884, when Liberal parliamentarian Fredrik Borg motioned the issue, but he failed to get a majority. The interest in women’s right to vote grew stronger in the early 1900s. Women gathered momentum and started pushing the question further. In 1903 Landsföreningen för Kvinnans Politiska Rösträtt
(The National Association for Women’s Suffrage) was formed by a group of Social Democrat and Liberal women. Among its founders were Swedish school pioneer and women’s rights activist Anna Whitlock, Swedish historian and feminist Lydia Wahlström, and feminist and chairperson for Landsföreningen för Kvinnans Politiska Rösträtt between 1914 and 1917 Signe Bergman. The organization was open to female members only and at one point had 17,000 members. In 1913 Landsföreningen för Kvinnans Politiska Rösträtt managed to gather an impressive 351,454 signatures in a nationwide petition. The Social Democrats and Liberal Party gained a majority in the Swedish Parliament in 1920. The following year Sweden implemented its first democratic election that included men as well as women. The victory was consolidated when five strong and dedicated women – Kerstin Hesselgren, Bertha Wellin, Agda Östlund, Elisabeth Tamm, and Nelly Thüring – were elected to the Parliament. Landsföreningen för Kvinnans Politiska Rösträtt was dissolved in 1921 after having accomplished what they set out to do: giving every Swedish woman the right to make her voice heard.
Anna Whitlock (left) and Lydia Wahlström (right), two of the founders of The National Association for Women’s Suffrage.
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Swedish Press | September 2018 11
Sweden Races to Meet its Sustainability Deadline
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By Lara Andersson weden is racing to meet its deadline for reducing CO2 emission by 70 percent by 2030. Despite an already impressive standing in environmentally sustainable growth reports – currently, Sweden accounts for less than 0.2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions – Sweden’s determination has only intensified by seeking to be a role model in technology innovation and ethics. Transportation based on fossil fuel is one of the most pernicious culprits of climate change, so Sweden is adopting new measures to electrify mobility. The Swedish government has long deterred its citizens from excessive energy consumption by enacting a “polluter pays” principle. Already in the 1920s, there was a tax placed on energy sources, and in 1991 an additional tax was introduced on carbon emissions. In July of this year, Sweden altered its car policies, levying a heavier tax on standard gasoline and diesel vehicles while offering bonuses to electric vehicle users. Cars boasting zero emissions have the opportunity to receive bonuses of up to 60,000 kronor (approximately 6,700 dollars), and cars running on bio-gas can claim up to 10,000 kronor (1,100 dollars) in bonus. These bonuses certainly incentivize buyers to seek out more environmentally friendly
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Swedish Press | September 2018 12
automobiles, though it is worth noting that the bonus may not exceed 25 percent of the car’s new price. In addition to enticing buyers to go electric when choosing their automobiles, the Swedish government is also offering benefits for those who choose alternative forms of electric transportation. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has introduced a grant for buyers of electric bikes, motorcycles, mopeds and certain vehicles that assist people with physical handicaps. For 2018, 386 million kronor have been set aside for people who apply. Anyone is eligible as long as they are a resident of Sweden and can provide a copy of their receipt within six months of purchase. As of now, the limit is one allowance per individual. Not only is the government impacting the car industry by implementing the Polestar 1. Photo © Polestar aforementioned strategies, but Swedish manufacturers are seeking to push technologies in the automobile sector in their own right to create the most advanced electric vehicles. Volvo, for example, is developing Polestar 1. The Polestar 1 is labeled by company boss Thomas Ingenlath as “an electric car with support from an internal-combustion engine.” It will be the only hybrid to carry the brand’s new badge, as Volvo is committed to developing the subsequent Polestars as fully battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs), beginning with a Tesla Model 3 rival and a larger SUVstyle machine. At the present time, the first model will cost 155,000 dollars, which prevents it from becoming readily available to the majority of consumers. However, the end goal is to make the Polestar models more affordable so that they may be widely marketed and achieve a greater environmental impact. While many manufacturers are recrafting their automobiles, others are focusing
on creating smart, efficient methods for keeping electric vehicles charged. The world’s first electric road system was inaugurated just outside of Gävle, Sweden in 2016. The two-kilometer strip on the E16 motorway was able to charge Swedish Uniti One. Photo © Uniti company Scania’s electric trucks using conductive overhead cables developed by Siemens. This milestone was the result of many years of teamwork between the Swedish government and the private sector, which includes Scania . Since then, electronically charged roads have evolved into more versatile solutions which no longer utilize overhead cables but instead charge vehicles using a method resembling a slot-car track. These vehicles employ a small, moveable arm that extends from the undercarriage and connects to an electric rail which is embedded in the road surface. The arm has a flexible design that allows the car or truck the freedom to move laterally along the road (e.g. for overtaking) without becoming disconnected. eRoadArlanda, the world’s first electrified public road, opened in April of 2018. Hans Säll, chairman of eRoadArlanda, explains that “for a heavy truck to be 100 percent electric, it would need a battery that weighs 40 tonnes. But if technology like the eRoad is readily available, the truck’s battery could weigh as little as 600 kilograms.” This would be a significant step towards requiring less material and less energy to power large trucks. While eRoadArlanda is designed with the capacity to power heavier vehicles like trucks, it is also able to feed power to smaller cars and buses. The Sweden Road and Transport Agency has lofty goals for the expansion of electric roads. Within the next two to three years, the Agency plans to initiate the implementation of eRoads via a pilot project utilizing between
20 and 30 km of eRoad. They will closely monitor the performance of the eRoad during the trial period so that they know how to optimize performance when the technology goes mainstream all over the country. From individuals to larger companies, Swedes are committed to a greener future. New educational programs are emerging left and right with sustainability in focus. Chalmers University has a micromasters program in electronic and autonomous vehicles, while institutes like RISE (Research Institute of Sweden) are widening their course offerings as a partner for sustainable digitalization in industry and society. This all comes just as Swedish lawmakers voted (with a majority vote of 254 to 41) to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. This is even more ambitious than Photo © eRoadArlanda the 2015 Paris agreement in which the country pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050. On the whole, Swedes are a good test market for new, sustainable products as they are early adopters of, and exceptionally receptive to, cutting edge technologies. They also possess high environmental awareness. Moreover, electricity prices are lower in Sweden than in many other European countries, making electric vehicles a financially sound option. These facts, coupled with the Swedish government’s commitment to an entirely fossil-fuel free fleet by 2030, mean that Sweden will be a country to watch to see how to radically transform a society and its infrastructure for the better. Illustration by Matt McKey.
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Swedish Press | September 2018 13
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SAS och flygbranschens “Survival of the Fittest”
Swedish Press fick tillfälle att intervjua Max Knagge som tjänstgjort på SAS i 14 år, och som flyttade till USA med sin familj i januari 2015 för att påbörja sin nya tjänst som General Manager for the Americas. Här nedan berättar han om sitt arbete och om flygbolagets många utmaningar förr och nu i den benhårda konkurrensen som kännetecknar flygbranschen.
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Swedish Press | September 2018 14
M E D
Berätta om din uppväxt och hur du upptäckte ditt intresse för en karriär inom flygbranschen. Jag växte upp på Ekerö utanför Stockholm. Som så många andra, gillar jag att resa. Dels har jag rest omkring en del med familjen och dels även bott utomlands, bl.a. i Italien under ett år. Jag tycker om att se och uppleva nya saker och träffa nya människor. SAS var nog mest en slump. Jag studerade till ingenjör på KTH, gick på maskinteknisk linje med inriktning på industriell ekonomi och organisation. När jag sedan skulle göra mitt examensarbete så hamnade jag på SAS, vilket slutade med att jag fick anställning där. Jag började inom den tekniska delen av verksamheten, nämligen logistik, men gick ganska snart över på det mer kommersiella området med vikten på passagerare. Där jobbade jag under årens lopp med olika funktioner kopplade till SAS’ passagerarverksamhet. Det är alltid spännande, det står aldrig still, konkurrensen är benhård, så vi tvingas ändra kundreferensen hela tiden. Hur bidrar SAS till att minska flygets klimatpåverkan? Jag vill understryka att sustainability är ett ämne som står högt på vår dagordning. Flygets klimatpåverkan är en viktig angelägenhet för oss. Först kan jag nämna den stora investeringen vi gjort i nya bränslesnåla flygplan, nämligen
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Airbus A330 Enhanced (fr.o.m. 2015), Airbus A320neo (fr.o.m. 2016), och Airbus A350 (fr.o.m. 2019). Dessa möjliggör att utsläppen reduceras drastiskt. Sedan 2005 har vi lyckats minska utsläppet av koldioxid med totalt 14 procent, trots att passagerarantalet ökat. På längre sikt delar vi målsättningen inom IATA [International Air Transport Association] att kunna flyga helt utan utsläpp av växthusgaser år 2050. Vidare har SAS och bränsletillverkaren Preem tecknat en avsiktsförklaring om att framställa förnybart flygbränsle. SAS har som ambition att ersätta dagens bränslevolym för inrikesflyget med biobränsle till år 2030. Utbudet av biobränsle för flyg är väldigt lågt just nu, och det handlar om at utveckla den tekniken. Vi har köpt upp allt biobränsle som det går att få tag på i vår region i norra Europa. Samtidigt verkar vi för att produktionen ska intensifieras och kostnaden bli mer rimlig, så att vi kan öka andelen biobränsle när vi tankar våra flygplan. Vi var också först i världen med vad som kallas ”gröna inflygningar” där man optimerar inflygningsbanan med hänsyn till vindriktning med mera. Därmed drar planen mindre bränsle och minskar utsläppen. Slutligen vill jag nämna ett unikt initiativ hos SAS, nämligen att vi “CO2-kompenserar” resenärer i åldern 12 – 26 år som flyger på ungdomsbiljett. Kompenseringen sker genom att SAS gör en motsvarande
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frivillig investering i förnybara drivmedel. Vad gör ni på SAS för att stimulera intresset bland nordamerikaner att besöka Skandinavien? I Skandinavien känner naturligtvis alla till SAS, vare sig man har en positiv eller negativ uppfattning. På den amerikanska marknaden med över 300 miljoner invånare är SAS inte ett lika välkänt varumärke. Detta försöker vi sprida via media, press och PR. På det digitala området handlar det om sociala medier, där vi eftersträvar att nå relevanta kunder med relevant budskap och relevant erbjudande. Sedan arbetar vi mycket med resebyråer, agenter och turistråden, t.ex. Visit Sweden, med vilka vi har många gemensamma aktiviteter och initiativ för att på så vis öka intresset hos allmänheten för att resa till Skandinavien. Om man tittar på utvecklingen idag, så ser man att betydligt fler amerikaner reser till Skandinavien än för 3 – 5 – 10 år sedan. Så det finns ett stadigt ökande intresse för Skandinavien som destination, varvid vi naturligtvis påpekar möjligheterna att åka dit med SAS och dra fördel av våra olika erbjudanden. Miami blir en utvidgad destination för SAS i höst. Vilka andra destinationer i Nordamerika har tillkommit på sistone? För ungefär två år sedan gjorde vi en väldig expansion inom USA, då öppnade vi tre nya destinationer, nämligen Los Angeles, Boston och Miami, detta inom loppet av ungefär sex månader. Därigenom satte vi in cirka 25 procent mer kapacitet i
SAS Sustainability Report 2016/2017 © SAS AB
USA, och detta på kortare tid än vi gjort någonsin under vår 70-åriga historia. Vi öppnade Miami som destination för en tid sedan med förbindelser till Köpenhamn och Oslo. Senare lade vi till Stockholm nu i vintras. Vad vi gör nu i september är att fördubbla antalet flygningar mellan Miami och Stockholm. Hur når ni nya kunder – är det mycket skandinaver, eller är resenärer inte längre lojala mot sina ”national carriers”? Vi etablerade en strategi för ett antal år sedan som definierade en tydlig målgrupp. Tittar man på resandet i Skandinavien så kan man tydligt se att 70 procent av resenärerna flyger fem gånger eller mer om året, motsvarande 1.2 miljoner individer. Det är en väldigt tydlig målgrupp för oss, så vi har valt att fokusera på de frekventa resenärerna, oavsett om de reser i affärer eller privat. När de flyger, ska det alltså finnas en relevans att välja SAS och därmed skapa lojaliteten. Eurobonus är en komponent i detta som vi fortsätter att vidareutveckla. Mycket av
tjänsterna och produkterna som vi utvecklar är avsedda att beakta just behovet hos den här målgruppen. En sådan komponent är punktligheten som är mycket viktig – time matters! Vad vi hela tiden strävar efter när vi utvecklar tjänsteprodukter är att göra den primära målgruppens resande och faktiskt deras liv enklare. Det finna olika typer av lösningar, alltifrån fast track på våra flygplatser till att göra väntetiden mera rimlig. Nästa steg är att utveckla tillgången till WiFi ombord, där vi har en av de absolut snabbaste WifFi-lösningarna på våra kortdistansflygningar, så att man kommer att kunna surfa och streama ungefär som man gör hemma. Detta är ett sätt att adressera den här tydliga målgruppen. Det betyder inte att man är irrelevant om man bara flyger en gång om året, utan givetvis vill vi att man även då ska välja SAS utifrån de värden vi levererar. Om man har möjlighet att välja ett flygbolag som ger det man eftertraktar när det gäller pris, produkter och klimatomsorg, så skapar det en naturlig lojalitet. Intervjuad av Peter Berlin
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Swedish Press | September 2018 15
‘I knew so much that...’
Global S
Olof Lundberg, former Director General of the International Maritime Satellite Organization
Olof Lundberg is the ultimate Swedish expat, having spent nearly half his life abroad while leading major international space organisations. For all his intimate knowledge of the space business, he takes a longer view on life by declaring that “space technology is only a tool for the survival of our civilisation. The most important thing is knowledge, information and communication. By communicating and working together, we must strive for win-win solutions rather than win-lose alternatives.” Interviewed by Peter Berlin
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Swedish Press | September 2018 16
Tell me about your background and how you became the Director General of the International Maritime Satellite Organization (Inmarsat) in London. I grew up during WWII in Gothenburg, an international sea port. As kids, we played at the port and saw the world in the guise of seamen who came and went. That is how I developed an interest in the outside world, and indeed in the maritime world. I also had a relative who gave me scrap electrical components – an old telephone bell, a microphone, wires, batteries and stuff for me to play with. An important milestone in my life was an evening in November 1954 when I was 10. There was a violent storm brewing. I was listening to the radio traffic on medium wave when a small fishing boat in the archipelago of Gothenburg was reported lost in the storm. I was struck by how poor and miserable the communication was – how they had to constantly repeat themselves in order to be understood. Later in the 1950s you could listen to radio transmissions from the BBC, Voice of America, Radio Cairo, Radio Israel, Radio Moscow. This allowed you to get different perspectives on world events. I learned to appreciate the power of information. Then there was the launch of Sputnik in October 1957. I listened to the beep-beep-beep
from Sputnik with my homebuilt radio receiver, and it set my fantasy in motion. So all of that is what kindled my interest in electronics, communications, maritime safety, and space. After finishing school I worked as an apprentice for Swedish Telecom in Gothenburg – a wonderful occupation for a radio nerd like me. We did broadcasting, radio links, aeronautical and maritime communications. That experience got me involved in the preparatory work that led to the creation of Inmarsat. Gone were the days of the Titanic when radio communications were conducted using Morse code, and when ships as well as aircraft disappeared without a trace. Thanks to satellites there can be an immediate call for help or alert whenever anything goes wrong anywhere and at any time of the day, thereby dramatically improving maritime and aeronautical safety. Inmarsat was established in 1979 – 1980 in London, England. As it happened, I was drafted into the job of leading Inmarsat, a remarkable opportunity for a 35-year-old engineer without long senior management experience. What services does Inmarsat provide, and how do they contribute to sustainable transportation at sea, in the air and on the ground?
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Putting Sweden on the Map Abroad
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‘.... I realized how little I actually knew.’
New technologies allowed satellite radio terminals using small antennas to be mounted on mobiles at sea, in the air and on land. Today we can even communicate via satellite with handheld telephones. From the point of view of sustainable transportation, operators of ships and aircraft use mobile satellite communications to optimize their routes with respect to adjacent traffic and weather conditions, and with an attendant saving in fuel consumption. How would you characterize your management style? I was probably a stereotypical Swedish leader – fairly democratic, with no need to prove that I was the smartest. One of my strengths was that I knew so much that I realized how little I actually knew. This allowed me to recruit very strong and competent people who knew much more than I did in many fields. The Swedish stereotype that I represent is rather different from the American stereotype where the boss is assumed to know all the
answers. I really believed in letting people take an idea and run with it, as long as they were running in the right direction. After you left Inmarsat, you were hired by the American mobile satellite communications company Globalstar as their CEO, with a mandate to take the company out of bankruptcy. What was that experience like? Several space ventures were in trouble in the late 1990s because what had been bountiful investment sources dried up. One of those companies was Globalstar, based in San Jose, CA. I was asked to come over and help them, because it was more or less clear that they would have to go through restructuring. I hesitated a bit, but I love California, and I thought the invite provided a serious challenge. So I worked in San Jose a couple of years. We were struggling hard to save the company, trying to keep all the good people in difficult times. It still exists today. How does space technology in general contribute to the monitoring and control of climate change? Today, very few people question the fact that we are experiencing climate change with global warming as a result. The question is, what are the causes? How much is natural and cyclic, and therefore inevitable, and how much is man-made? We don’t yet understand all the mechanisms. We have an acute need for more science and more knowledge in order to take effective measures
against the current trend. This is where space technology enters the picture. Has your Swedish nationality been an asset in advancing your distinguished career on the international stage? When you come from a small country – it doesn’t have to be Sweden – you set out with an à priori knowledge that you are not going to control the world. You have to find solutions, negotiate, and get people to follow you based on the power of your arguments. Your starting point is that you have to work with people through persuasion rather than banging your fist on the table. You also have to make the effort to learn foreign languages and understand other cultures and markets. Are you retired now or busier than ever? Yes and yes. I have a fairly big family with kids and grandkids and lots of friends around the world. When you work in the environment that I was in, you do it to some degree at the cost of your family life. You have to travel and work long hours. I made a choice, and my family agreed with it, and now finally I can compensate a bit for my long absences. On top of that I have many hobbies, too many in fact. My main hobbies are ham radio, computer software architecture, travelling, reading, history… you name it. Unfortunately, life is just too short!
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Swedish Press | September 2018 17
[Lifestyle]
Top Sju
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Breads, fruits and berries, honey, cabbage and potatoes: Sweden has a rich food tradition which you now can take part in through a digital knowledge bank about traditional food culture in Sweden. Matkult.se, established by “Institutet för språk och folkminnen” with support from The Swedish Board of Agriculture (Jordbruksverket,) contains over 800 older recipes, as well as lots of information about Swedish food traditions through the ages. How about trying potatispalt (potato dumplings) from Norrbotten, nävgröt (porridge) from Värmland or ostkaka (cheesecake) from Småland.
Calling all adventurous women! Sweden’s biggest event for girls only, Tjejmilen, takes place in Stockholm on September 1 for the 35th consecutive year. The 10 km run starts at Filmhuset on Gärdet and follows a mainly flat and easily run route along the waterfront through Djurgården and back to Gärdet. Those participating in Tjejmilen can choose to run, jog or simply walk. There are 12 different groups to choose from depending on which speed you are planning to maintain during the race. One of the groups includes those with walking sticks and strollers who simply want to enjoy nature.
14 Unga Astrid – the new movie about Sweden’s favorite children’s author Astrid Lindgren – hits theaters in Sweden on September 14. Swedish/ Danish actress Alba August portrays a strong, funny, quick-witted and caring Astrid Lindgren in 1920s Småland. We follow the beloved author at home eagerly telling stories to her mesmerized siblings, as well as at work writing for
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Swedish Press | September 2018 18
the Vimmerby Tidning. Astrid shows great promise as a writer, which impresses the magazine’s editor-inchief Reinhold Blomberg (Harald Rafaelsen). The movie also features actors Magnus Krepper, Maria Bonnevie, Trine Dyrholm and Björn Gustafsson.
50 Not so sorry! According to a survey with 1000 participating Swedes conducted by Swedish TV channel TV4 and polling firm Consumer Intelligence (Cint), 50 percent of Swedes find it difficult to offer an apology to someone. The survey also showed that six out of ten Swedes maintain that there is someone who should apologize to them. Four out of ten Swedes added that there is someone they should ask for forgiveness, most often to a family member or a friend.
500 Genders & Greens! A survey conducted by Sifo on behalf of Viktväktarna (Weight Watchers) showed that only every other Swede eats fruit and vegetables every day. Women consumed the most fruits and vegetables, whereas young people and men consumed the least. 57% of the women ate fruits and vegetables every day against 37% of the men. Livmedelsverket (The Food Administration) recommends 500 grams of fruit and vegetables per day.
2 Enjoy guided tours, exhibitions, historical vehicles, carriage parades, majestic horses, a café and a small shop in the courtyard on Hovstallets dag at Väpnargatan 1 on Östermalm, Stockholm on September 2. The Royal Stables were originally established in the 1500s and today hold the horses, carriages and cars which are used by the Swedish Royal Family during state and/or special occasions and events. For more information, see www. kungligaslotten.se.
2 900 000 Naturvårdsverket (The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency) has awarded 13 organizations a total of 2.9 million SEK this year for their efforts in spreading knowledge about allemansrätten (the right to common passage, or literally “everyman’s right”). Billdals ridklubb, Cykelfrämjandet, Friluftsfrämjandet Region Öst, Naturskyddsföreningen, Svenska orienteringsförbundet, Sportfiskarna and Svenska turistföreningen were each awarded between 300,000 and 400,000 SEK.
[Lifestyle] Fashion Gudrun Sjödén – A Colourful Universe
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Colourful Universe celebrates Gudrun Sjödén, the renowned Swedish textile designer and global entrepreneurial force, in a visually striking new exhibition at the American Swedish Institute (ASI), on view until October 28, 2018. The installation examines her illustrious career through original water colours, materials from the artist’s archives and catalogues, displays of her textiles and boldly feminine apparel collections, and a pop-up shop of her clothing. Gudrun was born in Östhammar and grew up on a farm estate where her family relied on hard work, innovation and creativity. At an early age, she attended Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm, where she parlayed her experience into a job with designer Ivar Wahland, working as a fashion journalist. She is the Chief Designer and CEO of Gudrun Sjödén Group AB, a global, femalerun company established in Sweden in 1976. The enterprise now has customers in more than 70 countries who buy clothing and home textiles online, from catalogues and in stores in markets including Germany, Scandinavia, the U.S., and the U.K. Gudrun’s vibrant and femalefocused designs are inspired by nature and Swedish folk and global motifs. “Where do I get all my ideas and inspiration? Where does the creativity flow from? For me, it is, in a way, a constant stream of creativity
Photos © Gudrun Sjöden
stemming from nature, colour, the way people communicate and live their lives, historical tradition and development, and different countries and cultures… my brain just absorbs and takes everything in, files it away in little compartments, spins it around and sorts things out subconsciously. Then it’s time to sit down and create a new collection,” says Gudrun on her website. Among her many honors, Gudrun received a 2007 Litteris et Artibus Medal from the King of Sweden and
the 2018 “Best International Growth” award from EY/Entrepreneur of the Year. “I am a watercolour artist and entrepreneur,” she writes, “whose business idea is to make colourful clothes and home textiles in natural materials with an emphasis on Scandinavian design. The fashion is designed to be functional and versatile so it can be mixed and matched in both the short and long term in looks to suit women of all ages, shapes and sizes.” Gudrun Sjödén – A Colourful Universe is a first-time collaboration between ASI and Gudrun Sjödén Design, and co-curated with acclaimed Gudrun designer Wanja Djanaieff. It continues the ASI’s 2018 year of The Handmade, focusing on master makers, their work and the global movements they have inspired, opening a window to Sweden’s intimate connection to the handmade form and its international impact. The American Swedish Institute and its historic Turnblad Mansion are located at 2600 Park Avenue, Minneapolis. For more details, visit ASImn.org or call 612-871-4907.
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Swedish Press | September 2018 19
[Lifestyle] Summer
Photo © Johan Willner/imagebank.sweden.se
Sailing in the summer. Photo © Simon Paulin/imagebank.sweden.se
Photos: (above) © Sophie McAulay, (below) © Ying Feng Johansson
Photo © Ekaterina Smirnova
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Swedish Press | September 2018 20
Summer salad. Photo © Gwen Faure
[Lifestyle] Collage
Crayfish Party. Photo © Carolina Romare/imagebank.sweden.se
Photos: (above) ©Alisha Fredriksson, (below) West coast © Pixphoto
Photo: (above) © Johan Willner, (below) Car parade © Rolf Svedjeholm
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Swedish Press | September 2018 21
Hemma hos
Sweden Introduces the First Generation of Smart Electric Cars
[Design]
By Kristi Robinson
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he car is 100 percent electric, operates with the intuitiveness of a smartphone, has built in safety sensors and onboard software that helps to avoid a crash before it happens. It comes with a modest price tag of between 15,000 and 20,000 euros ($17,000 – $23,000). Now, three years since its inception as a research project at Lund University, Uniti has announced that their electric model ‘Uniti One’ will hit the road in 2019. The visionary behind the Uniti One is founder and CEO Lewis Horne. The people at Uniti felt that they didn’t need to design the best car in the world; they needed to design the best car for the world, so that was the starting point. Instead of making just another version of a typical electric vehicle (EV), Uniti’s approach was to reinvent it to be more in tune with the needs of society, by making it sustainable and by creating a vehicle that made for a great user experience.
Uniti One is driven with a combination of touchpad and joystick controls
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Swedish Press | September 2018 22
Incorporating new and emerging technologies in its design, Uniti might very well relegate the steering wheel to a bygone era of classic gasoline and diesel-powered cars. The streamlined dashboard has both a touchpad interface and joystick controls. The car comes in a two- or four-seater version. Mainly designed for city driving, the car can reach a top speed of 130 km/h (80 mph), so it is also suitable for highway driving. The vehicle has a range of 300 km (185 miles) using a Li-Ion battery. It takes between 30 minutes and 6 hours to charge the battery depending on the type of charger. There is also a solar panel on the roof for an extra boost of trickle charge that tops up the battery as it is being used. Uniti One can be operated by voice control and is connected to cloud-based services like Google Maps and Spotify. In parallel the manufacturers are developing new apps and services to improve the driving experience. The car will continue to evolve as new technologies become available, such a digital windscreen displays and wireless charging. The company found in their research that electric cars, despite their reduced exhaust emissions, aren’t much more sustainable when
considering their complete lifecycle. Uniti wanted to change this and build their cars with a combination of organic composites and recyclable carbon fiber – an extremely lightweight yet strong material. As a result, the car weights just 450 kg (992 lbs). Uniti is also striving to completely reinvent how cars are produced, so as to reduce the environmental impact. Instead of workers on the frontline in a factory, the company is working with Siemens Nordic to have the cars built by engineers who design the software to make production scaled down and fully automated. With these measures Uniti claims that the lifecycle carbon emissions of their car average about 88% less than gasoline-powered cars, and 75% less than a typical EV.
Sleek interior of the Uniti One.
There is no doubt that electric cars are the way of the future, and it is exciting that the Uniti has amped up the EV to a level of sustainability and technology we haven’t seen before. If Swedish drivers need any more incentive to own a Uniti One, consumers who purchase their electricity through EON will get a discount on their electricity bill that covers the cost of energy used to run their Uniti One for five years. All Photos © Uniti
Hemma hos
A Journey of a Thousand Miles... By Ulrika Pettersson
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emories of baking cookies with my sweet grandmother Rut inspired me to start Unna Bakery. I fondly remember riding on the back of her bicycle to share our cookies with friends in Östersund where I grew up. Fika is a cherished tradition in my family, and the best ones start with cinnamon buns and Coconut Oat and Vanilla Dream cookies, and finish with cake. Baking makes me feel at home, wherever I am, and it sparks my creativity. Early in my career, I was a photographer’s assistant and studied graphic design, which led to work in Hamburg and in Stockholm with POC, the sports gear company. I enjoyed this work, but after 15 years I was ready to try something new. My husband and I moved to New York City, where I started Unna Bakery in 2015. Before Unna I had never even been to a bakery! Hot Bread Kitchen, a culinary incubator and shared commercial kitchen space in Harlem, made my dream possible. I couldn’t have done it without them. Grandma Rut’s treasured recipes are at the heart of our all-natural creations, and I personally design the packaging. There’s truth to the Swedish proverb, En vandring på tusen mil börjar alltid med ett steg. (A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.) My parents taught me to never give up, and it’s been wonderful to start my own business and watch it
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à l’Ulrika
grow. Unna Bakery cookies are available in 200 shops across the U.S., and we hope to expand internationally. This summer we began baking our seventh cookie flavor, Lemon Lime, which is a friendly nod to the tradition of serving seven different cookies at kafferep, the precursor to fika. I enjoy baking with my daughters Emmy and Vera. We keep our
heritage alive by speaking and reading in Swedish, enjoying fika, celebrating Midsummer in Battery Park, and Skype-ing with family back home. We love to return to Sweden each year, and I always take along Unna Bakery cookies. As Grandma Rut would say, “Everyone deserves a treat… Unna!” (Indulge!)
Brown Butter Cookies Ingredients: • 150 g (2/3 cup) butter, room temperature • 50 g (1/4 cup) browned butter • 180 g (3/4 cup) sugar • 300 g (2½ cups) flour • 1 tbsp syrup • 1 tsp bicarbonate • 1 tbsp water • 53 g (1/2 cup) almonds • 3 g (2/3 tsp) white vinegar
Preparation – Bondkakor: Brown ¼ cup of butter. Whisk all the time until the butter turns golden brown. Cool down in a bowl immediately. Mix room temp butter with flour, sugar, syrup and bicarbonate mixed with water, vinegar, and chopped almonds. Add the browned butter. Mix quickly to a dough. Make 4 rolls 1½” in diameter. Wrap in cling film and put in freezer until frozen. Cut in 1/8” slices and bake them at 200 deg C (400 deg F) for 5-7 min or until golden. They burn easily so keep an eye on them. Makes approximately 70 cookies.
Ginger Snaps Ingredients: • 125 g (1¼ cup) almonds • 200 g (1 cup) butter • 180 g (3/4 cup) sugar • 140 g (7 tbsp) Lyle’s Golden Syrup or from Dan Sukker if you can find it • 8 g (3 tsp) ginger • 8 g (3 tsp) cinnamon • 6 g (2 tsp) cloves • 5 g (2 tsp) bicarbonate • 360 g (3¼ cups) all purpose flour
Preparation – Franska Skurna Pepparkakor: Chop the almonds coarsely. Blend together butter, sugar, syrup, spices, bicarbonate, almonds and flour. Mix quickly to a dough. Split in 2 and shape thick rolls. Wrap the rolls in cling film and put them in the freezer until frozen. Cut the rolls in thin slices and put on trays with either parchment paper or butter. Bake them at 200 deg C (400 deg F) for 10 min or until golden. Makes approximately 75 cookies.
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Swedish Press Connects
Swedish Council of America
Nobel Serendipity By Gregg White, Executive Director
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t was serendipity. There is no other way to describe it,” says Jeff Shotts, Executive Editor of Graywolf Press. He is talking about the day in the spring of 1964 when Robert Bly – the Minnesota-born poet, translator and magazine editor – learned that the latest book by the young Swedish poet, Tomas Tranströmer had been acquired by the Scandinavian section of the University of Minnesota library. Bly immediately drove the 160 miles from his farm in western Minnesota to check the book out and see what the sensation was all about. Tranströmer’s poetry would exceed his expectations. But what Bly had not counted on was that while he was in Minneapolis, a Tomas Tranströmer and Robert Bly letter from Tranströmer himself would appear in Bly’s mailbox. The Swede had heard of Bly’s literary magazine, The Sixties, and had written to see if he could get a copy for himself. Thus began a lifelong friendship that included each translating the other’s works into their native tongues. Fast-forward to 2001. Graywolf Press, a publisher dedicated to the creation and promotion of thoughtful and imaginative literature, sets off on a new project. They recognize Tranströmer’s talent but lament the fact that his writings are no longer readily available to American readers. In her grant proposal to Swedish Council of America, Fiona McCrea, Director of Graywolf writes, “as one of Sweden’s foremost literary figures, as well as an internationally renowned poet, Tranströmer’s work clearly deserves re-publication in the United States. Therefore, we intend to publish The Half-Finished Heaven as translated by Robert Bly. A grant from Swedish Council of America will help offset the production costs of publishing this edition and
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will allow us to market the book… in order to reach as wide an audience as possible.” The serendipity continued. The SCA Grants Committee must have been truly impressed by the samples of Bly’s translations included in the grant application as they recommended a grant of $5,000, the maximum amount for an SCA Grant. This covered about a third of the total production cost of publishing the first edition of the book. The value of this investment in Swedishness was confirmed when the Nobel Prize in Literature 2011 was awarded to Tomas Tranströmer “because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality”. With the help of grants from Target, Wells Fargo, and others, the second edition of The Half-Finished Heaven was printed in 2017 and is now available at your favorite bookstore. Read and enjoy!
d The Tree and the Sky The tree is walking around in the rain moving past us in the squishy gray. It has a job to do. It picks life out of the rain like a blackbird in the cherry orchard. As soon as the rain stops, the tree stops too. It simply stands, motionless in the clear nights, waiting just as we do for that moment when snowflakes will throw themselves out in space. ©2001, 2017 Used with permission SCA is Swedish America’s community foundation. Our mission is to promote knowledge and appreciation of Swedish heritage and culture in North American life and to strengthen contemporary cultural and educational ties between North America and Sweden. We achieve this by providing grants to organizations, scholarships to youth, recognition to leaders and communications to the community – all focused on furthering our mission. www.swedishcouncil.org
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Swedish Press Connects
The Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce, New York
Gateway – A Platform for Business Innovation in New York New York City is one of the toughest, but also most rewarding markets in the world. Winners win big – and in this high-risk, high-reward environment the spark of an idea can set off full-blown fireworks at breakneck speed. And, most importantly, it then spreads unfettered into the biggest market in the world: the U.S.A.
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wedes have not only dreamed about venturing across the Atlantic for centuries but have also done so with much success. Taking the leap to the East Coast of the U.S., particularly New York, makes the U.S the breeding ground of choice for the next Swedish unicorn, similar to some recent predecessors: Skype, Spotify, iZettle and King. Every year, a significant number of companies register new subsidiaries in New York City. With a market size 36 times larger than the Swedish market based on GDP, it’s no wonder many companies seek their next success in this vibrant metropolis. New York is also quickly catching up and is now outpacing others as a premier global Tech-Hub. Although Swedish companies have consistently been successful in the U.S., a high level of uncertainty often exists on how to adapt to the American business climate, or how to find the right contacts across the Atlantic. In this all-ornothing environment, you’d better have a winning strategy! This is where SACCNY comes in. Dedicated to promoting and supporting Swedish success stories in the U.S., we have spent the past 112 years providing entrepreneurs with the right contacts and know-how for
doing business in the U.S. With the recent rise in the number of Swedish companies heading to the U.S., we have launched a new initiative called Gateway, efficiently eliminating the friction and giving an “unfair advantage” when establishing a presence in the U.S. Gateway is a home for innovation – a unique professional platform where promising Swedish and American scaleups and global corporations can meet, grow and exchange know-how in the beating heart of Midtown Manhattan. SACCNY is now taking the next 21st century step toward securing the future of the Swedish startup scene. In collaboration with American know-how partners, the Stockholm-based digital innovation house Epicenter and several high-performance consultants, Gateway will host a range of A-level innovation labs and hackathons – making sure you will be on top of your game. In addition to state-ofthe-art office, conference and event facilities, Gateway will offer a range of business services specifically designed to your company’s needs and create the best conditions for success. The Gateway community is characterized by curiosity and desire to share know-how, experience and connecting with others – all with an eye towards shaping a blossoming ecosystem for businesses to thrive in New York City. Our mission is to support your organization’s vision and goals for the U.S. market, and turn it into reality! Join the Gateway community – a place for innovation and business. To learn more about Gateway, contact gateway@ saccny.org, or visit our website: www.saccny.org/gateway Psst! Sign up for membership before September 1, 2018 to benefit from our special early bird offer. About SACCNY: The Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce, New York (SACCNY) works to promote, advance and protect commercial and professional relations between Sweden and the United States while acting as an important support agent for Swedish businesses internationalizing into the U.S. market.
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Road to 2045
Road to 2045
Car-Sharing: The Reform that is Waiting to Take Off in Sweden By Mattias Goldmann, 2030-secretariat In Sweden, the sharing and circular economy is all the rage, with carsharing often seen as the pinnacle. At the same time, two international car-sharing companies have recently folded in Sweden. We look at a reform waiting to happen.
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arly this year, the 2030secretariat could show that car-sharing has passed a milestone. More than one percent of Sweden’s adult population are now car-sharing members. At the same time, traditional car rental companies are transforming themselves to become mobility service providers – all important contributions to reduce the total number of vehicles. The 2030-partner Move About with 100% electric cars in their fleet is growing rapidly, including the world’s first Tesla car pool. Another 2030partner, Europcar, is using Sweden as a testing ground for new sustainable innovations such as sub-renting. If a car is rented for the week and the customer doesn’t need it on Tuesday, he or she can take part in a sub-rental scheme and thus reduce the cost of rental. Even the very symbol of Swedishness, Volvo, is launching a business model where customers choose to what level they want to have the exclusive right to their car versus sharing it with others. This development has not been a one-way street. DriveNow, one of the world’s largest car-sharing companies, is leaving Sweden, following behind the competitor Car2Go. Both of them are expanding rapidly in other countries.
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What went wrong, and what can other countries, cities, companies and consumers learn from it? Firstly, a change needs to be stimulated. In Sweden, travelers on public transport pay 6 per cent VAT. This includes renting a limousine, hiring a helicopter, taking a cab, even using a ski lift – but not sharing a car. Here, the 25% VAT rate applies, causing an uphill battle for a car-sharing company to make a business case for itself. In many large cities around the world, car-sharing is exempt from congestion charges since congestion on the roads is reduced when cars are shared. Cars spend an average of 96 percent of time being idle, taking up valuable and scarce space. In Sweden they pay the same congestion charges as everyone else. In Copenhagen, DriveNow got a large rebate on parking fees in exchange for using only electric vehicles. In Stockholm, no rebate was offered and thus no conditions could be set. Secondly, car-sharing needs space. While several car sharing companies use a floating system, allowing the user to collect and leave the car at any legal parking place, the main model is using fixed spaces. Thus, the shared vehicles will be easy to find, and may always have the most attractive parking spaces. Since users are to give up on using the vehicle they might have had in their own garage, this convenience
and predictability is of great importance. In Sweden, municipalities are not allowed to reserve road space for carsharing or any other types of vehicle they want to support for environmental reasons; the case was lost at the highest juridical level. Car-sharing vehicles are not allowed to use the high occupancy lane or the lane for public transport either, as they are in the US. Thirdly, the framing needs to be right. In Sweden, car-sharing companies started out playing the green card. “Join a car pool (as Swedes call it) and help save the planet”. This was only moderately successful; there is only a limited number of persons ready to sacrifice the life they lead for a greener planet, and many of them did not have their own car in the first place. Now, car-sharing companies instead use slogans like “Car only when you want it”, emphasizing the increased freedom associated with not having a car of your own, and thus no need to service, repair, wash or even refuel which is all taken care of by the owner when sharing or renting a car. Pool boom ahead. With seven out of Sweden’s eight parties in Parliament actively behind the climate target of an impressive 70 % CO2 emissions reduction from the transport sector between 2010 and 2030, increased carsharing in many forms is clearly needed. No matter who wins the elections in September, the 2030-secretariat predicts several policy changes to kick-start the shared economy and particularly car-sharing. Fores (which includes the 2030-secretariat) is a Swedish think tank devoted to questions related to climate and environment, migration and integration, entrepreneurship and economic reforms, as well as the digital society.
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Canada, US & beyond
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Swedish Events around the World
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Famed puppets come to Andersonville – The Swedish American Museum in Chicago will become home for hundreds of tiny performers from the world-renowned Kungsholm Miniature Grand Opera during an opening reception at 6 pm Friday Sep 28 and may be viewed through Nov 25. The concept of presenting classical operas on a small stage with costumed puppets, manipulated from beneath on wires and rods, was introduced during the New York World’s Fair of 1939-40. A tour of the U.S. Midwest followed and concluded in Chicago. It was seen here in 1941 by an entrepreneur who had converted a mansion to a Swedish restaurant that he named the Kungsholm. He thought it would be a good venue for miniature operas. The Kungsholm Miniature Grand Opera soon was as popular as the Swedish food. Fire destroyed the restaurant and the opera in 1947, but it was rebuilt over a period of three years. Performances were presented in a new 208-seat theater for patrons who also enjoyed smörgåsbord and other Swedish food specialties. When the Kungsholm closed in 1971, some artifacts of the Miniature Grand Opera were stored at the Museum of Science and Industry. Others became the property of “Opera in Focus” in Rolling Meadows. Some relics of the restaurant – dinner plates, silverware, souvenir 8
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Kungsholm’s Miniature Grand Opera, 1951, Chicago.
programs and a miniature Viking ship – were donated over time by collection managers to the Swedish American Museum. Thanks to a grant from the Swedish Council of America, the Museum will be able to construct a permanent working exhibit for the puppets, the ornate sets, costumes, and related paraphernalia. A schedule of events will be announced soon.
Los Angeles Zlatan Ibrahimović receives the Eliason Merit Award 2018 – SACC-LA is excited to announce that the Swedish soccer superstar, Zlatan Ibrahimović, is the recipient of the prestigious Eliason Merit Award 2018 from The Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles (SACC-LA). The Eliason Merit Award (EMA) is annually awarded to a Swedish business or individual who has significantly strengthened Swedish-American relations. The prize ceremony and reception, 18
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hosted by SACC-LA, will this year take place in connection with LA Galaxy’s Swedish Heritage Night in Carson, CA on Saturday September 29, 2018. This year’s winner, Zlatan Ibrahimović, receives the award for his long and successful career as one of the greatest soccer players in the world, which has placed Sweden on the international arena. Since his debut in LA Galaxy’s soccer team earlier this year, Ibrahimović has significantly contributed to strengthening the relations between the United States and Sweden. The exclusive red carpet EMA 2018 VIP reception will be held on Saturday September 29, 2018 at the StubHub Center, LA Galaxy’s home arena in Carson south of Los Angeles. After the VIP reception, guests will participate in the LA Galaxy’s Swedish Heritage Night and cheer on Zlatan Ibrahimović as he plays for his team, the LA Galaxy, against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. More details about the event will be announced in the weeks to follow and invites to SACC-LA members will be sent out shortly.
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Zlatan Ibrahimović . Photo: Matthew Ashton, AMA/Getty Images
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Calendar & Events
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A guide to fun and interesting Swedish events outside Sweden
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CHICAGO Swedish American Museum 5211 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60640 Tel: 773-728 8111 | info@samac.org www.swedishamericanmuseum.org ONGOING exhibits: “Still Life,” paintings by Swedish artist Karin Broos, will close Sun, Sep 23; “Modern Antiquity,” photographs by 1885 Swedish Immigrant Charles Erik Spaak, through Sun, Oct 28. Sept 9 – Sun 10 am-6 pm.: The Museum will participate in the 39th annual Scandinavian Day Festival in Vasa Park, South Elgin. Sept 10 – Mon 3 pm: Moon Monday, tribute to astronaut Buzz Aldrin in the Brunk Children’s Museum. Sept 12-16 – Wed-Sun: The Museum will participate in Andersonville Arts Week presentations on visual, dance, theatre, music and other art forms. Sept 16 and 23 – Sun am: Bullerbyn, playgroup sessions for children six months to five years with stories and songs in Swedish. Sept 22 – Sat 10 am: Swedish American Genealogy Society presentation, “Nordic Research: Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish.” Sept 28 – Fri 6 pm: Opening of the Kungsholm Miniature Grand Opera exhibit. DETROIT Swedish Club of Southeast Michigan 22398 Ruth St, Farmington Hills, MI 48336 Info: 734-459 0596 www.swedishclub.net Sept 9 – Sun 1 to 2:30pm: Annual Steak and Corn Roast. MINNEAPOLIS American Swedish Institute 2600 Park Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55407 Tel: 612-871 4907 | www.asimn.org Ongoing through Oct 28: Gudrun Sjödén – A Colourful Universe – Exhibition to showcase the work of renowned textile designer Gudrun Sjödén and her bold feminine collections that are inspired by nature and Swedish folk motifs. Sept 8 – Sat 10 am: A Week of Swedish Songs for All Ages – with the ASI Cloudberries – Join Lise Enochsson and the participants from the week’s workshops for 8
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the vibrant Swedish tradition of community singing. Free and open to the public. Sept 22 – Sat 12 noon to 5 pm: Twin Cities Nyckelharpalag 20th Anniversary Celebration. www.tcnyckelharpalag.org or Cheryl Paschke at 612-670-6356. PHILADEPHIA American Swedish Historical Museum 1900 Pattison Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19145 | Tel: 215-389 1776 | info@americanswedish.org | www.americanswedish.org Sept 16 – Sun 4 to 5 pm: Exhibit Opening – From the Heart, Made by Hand: Treasures from the Women of Sweden & Fiber Installations by Ted Hallman, PhD SAN FRANCISCO SACC – San Francisco & Silicon Valley 350 Townsend Street, Suite 401 San Francisco, CA 94107 Tel: 415-781 4188 | info@sacc-sf.org www.sacc-sf.org Sept 13 – Thurs 6 to 8 pm: SACC San Francisco & Silicon Valley – Nordic Women in Technology and Innovation. Fueled by passion, drive, and determination, five Nordic women climbed to the top in Silicon Valley’s competitive Tech industry. Come and hear their stories, network with fellows, and gather strategic insight that can help you on your own journey. SEATTLE Swedish Cultural Center 1920 Dexter Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98109 Tel: 206-283 1090 | www.swedishclubnw.org info@swedishculturalcenter.org Sept 7 – Fri 7:30 pm: First Friday Jazz by a “Seattle Treasure.” Music by Seattle’s legendary soul jazz pianist Overton Berry. Also, the extraordinary Jeff Davies will be joining Overton on bass. Sept 8 – Sat: from 6 pm: Crayfish Party. Eat crayfish, drink snaps, sing snapsvisa, and dance the night away. Co-sponsored by Save Their Smiles (non-profit organization to improve dental health of children in Nicaragua), SWEA, and the Swedish Club. RSVP to: malinj@comcast.net for PayPal information and guest list. Or, send check to Borgsrom Catering, 4342 239th Pl SE, Sammamish, WA 98029. 18
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Sept 9 – Sun 8 am to 1 pm: Swedish Pancakes – Music and dancing, plus authentic Swedish pancakes. Music by Nordic Reflections, Lyle Schaefer, and TinnFelen. Nordic Museum 2655 NW Market Street, Seattle, WA 98107 Tel: 206-789 5707 | nordic@nordicmuseum.org www.nordicmuseum.org Sept 4 – Tues 7 pm: Lecture at the Nordia House: Simon Benson – Oregon Lumber King, Civic Leader & Visionary. Benson, a poor Norwegian immigrant gifted with immense talent and ambition, overcame daunting challenges to become a lumber baron who used his vision, wealth and influence to give back to his adopted state and country, leaving a lasting legacy. SOUTH FLORIDA SWEA – South Florida sweasouthflorida@live.com www.southflorida.swea.org/ Sept 15 – Sat 6 pm: Crayfish Dinner Party at Scandinavian Center, 2950 South Flamningo Road, Davie, FL. $59 per person. VANCOUVER Scandinavian Community Centre 6540 Thomas Street, Burnaby, BC V5B 4P9 Tel: 604-294 2777 | info@scandinaviancentre.org | www.swedishculturalsociety.ca Sept 21 – Fri from 11 am: 6th Annual Fundraiser Golf Tournament at Burnaby Mountain Golf Course – To promote youth and sports within and around the community. Pitch and Putt, Silent Auction, Prizes and Buffet Dinner at the Scandinavian Community Centre at 7 pm. WINNIPEG Swedish Cultural Assn of Manitoba 764 Erin Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3G 2W4 | Tel: 204-774 8047 | Reservations at: svenskclub17@gmail.com Sept 7 – Fri 11:45: Svensk Lunch Sept 20 – Thurs 7 pm: Pea Soup Night Sept 21 – Fri 11:30 am to 1 pm: Luncheon and Tour of Swedes in Vasa Lund and Charleswood. Meet at Swedish home located at 5419 Roblin Boulevard for tour, lunch and presentation of accomplishments of Swedes in area. 28
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[Ads] and Info Swedish Press Classified Alberta Organizations Svenska Skolan i Calgary bedriver undervisning för barn 3-15 år gamla på lördagar kl 9:30-12. Alla barn är välkomna. Undervisningen sker på svenska. Kontakta Svenska Skolan genom Scandinavian center 403-284-2610 eller skicka epost till contact@swedishschool.com. Läs mer om vår skola på www.swedishschool.com 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 Beautiful setting for weddings, parties, birthdays, meetings and seminars. 6540 Thomas Street, Burnaby, BC info@scandinaviancentre.org 604-294-2777 www.scandinaviancentre.org Svenska Kulturföreningen Ordförande Ellen Petersson 604-970-8708. Kassör är Linda
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Olofsson, 604-418-7703 www. swedishculturalsociety.ca. Email: swedishculturalsociety.ca @gmail.com Sweden House Society President Carina Spencer Email: swedenhousechair@gmail.com, Vice president Rebecca Keckman, Treasurer Ron Spence Swedish Canadian Village Beautiful Assisted Living Residence & Senior Subsidized Apartment Buildings Located in Burnaby, British Columbia. Ph# 604-420-1124 Fax# 604-420-1175 www.swedishcanadian.ca
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 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.
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Sista ordet
'Almedalsveckan hade ca 140 000 besökare...' Politiska veckor sprids till allt fler länder Av Henric Borgström
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en politiska veckan i Visbys sköna park Almedalen intill hamnen slog som vanligt alla rekord när den i somras 1 – 8 juli firade 50-årsjubileum. De åtta ledarna för de olika riksdagspartierna samlade drygt 18 000 åskådare när de höll sina kvällstal under de åtta olika dagarna. Men till detta kom 4 311 evenemang i form av seminarier och debatter arrangerade av partierna, organisationer, fackförbund och företag representerande praktiskt taget alla samhällsfunktioner. Arrangören Region Gotland beräknar att evenemangen hade ca 140 000 besökare. Även om säkerheten kring de ledande politikerna har skärpts betydligt, kunde man dagligen se dem ströva omkring på Visbys medeltidsgator, då och då i samspråk med turister eller ungdomar knutna till evenemangen. Almedalsveckan kan med fog kallas för Sveriges överlägset mest omfattande vuxenutbildning. För första gången intog inte Sveriges ekonomi huvudrollen bland de ämnen som avhandlades. Flest evenemang gällde hållbarhet och miljö, därefter vård och omsorg, digitaliseringen och på fjärde plats demokratifrågor.
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Swedish Press | September 2018 30
Det var 1968 som utbildningsminister Olof Palme året innan han blev statsminister spontant hoppade upp på ett flak och höll ett improviserat sommartal. Det fick fastare form året därpå när den lokala socialdemokratiska föreningen satte upp en talarstol i Almedalen. Först i mitten av 1970-talet började de andra partiledarna infinna sig när de såg att konkurrenten Palme fick stor publicitet under den nyhetsfattiga semestermånaden. Palmes finansminister Kjell-Olof Feldt drog igång ekonomiseminarier i början på 1980talet för ett par dussin journalister som då var på plats. Industriförbundet kom året därpå för att ge sin bild i seminarier, vilket föranledde fackförbunden att också börja arrangera seminarier. I mitten av 1990-talet blev två arrangörer osams då de inbjudit till diskussion på samma klockslag. I somras kunde uppemot 200 aktiviteter starta vid samma tid. Antalet ackrediterade journalister räknas nu till över 600. Rapporteringen kritiseras från många håll sedan den huvudsakligen intresserar sig för vem
som ska regera med vem efter riksdagsvalet söndagen 9 september, något som sedan länge tröttat ut stora delar av väljarkåren. Huvudalternativen är den rödgröna nuvarande regeringen bestående av Socialdemokraterna och Miljöpartiet som i många frågor får stöd av Vänsterpartiet (före detta Kommunisterna). På andra sidan finns de fyra borgerliga partierna Moderaterna (höger), Liberalerna, Centern och Kristdemokraterna. På yttersta högerkanten finns Sverigedemokraterna som inget av de andra sju vill förhandla med. Almedalsveckan expanderar år från år och har fått efterföljare i ett stort antal länder. I Danmark samlas partiledare och politiskt intresserade till Folkemødet sedan några år på Bornholm, vidare Arendal i Norge, Björneborg i Finland, Fondur Folksins på Island. I Estland, Lettland, Litauen, Nederländerna och Belgien har liknande politiska veckor arrangerats – alla har nu bildat ett nätverk kallat Democracy Festivals. Henric Borgström är ekonomijournalist, grundare av det dagliga radioprogrammet Ekonomi-Ekot i P1 Sveriges Radio och numera Nordenkorrespondent för den finlandssvenska tidskriften Forum för Ekonomi och Teknik i Helsingfors. Borgström har deltagit i Almedalsveckan varje år sedan 1976. Blogg: henricborgstrom.wordpress.com
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