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Gothenburg – a Unesco City of Literature.
Gothenburg on the map of Literature
– A very great honour, but also very well deserved. Many creative forces have worked for a long time for this.
This was Vice-Chancellor Eva Wiberg’s response to Gothenburg being named a UNESCO City of Literature.
IT WAS IN 2019 that the municipal board decided to apply for Gothenburg to become a UNESCO City of Literature. For various reasons, the application was not completed back then but was submitted this summer instead.
On November 8, the good news finally arrived that Gothenburg, together with Vilnius and Jakarta, had been accepted as new cities of literature. – This is tremendous, not only for those of us who collaborated on the application, but for everyone who is involved in literature and reading in Gothenburg, whether it is in schools, libraries, associations or in other contexts. Increasing interest in reading is not something a handful of stakeholders can do by themselves, instead it requires commitment from the entire region, Eva Wiberg explains.
SHE POINTS OUT that reading is not just about fiction. – The application includes six areas of collaboration, including that Gothenburg should be the city where we read to our children, which is immensely important. But reading is also about democracy, where the University of Gothenburg has extremely outstanding research, and about free speech, where we can be proud of Ulla Carlsson, the world's first UNESCO Professor of Freedom of Expression.
Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
Lena Ulrika Rudeke is the coordinator of the University’s collaboration.
ADVISOR TO THE Vice-Chancellor, Fredrika Lagergren Wahlin, explains that the designation of Gothenburg as a city of literature concerns all faculties. – There are a wide range of areas and subjects such as literary studies, languages, teacher education, democracy research, media research, cultural conservation, cultural heritage, language technology, culture and health – a long list that is still not complete. Collaboration is fundamental to the whole idea of a city of literature, both collaboration within the city and with other cities of literature internationally.
The designation is a confirmation that Gothenburg is outstanding when it comes to investment in literature, Fredrika Lagergren Wahlin points out. – But the designation also comes with a responsibility that encourages us to continue. We must nurture what we already have but also continue to develop, not least in terms of freedom and democracy.
Lena Ulrika Rudeke, Operations Manager at Jonsered Manor, is the coordinator of the university's collaboration on the application.
FREDRIKA LAGERGREN WAHLIN – THIS IS NOT A time-limited project but an “eternal” appointment, associated with certain commitments. It’s also a responsibility that encourages us to continue. We must manage what we already have, but also develop further and seriously use the power of literature as leverage in the work with, among other things, democracy, participation and sustainability. That’s what it’s about being a Unesco City of Literature.
Eva Lundgren
FACTS
Gothenburg was designated
Sweden's first UNESCO City of Literature on November 8. The main stakeholders behind the application were the University of Gothenburg, the City of Gothenburg and the Västra Götaland region. Författarcentrum Väst, Bokmässan and Litteraturhuset were also included in the application. Six areas of collaboration have been identified, where all stakeholders will mobilize their efforts: the city where we read to our children; the city as a collection of poems; literature for better health and well-being; collaboration and freedom of expression; international author meetings and international exchanges for change. There are now 42 UNESCO Cities of Literature worldwide.
Saving lives while reducing opioids
Last year, about 70,000 people in the United States died from opioid overdose. But opioid consumption is a growing problem in Sweden as well. Many people feel there is a reason to reduce opioid use in healthcare, not least in surgery and anaesthesia. Researchers from the Sahlgrenska Academy are to study how this can be achieved in a clinical trial. They are also behind the world's first meta-analysis of totally opioid-free anaesthesia, which was published recently.
MORE THAN 200 PATIENTS undergoing surgery for obesity will be included in a randomized, multi-centre trial, says Axel Wolf, Head of Research for the VR project Dags att byta ut opioider som en hörnsten inom modern anestesi? (Time to replace opioids as a cornerstone of modern anaesthesia?) – The patients come from two hospitals, Sahlgrenska University Hospital/Östra Hospital and Lindesberg Hospital in the Örebro region. We will compare the two groups: one group, which will receive the usual opioid-based anaesthesia will be compared with another group, which will receive opioid-free anaesthesia, as well as postoperative pain relief and person-centred care. We will evaluate how patients recover, as well as opioid consumption and the health economic impact for up to two years after the surgery.
A general anaesthetic usually consists of two components: the first is an anaesthetic, and the second is what is usually called pain relief, often an opioid. – "Pain relief" is a slightly misleading concept as pain is a subjective experience in a conscious state. Instead, it is the body's physiological response, the so-called nociceptive response, which is the focus during general anaesthesia, i.e. how the body's pain receptors respond to stimuli and how we can control this response.
Photo: PRIVATE
Axel Wolf wants to reduce the use of opioids.
AXEL WOLF
OPIOIDS HAVE BEEN used an analgesic since time immemorial and are still a cornerstone of surgery. But in addition to the dramatic increase in deaths due to overdose, there are also other problems, says Axel Wolf. – Patients may become nauseous, drowsy, have difficulty breathing or suffer from constipation. In addition, some opioids can result in an increased pain sensation, so-called hyperalgesia. There are also studies of the potentially adverse effects of opioids during cancer treatment. Therefore, there is a considerable need to broaden our future strategies in order to be able to adapt anaesthesia to the patient's resources, needs and wishes.
TODAY, THERE ARE several drugs that can replace opioids. But even non-pharmacological treatments, such as high-frequency, high-intensity transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) together with a person-centred approach, are an extremely interesting to study, Axel Wolf explains. – TENS has very few side effects, can be controlled by the patient themself and is available to purchase in a wide variety of stores. Therefore, the technology is very suitable, even for the person-centred care that is an important part of our research project.
CURRENTLY, THERE ARE no scientific evaluations of the effects of opioid-free anaesthesia, TENS and person-centred care during and after surgery. – According to one study, almost every fifth adult European experiences long-term pain, of whom about half state that they do not receive sufficient pain relief. Finding opioid-free and opioid-saving alternative treatments may thus be of considerable importance to very many patient groups.
Eva Lundgren
FACTS
Axel Wolf, Associate Professor of Health and Care Sciences, is the Head of Research for the project Dags att byta ut opioider som en hörnsten inom modern anestesi? Effekterna av person-centrerad opioidfri anestesi på kognition och fysisk återhämtning efter fetmakirurgi.(Time to replace opioids as a cornerstone in modern anesthesia? The effects of person-centred opioid-free anaesthesia on cognition and physical recovery after obesity surgery.) The project is the first randomized clinical trial in the world in the field of opioid-free anaesthesia that examines the long-term effects of opioid-free anaesthesia on recovery after surgery, with or without the addition of person-centred care. The project has received SEK 5.5 million in funding from the Swedish Research Council. Follow Axel Wolf and his research colleagues via www.gothenburgpainlab.com.
