Sharıng Sweden wıth the world – Welcome to the Swedısh Instıtute!

The Swedish Institute (SI) is a public agency that helps Sweden achieve its international objectives in foreign policy, development cooperation, and educational policy. SI’s activities are run under the framework of public diplomacy – to understand, inform, influence and develop relations with key actors within culture, society, business and academia, and the public in other countries. SI serves as a representative of Sweden and Swedish know-how, values and experiences abroad. Through strategic communication and relationship-building activities the SI helps build awareness and trust in Sweden as well as establish networks so that Sweden’s international objectives can be realized. Operations are run in close collaboration with Swedish embassies and consulates and with the help of other Swedish and foreign partners. In 2010, SI carried out or provided financing for exchanges in 124 countries and engaged in information activities that reached over 220 countries.

To me there ıs no other choıce - Wallenberg 2012

Raoul Wallenberg is one of the most famous and admired Swedes in the world. Working at the Swedish Legation in Budapest, he led the operation to rescue Jews from the Holocaust at the end of World War II. During 2012 Sweden will honour Raoul Wallenberg by highlighting his deeds and his fate. As part of the programme, the exhibition "To me there´s no other choice – Raoul Wallenberg 1912–2012" will be toured internationally by the Swedish Institute.

Innovatıve Sweden

Twenty young Swedish growth companies are currently preparing to take part in an international exhibition presenting cutting edge innovations within the fields of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Life Science, Clean Technology and Gaming. The exhibition will embark on an international tour 2011-2013.

Young Leaders Vısıtors Program and She Entrepreneurs - leaders for posıtıve change.

The Young Leaders Visitors Program (YLVP) for young opinion-makers in the Middle East and North Africa is an intercultural leadership program focused on social media as a tool for positive change. The participants work actively for social development in their respective fields. She Entrepreneurs is a program targeting young women social entrepreneurs in the region.

Over 30,000 people study Swedısh abroad.

SI has overall responsibility for the funding of teaching Swedish abroad and serves as a contact and service organization for teachers of Swedish and their students abroad. In 2010, 31,858 students at 223 foreign institutions in 40 countries studied Swedish with funding from SI.

SI promotes creatıvıty, ınnovatıon and development.

The Swedish Institute promotes creativity, innovation and development in Sweden and our partner countries through international exchanges in culture and society, education and research, and business and innovation. This is done through scholarships, leadership programs, funding for travel and projects and by generating interest among foreign students, researchers, experts, designers and key talent. These exchanges stimulate mobility and cross-pollination of knowledge, inspiration, skills and talent.

SI promotes democracy, human rıghts and sustaınable global development.

SI contributes to openness, sustainability and global development by promoting democracy, human rights and freedom of expression as well as by raising awareness and capacity in the fields of climate change and the environment. In Sweden’s dialogue and collaboration with the rest of the world, SI has the specific task of promoting democracy, openness and development. As a small organization with a key role in Sweden’s public diplomacy, SI focuses on dialogue and exchanges with other countries. Lasting relationships and mutual learning processes are created using a unique combination of tools – projects, communication, media and study visits, scholarships, network building, leadership programs and exchanges in the field of culture and society. The aim is to strengthen democracy, freedom of expression, gender equality and respect for human rights. These efforts are in accordance with Sweden’s priority themes – democracy and human rights, gender equality as well as climate change and the environment.

Creatıve Force: modern collaboratıon on development.

The aim of Creative Force – Cultural and Visionary Encounters Africa–Sweden is to help promote an open, democratic gender-equal society and enhance the power of poor people, increase their influence and improve their opportunities through cultural exchanges. The project is focused largely on women, children and young adults in western and eastern Africa. A number of activities are linked to these sub-projects in the form of seminars and contributions from experts as well as study programs for key people to visit Sweden. We have also been running projects under Creative Force in the western Balkans and Turkey since mid-2009.

SI ın Parıs – Sweden’s only cultural center abroad.

The Swedish Institute in Paris is a department of SI and Sweden’s only cultural center abroad. The center is an active meeting place for Swedish-French relations in culture, science, and social life and is visited by over 100,000 people each year. In addition to exhibitions, film viewings, concerts and much more, the center houses the Tessin collection and premises for instruction in Swedish. SI in Paris also provides conference facilities and housing for visiting Swedish researchers and for cultural workers in creative industries. Swedish courses at SI are greatly appreciated – over 200 French people study Swedish each week at SI in Paris. You will also find the popular Café Suédois in the center’s courtyard, which tempts visitors with home-made Swedish specialties.

SI’s Management Programs – networks for leaders of the future

Today’s global business climate demands leaders that are able to quickly handle new conditions for their organization’s operations and standing. People are expected to navigate between local and global markets while strong networks have become a critical competitive factor. Since 2007, at the request of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, we have been running the Swedish Institute’s Management Program under the theme “successful entrepreneurship through corporate social responsibility.” The program offers advanced business-related problem-solving and company visits as well as seminars and meetings with prominent leaders in business, culture and politics. The participants are young stars at senior management levels in their industry. They have a strong international focus and considerable education. Participants come from China, India, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Sweden. The aim of the program is to develop lasting, active networks with future leaders at the executive level who together can strengthen relations and collaboration in business between the countries taking part.

SI ın socıal medıa.

The Swedish Institute uses social media to tune into debate and discussions about our different focus areas. We also use them to tell the world about our work and latest news. Besides the general SI presence in social media, there are a number of initiatives where projects and programs use these tools to inform about specifically about their work - and also where participants have started their own groups and forums. You'll find these in the information about each program/project here on SI.se. Sweden.se is the official online gateway to Sweden. A number of blogs and other social media are connected to the site - visit these for lively international discussions on Sweden.

Events

2012.01.23 - 2012.02.05 University of Toronto New Music Festival featuring the music of Swedish composer Andres Hillborg >
2012.01.23 - 2012.02.10 Innovative Sweden exhibit at MaRS in Toronto>
2012.02.10 - 2012.02.12 National Multicultural Festival in Canberra 10-12 February 2012>
2012.02.11 - 2012.03.08 2012 Windows on Europe Film Festival in Canberra, Brisbane and Sydney 10 February to 8 March 2012>
2012.03.01 - 2012.04.30 Innovative Sweden >
2012.05.21 - 2012.06.21 Innovative Sweden in Rio de Janeiro>

News

Spotlight

  • To me there is no other choice

    Raoul Wallenberg is one of the most famous and admired Swedes in the world. Working at the Swedish Legation in Budapest, he led the operation to rescue Jews from the Holocaust at the end of World War II.

    During 2012 Sweden will honour Raoul Wallenberg by highlighting his deeds and his fate. As part of the programme, the exhibition "To me there´s no other choice – Raoul Wallenberg 1912–2012" will be toured internationally by the Swedish Institute.  It was inaugurated at the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest on 17 January, the date when Raoul Wallenberg disappeared in 1945.

    The exhibition is a platform for dialogue on issues about tolerance, democracy and personal courage. It has been produced by the Swedish Institute on behalf of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and in collaboration with the Living History Forum.

    After Budapest, the tour continues to New York, Washington DC, Moscow, Tel Aviv, Berlin, Toronto and Winnipeg.

    Read more

  • Sweden on Twitter - Not so Official

    The Swedish institute has been managing Sweden’s official twitter account for some years, along with our partner Visit Sweden. But a while back, we came to the conclusion that one single, official voice couldn't do justice to the many aspects of Sweden. Hence the project Curators of Sweden, where a new Swede manages the account every week, giving their own personal take on every-day occurrences and current events.

    The initiative has been well received worldwide, both in social- and traditional media. Our followers are increasing and also the amount of interaction through the account. Judge for yourself - follow @sweden on Twitter.

     

  • Right Livelihood Award

    Who will be tomorrows change-makers? Breakfast seminar about creating change with this years Right Livelihood award Laureates.

  • Innovative Sweden

    Twenty young Swedish growth companies are currently participating in an international exhibition presenting cutting edge innovations within the fields of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Life Science, Clean Technology and Gaming.

    The exhibition will embark on an international tour 2011-2013 and will do its next stop in Toronto, Canada, February 2012.

    Read more

  • A message to She Entrepreneurs from Gunilla Carlsson

    She Entrepreneurs is a program for dialogue, mutual understanding and knowledge sharing between young women social entrepreneurs from the Middle East, North Africa and Sweden.

    During September 2011 the participants meet in Dubai for a follow-up.

    Gunilla Carlsson, Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation, sent this message to the participants.

    View the video
    Read more about the program

  • How Arab youth found its voice

    Ibrahim Mothana is a 22-year-old activist, writer and a community worker from Yemen as well as an alumnus of the Swedish Institute YLVP program.

    In a recent CNN article he discusses the shift that he has seen among the youth in the Arab world during this year.

    Read the article here
    Follow Ibrahim Mothana on Twitter

    Read more about YLVP

  • Global leadership and the new digital landscape

    A discussion from Almedalen in Visby with the former Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Eliasson, and four young opinion-makers from the Middle East and North Africa about the Arab Spring and the role of new media. Together they shared their experiences from the events and discussed the future development in the region.

    The seminar “Global leadership and the new digital landscape” was arranged by the Swedish Institute together with Global Utmaning.

    Watch the seminar on Youtube

  • Cinderella inspires children in Africa

    Cinderama—African Cinderella in Ghana portrays the struggle of a young African girl who is fighting for her rights and equal opportunities. The production is a collaboration between the National Theatre of Ghana, the National Touring Theater of Sweden and the Swedish Institute.
     
    The play was viewed by over 35,000 children in Ghana during 2010. After each show the audience and personnel from ActionAid discussed the play in relation to the experiences of the children.
     
    In June, 2011 Cinderama—African Cinderella opens in Abuja to kick off a four week tour of Nigeria. The tour is conducted by the Swedish Embassy together with UNICEF, Voluntary Services Overseas and ActionAid Nigeria.

    Watch a short documentary about the project.

  • New Gravity in Moscow

    The exhibition New Gravity, curated by Karina Karaeva and Jesper Nordal, has been nominated as one five best curated art projects in Russia 2010. The project was developed in close cooperation with the Swedish Institute.

    New Gravity shows video artworks from Swedish and Russian artist that in different ways deal with gender issues. Participating groups and artists are the Knife, Vladimir Seleznev, Tobias Bernstrup, Annika Larson, Pavel Kostomarov, Antoine Cattin, Marcus Lindéen, Ewa Einhorn, Terese Mörnvik, Kajsa Dahlberg, Elena Klimova, Klara Lidén and Elena Kovylina.

    See pictures from the exhibition on Flickr

  • Georgian Stories

    Georgian Stories is a project that inspires young people in Georgia look upon themselves and their life through the camera lens. The idea is founded on The Photo Book about Sweden, a meeting place for Swedish young people’s photos of their life and surroundings.

    Together with Art East the SI initiated a similar project for Georgian youth. They got approximately 1 500 photos in two months out of which 40 photos were exhibited at the Rutaveli Theatre in Tiblisi.

    See the exhibited photos on SI:s photostream

  • "If you are going to study in Sweden — get a bike"

    Last week SI arranged an alumni meeting in Hong Kong for Chinese students who had studied in Sweden. Olivia, an alumnus from Uppsala University, wanted to share her impressions of studying in Sweden.

    See the interview with Olivia here

    Read more about life as an international student in Sweden
    Studyinsweden.se

  • Drawings Draw Attention to Swedish Sustainability

    A current exhibition of drawings caricaturing environmental concerns tours the world - creating attention for Sweden's approach to sustainability. Malayan New Straits Times reports in connection with the exhibition:

    "Sweden embarked on a big cleanup of its backyard in the 1960s and 1970s. Strict environmental rules were also introduced. As a result, the country now boasts of cleaner air, purer water and healthier forests compared to 30 years ago. Even the waters in the capital city of Stockholm are now healthy enough to swim and fish in."

    More about the Swedish Insitute's sustainability projects.

  • Swedish Sustainability Through New Eyes

    "In the last couple of months I’ve had a wonderful opportunity to participate in the leadership course focused on Sustainability, arranged by Swedish Institute..."

    So begins the latest posting on the blog of Lauri Antalainen, participant in the Swedish Institute Management Program. In his witty, sardonic post Lauri gives his views on everything from freezing, climate friendly Swedish hotel rooms to trends in eco fast food. And if there was a Swedish mafia - what would be their take on sustainable business practices? Read Lauri Antalainens post in full.

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