A Model for International Security Cooperation

On March 27, 2012, in Mark, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Today, at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt made history.  He announced that Sweden and the United States worked together to transfer plutonium from historical Swedish nuclear research and development activities to the United States for disposition under a U.S. nonproliferation program called the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI).  This is historic for a couple of reasons – it’s the first shipment of plutonium to the United States under the GTRI and will therefore be a model for other countries who seek to safely dispose of this type of material.  Additionally, it brings us one step closer to improving nuclear security worldwide.  I applaud the Swedish team for their commitment to global nuclear security and for their dedication to such a complex and technically challenging project.  Our two countries have worked on this project together for three years.

Foreign Minister Bildt’s announcement was a major result of a process launched at  the first ever Nuclear Security Summit convened by President Obama in Washington DC in 2010.  In April of 2010, 50 world leaders met in Washington to develop a plan to lock down nuclear material, disrupt nuclear trafficking, and prevent nuclear terrorism.  The leaders also decided that separated plutonium and highly enriched uranium would need special attention.  Permanent reduction of these materials would reduce the global nuclear threat.  In Seoul, world leaders came together for the second  Nuclear Security Summit to report on their progress and to make new commitments.  Speaking at the Summit, President Obama applauded the work that countries have done saying “we are fulfilling the commitments we made in Washington.  We are improving the security at our nuclear facilities.  We are forging new partnerships.  We are removing nuclear materials, and in some cases, getting rid of these materials entirely.”  As a result, the world is safer.

Sweden and the United States have once again worked together to tackle a serious and significant global challenge.  It is my hope that this cooperation will be an example for other countries looking to dispose of such material.  As President Obama noted in his remarks at Seoul, “no one nation can do this alone.”

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Values-Based Leadership

On March 26, 2012, in Natalia, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Photo: Andreas Wanitzky

 

Last week I was incredibly honored to deliver the keynote speech at a conference on “values-based leadership” organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Sweden in cooperation with the French Chamber of Commerce. I had the privilege of speaking with an accomplished panel of business leaders from companies like Facebook, as well as Maud Olofsson, former Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden and a pioneer in promoting women in business and politics.

 
My speech focused on the values of the Millennial generation—those born after 1980— and how those values will affect the future dynamic of the workplace and alter conventional leadership structures.

 
Understanding the identity of a generation is essential to understanding where our ever-globalizing world is going. Young people today comprise the most connected dimension of global society, and in much of the developing world the bulk of the population is under the age of 30. In the Middle East, nearly 65% of the population in some countries is under the age of 24.

 
This is an activated group looking for authentic, selfless and transparent leadership, and driven by a quest for a compelling personal narrative grounded in social responsibility and global experiences, a sense of work-life balance and a professional home with a greater purpose beyond just profit-margins.

 
Categorizing an entire generation is an enormous and potentially Sisyphean task. There are always exceptions to every generalization, and the beauty of the human condition is its diversity. But I gave my best, studied assessment and we had a vibrant conversation that touched on what qualities future leaders will have—high emotional intelligence, cultural sensitivity, a capacity to anticipate change and openness—and how to most effectively promote women to leadership positions in business.

 
My hopeful prediction is that women will take the lead in the Millennial generation. For the first time in American history women are outnumbering men in terms of college degrees and master’s degrees by close to double, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Because they grew up in a post-Feminist period and were educated in the 1990s when the “self-esteem” movement hit grade schools in America— Millennial women truly believe they can be leaders in society.

 
What these young women need to continue their professional development is mentorship. This is something Ms. Olofsson emphasized, as well as several other panelists. Projecting successful role models is critical to giving young women the self-confidence to take innovative risks and go for the promotions or professional challenges they may feel are out of their grasp.

 

This is not about cutting men out of the equation, but leveling the playing field so there is a relatively equal balance of men and women in leadership positions. A healthy gender balance has been proven to be the most effective formula in leading companies.

 

Promoting commercial, people-to-people ties and gender equality in the workplace was a common thread woven throughout the week. In addition to the conference, we hosted two separate roundtables on these topics. Sweden and America share many common values, and bringing people together to brainstorm and debate is one of the most productive ways to inspire and facilitate progress. It is something we look forward to doing much more of in the coming year!

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Convening for women’s empowerment

On March 22, 2012, in Mark, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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One of the best things about serving as US Ambassador is the ability to bring inspiring, diverse sets of people together to speak openly and work on the challenges of the day.

That’s exactly what happened this week at our residence, where my wife and I hosted a roundtable on the topic of Women’s Business Leadership.  Our main speaker, Maud Olofsson, is a path-breaking leader in this realm and a long time partner and friend of the United States. She is the former Swedish Deputy Prime Minister.  She is also one of just two European women, along with Cherie Blair, to be invited as a leader to Secretary Hillary Clinton’s ground-breaking International Council on Women’s Business Leadership.  On that Council, she chairs the “leadership” sub-committee.

The goal of the Roundtable was for Ms. Olofsson to give a readout on the inaugural meeting of Secretary Clinton’s Council which occurred in late January. Olofsson said she returned inspired by the enthusiasm and will in the group: “Secretary Clinton is serious, she really wants to change things!”

What ensued was a vibrant discussion among women of all ages and cultural backgrounds, from the private sector and the public sector, mothers and wives and grandmothers, passionately debating the merits of quota systems, the need for extensive childcare programs, cultural sensitivity when it comes to gender issues, and many more topics. It was a conversation that could’ve lasted far longer than two hours. I was one of only two men there, and I was inspired by the strength and talent in the room!

Ms. Olofsson gave us a detailed account of “facts and figures”, as she likes to say, that strongly make the case for engaging more women in business and entrepreneurship. This is not charity for women; women are an educated, skilled demographic that is necessary to bring into the workforce for the sake of economics and growth. An aging demographic will put an enormous strain on the workforce in Europe, and the full potential of the workforce must be engaged to sustain this. Women are also an asset. Extensive research has shown that the most effective and successful executive boards and leadership teams are the ones with an equal balance of men and women.

Many women emphasized the role of childcare in “liberating” women in both wealthier Western nations and developing nations. The truth is that the work women do at home is not accounted for in GDP, not acknowledged and not compensated. If women were freed from that to some extent, they could contribute that amount of productivity to the economy. It has also been shown that when women make the money, they prioritize their children’s educations and that is the first thing they spend their profits on. Empowering women in business will empower the future. And women need help at home to accomplish that.

Beyond childcare, one idea that is the brainchild of Ms. Olofsson is the hugely successful “Ambassador’s Program”, which she initiated as Minister of Enterprise. This program, focusing on showcasing female “role models” and entrepreneurs and sending them  to schools around the country has been emulated by 22 European countries now. The most important and simple things to create change is being a role model, Olofsson emphasized. And the idea of finding these kinds of strong female role models in every country in the world, and showing women in countries where they are still being repressed that it is possible to be independent, to make your own money and to start your own business is the key to this initiative.

The event ended with 25 women connecting, sharing stories and promising to reconvene with more ideas. I hope this is just the beginning of a long set of meetings.

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Celebrating International Women’s Day

On March 12, 2012, in Natalia, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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The Lebanese philosopher and diplomat Charles Malik famously said: “The fastest way to change society is to mobilize the women of the world.”

I was reminded of these words at a luncheon I attended in honor of International Women’s Day organized by the International Women’s Club of Stockholm. The luncheon was sponsored by HE Sheikha Najla Al Qassimi, the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Sweden, to raise money for The Hunger Project— a global, non-profit organization focused on ending world hunger by empowering women toward independent and entrepreneurial solutions. Sitting at a long table surrounded by socially motivated and powerful female diplomats—many from nations with traditionally poor records on gender equality— I was heartened by how far women have come in the past few decades.

I felt hopeful just listening to the soft-spoken and clearly gifted UAE Ambassador speak about the strides her nation has made in education and professional opportunities for women. Nyamko Sabuni, Sweden’s Minister for Integration and Gender Equality, also gave a passionate call for protecting the integrity of women’s rights. The sheer talent present in the room underscored the fact of the day: activating the women around the world is the key to peace and economic prosperity.

Later that day, I was again moved by the words of a woman candidly giving truth to power in a very different and much more intimate way. Eleanor Coppola, the wife of the famous director Francis Ford Coppola, was set to speak at the Fotografiska museum on the topic of women in the arts. Fotografiska Museet is a cavernous, fantastically organized space located in an old shipping building on the industrial bank of the canal. I arrived an hour early and meandered through the mysteriously-lit exhibits, which ranged from photographs masterfully playing with the dimensions and concepts of architecture and space to heart-wrenching images of beaten and disfigured child soldiers in the Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army by photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale.

Eleanor Coppola is a petite, elegant woman with cropped silver hair and a shy smile. She began her speech by nervously joking that her voice may crack several times throughout because she is not used to being “on this side of the microphone”. From there, she gave a beautiful portrait of a life that began with big dreams of working in the digital art world and how three children, a famous husband and the pressures of being a 1950’s housewife put her dreams on hold. After almost a decade of frustration and soul-searching, she found her voice again and began making documentaries, her most famous being “Hearts of Darkness: A filmmaker’s Apocalypse” based on the making of her husband’s noteworthy and troubled film “Apocalypse Now”.

Both of these events reflected both how far women have come but also how the challenges of the past continue to limit us. Like Mrs. Coppola, I struggle to balance my family with professional goals, and try to be everything to everyone. It is an unparalleled challenge to try and “have it all”. But our society will not maximize its potential until women have the resources to be both mothers and professionals. The values and skills women possess are unique and well-matched for today’s challenges, and we need their voices at the negotiating table to address them.

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Bringing people together around Swedish Art

On March 5, 2012, in Natalia, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Dimitri Keiski, Natalia and Ambassador Brzezinski

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Friday, we opened up our residence to showcase art from some of the most exciting, rising young artists in Stockholm’s vibrant cultural scene. Our goal was to create an all-encompassing experience that appealed to all the senses from the moment a guest stepped through the door.

 

In addition to exhibiting art of all mediums—digital, visual, performing arts and arts created through year-long experiments and life experience— we also had two musical performances that beautifully contrasted off of each other. One was Dimitri Kieski, the 2011 True Talent winner and a product of modern society’s reality television obsession, and the second was Ad Hoc, an all-male A cappella group who dressed in 16th-century traditional Swedish garb and sang Latin hymnals as well as “Barber Shop” ditties.  The result was a dynamic evening that brought people from all ages and professions, both Swedes and Americans, together around art.

 
Well before we even set foot on a plane to fly to Stockholm, my husband and I were exploring ways to relate with Swedes in a genuine way—a way that transcended both generational and cultural bounds. One obvious answer was art. Although we are not trained art connoisseurs or collectors, Mark and I have a strong personal connection to the values most tied to art: creativity and free expression.

 
As a young boy, my husband discovered a deep-seated love for nature and the environment because of art. His mother, Emelie Benes Brzezinski, is a sculptor who works with wood and whose work has a strong ecological connection. Mark spent many afternoons as a boy watching her carve into the splintered wood with her chainsaw and listening to stories of what the wood was saying to her as an artist. Each of Emelie’s pieces has its own distinct personality based on the rough nature of the bark or the smooth curves and lines of the tree.

 
For me, the opportunity to express myself as a competitive ice skater, to lose myself in the music and movement, gave me a sense of identity and confidence as a young girl. I can still remember the liberating rush I felt throwing myself into the air for a double axel and the loss of inhibition and insecurities that came with every spiral and glide. Ice skating very much formed who I am today. For both of us, art and expression is a theme running through our respective coming-of-age narratives.

 
In this exhibit, we focused on the role of the artist and whether this often enigmatic identity evolves over time or remains universal. By examining one of the most influential and catalytic inventions of the modern century—television — one conclusion for me was that the portrayal of the artist through the lens of mass media has many constants.

 
The need for human expression is timeless. This is a universal value shared by America and Sweden. Today all over the world, young people are increasingly mobilizing around this value. For these reasons, we are exceedingly proud to display the work of some of Stockholm’s brightest young contemporary artists, and most importantly to understand their identities and what colors their view of society through their work.

 
More photos of the event are on the U.S. Embassy Flickr photostream

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