Terrific Visit to Sweden by Secretary of State Kerry

On May 17, 2013, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
0

Ambassador and Mrs. Brzezinski greet Secretary of State Kerry upon his arrival to Sweden.

This week, US Embassy Stockholm was honored to support a remarkable and highly productive visit to Sweden by Secretary of State John Kerry, his first visit as Secretary. Two goals were paramount for the visit:  (i) to meaningfully and constructively engage on the future of the Arctic through the Arctic Council, which Sweden chairs and of which the US is a member (ii) to engage Swedish government officials on the challenges we face together around the world.

Secretary Kerry landed in Stockholm early Tuesday morning and got underway immediately with consultations with the Swedish Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. Whether it’s the conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan or the nuclear issue in North Korea (where Sweden acts as the protective power of the US), these are not just American challenges but international challenges and we are pleased that Sweden is a key partner in trying to solve them. An enormous shared opportunity is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; we both look forward for negotiations over this agreement to get underway soon. Prime Minister Reinfeldt and Foreign Minister Bildt are incredibly gracious hosts, and the conversation reflected how genuinely close and results oriented our bilateral relationship is.

Secretary Kerry then went to the US Ambassadorial residence, where he bore witness to the US Embassy’s salute to Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who chose not to be indifferent and saved thousands of Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust. The US Embassy planted last year in front of the US Ambassadorial residence a horse chestnut tree (the same kind Anne Frank looked out over from her window in Amsterdam) in honor of Wallenberg.

Secretary Kerry then took a photo with our awesome US Marines, spending time to ask them about their service and where each came from.

Then the Secretary met with US Embassy staff members and families at the US Ambassadorial residence.  It was truly a warm, genuine and inspiring event.  Secretary Kerry immediately invited all the children on the stage with him, providing a poignant moment for the Secretary to reflect on life in the Foreign Service and speak of the great sacrifice, courage and patriotism of their parents. The Secretary took photos with all the kids, and went around the room and shook every hand. It was a wonderful and touching US embassy family moment.

After a casual lunch, in which we had the honor of being joined by US Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who had conducted an important wildlife program in the morning, we left for the High North of Sweden, to Kiruna for the Arctic Council.

The Arctic Council was launched in 1996 to promote cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States, in particular on issues pertaining to sustainability and environmental protection.  The United States, together with Sweden, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Russia are members.

The first meeting I took part in was with the Secretary, Senator Murkowski and Alaskan Permanent Participants (including several Native American tribal leaders). The Secretary discussed the Obama Administration’s new National Strategy for the Arctic and then dove right in to discussions about social challenges and biodiversity depletion. It was an incredibly real and honest conversation about the challenges we face together in the Arctic, and what it is we can do together to solve them.

The following morning the Ministerial began, with Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt opening the conference and Minister of Environment Lena Ek reviewing the solid record of Sweden’s chairmanship. Then national statements were presented, and Secretary spoke on behalf of the United States in the most visionary and poignant way. Here are some key passages from the Secretary’s remarks:

·         “It’s an honor to be here in Kiruna, and I begin by saying that there are many areas where the eight Arctic states’ interests overlap significantly. And despite our different sizes and our different cultures, and many of the varied interests that we’ve heard today from permanent participants, we share many values and priorities. But there is nothing that should unite us quite like our concern for both the promise and the challenges of the northern-most reaches of the earth.

·         “Temperatures we know in the Arctic are increasing more than twice as fast as global averages, and they are endangering habitats and they are endangering ways of life.  Last September, the extent of sea ice covering the Arctic reached a record low, threatening marine mammal life and the indigenous and local communities that depend on them.”

·         “So we’re proud to join you today in the important work of protecting and preserving our shared Arctic, not just for the nations that touch it, but for the way that what happens here, for the stewardship that we have responsibility to execute, for the way that it touches every single person around the world and our way of life.”
The Ministerial was followed by lunch in the LKAB mine, the largest of its kind in Europe. Kiruna was founded in 1900 primarily around the extraction of iron. The mining industry remains so important to Kiruna that the town is currently in the midst of moving several large neighborhoods to a new location in order to enable further extraction.  With the local economy booming and with low unemployment numbers, Kiruna is thriving.

Secretary Kerry then returned to Washington. He returned having advanced the US interest bilaterally and multilaterally and the Embassy was honored to have had him here. We live in an ever smaller world, where problems have local roots but global reach. By engaging with our superb partners the Swedes, Secretary Kerry got us that much closer to addressing the challenges of our times.

I will end by saying that to me Secretary Kerry is a particularly inspiring leader. He speaks from the heart; has incredible military service and public service to draw from; and he shares President Obama’s great strategic perspective and vision. It was a deep honor to support his visit to Sweden.

For more pictures from Secretary Kerry’s visit to Sweden, check out the State Department’s Stockholm Flickr page and the Kiruna Flickr page of the trip!

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 
Ambassador Brzezinski and Abisko Station Manager Christer Jonasson at the Abisko Scientific Research Station.

Visit to Abisko: Bearing Witness to Climate Change Effects in the Arctic

On April 10, 2013, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
0

Interest for Arctic issues has increased in the last couple of years as scientists explore, in greater depth, the effects that man-made global warming have on this pristine region.  Sweden is currently the chairman of the Arctic Council and has done a tremendous job in highlighting the challenges that the Arctic is facing.  For example, Sweden has used its chairmanship to institutionalize the work of the Arctic Council by establishing a secretariat in Tromsø, Norway.

My Embassy team and I have put particular emphasis on the Arctic in the last couple of years and collaborated closely with Sweden during its chairmanship. It is hard, however, to comprehend the magnitude of climate change without experiencing it first-hand.

Earlier this week I visited Abisko in the northernmost part of Sweden. The Abisko Scientific Research Station is located above the Arctic Circle, 96 kilometers (60 miles) north of Kiruna.  It is a center located in an ecologically sensitive part of the sub-Arctic, and gathers scientists from throughout the world.

Abisko is a member of SCANNET, a network of thirty-three bases in northern Europe and the United States that seeks to build capacity for research and monitoring in the Arctic. Abisko has gained an international reputation and is attracting scientists from a number of U.S. institutions including the University of New Hampshire, the University of Vermont and Alaskan research stations Toolik Lake and Barrow.

The station is unique in that it has one of the world’s most extensive records dating back to the early 1900s when it was founded. In the form of both data and photos, the research shows how the landscape has changed in the last 100 years.

Our host in Abisko, Station Manager Christer Jonasson, brought us to the adjacent Stordals mire where much of the research is being conducted. A mire is a wetland terrain dominated by peat-forming plants. All over the frozen Stordals mire, scientists have set up equipment — some of the instruments look like props from the Star Wars trilogy — that measure changes in the local environment. They measure variables such as climate, snow depth, ice thickness and ice duration. They monitor hydrology, water chemistry, geomagnetism and atmospheric carbon isotope composition. The research clearly indicates that there have been drastic changes pertaining to both flora and fauna over the years.

Christer explained that scientists have discovered cases where higher temperatures have created ice caps on top of the snow which is making it harder for reindeer herds to access food. Since some of the members of the indigenous Sami are heavily dependent on reindeer, these kinds of findings are extremely important. Christer and his team are working with the Sami to adapt to the changes induced by climate change.  Another recent phenomenon is that the birch forests around Abisko often experience invasions of caterpillars in the spring as it is no longer cold enough to kill off the eggs of those pests.

I would like to extend my great appreciation to Christer Jonasson and the researchers at Abisko who were generous with their time and gave us first-hand experience of how climate change is impacting the Arctic – and also gave us life time memories.

 

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • •
 
IKEA1

Visiting IKEA headquarters

On March 20, 2013, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
0

Ten years ago while a first-year student at university, IKEA represented freedom, independence and a breadth of new opportunities to me. At that time in America, it had become a near requirement to purchase all of your university furnishings at the gleaming super-store.  Each piece of lightweight, streamlined furniture purchased represented one step closer to a new, exciting life!

Today the iconic brand symbolizes much more than just possibilities and potential for a fuller life. It symbolizes a core set of values— egalitarianism, sustainability and protection of the world’s resources, gender equality, social justice, philanthropy, diversity and inclusion, fiscal conservatism, a sense of community— which inform everything from its products’ “democratic design” to its style of informal, consensus-building leadership within the corporation’s management structure.

The short one-hour flight from Stockholm to Växjö, in the province of Småland, transported us to a serene, stony landscape dotted with leafless birch trees and known for its moose, and perhaps most of all, for IKEA and its founder Ingvar Kamprad who grew up there on a farm.

The land was notoriously hard to farm, thus instilling its people with a flinty hard work ethic and an aversion to waste. Kamprad brought the lessons he learned coming-of-age in a challenging setting to his vision for IKEA. A laser focus on efficiency is one of the reasons IKEA is able to provide its products at such low prices, explained CEO Mikael Ohlsson. Ensuring efficiency and strong partnerships with shared values along the entire supply chain is critical to IKEA’s success. The company has a “People & Planet Positive” goal for 2020 to make its stores, products and suppliers as sustainable as possible.

The focus on sustainable forestry is deeply impressive at a time when large timber tracts around the world are under intense pressure.  Great emphasis is placed on developing content alternatives other than just straight wood.

During our visit, we were able to see the production centers, scientific testing laboratories, design, the first-ever IKEA store and speak to designers in Älmhult. We even experienced a taste of home when we encountered an American supplier from Toledo, Ohio who was at IKEA headquarters with his wife for training and meet-and-greets, something IKEA does regularly to enhance partnerships and strengthened values transmission. When I asked Steve what he liked best about IKEA, he pointed to the strong focus on relationships.

One of the most personally exciting elements for me was their commitment to gender equality in the workplace. Many of the higher-level managers in the company started on the shop floor, and investing in employees’ productivity and development is paramount.

Today, IKEA has 42% female managers and has a short-term goal of 50%. One way they are attacking this challenge is through an initiative called “Battle of the Numbers” co-founded by Swedish media maven Eva Swartz Grimaldi  and Sofia Falk, that has received a one-year commitment from many of Sweden’s top companies (Ericsson, SEB Bank, H & M) to engage its top females in several seminars to discuss problems in gender equality within their corporation and find solutions. The solutions will later be presented to the CEO’s of all the companies to hopefully institute. IKEA’s assistant to the CEO, Fredrika Inger, an amazingly bright woman who helped guide and inform us through the visit, is directly involved in the initiative.

We ended this enlightening day in a very fitting place for Mark and me— the children’s section. Children, their development and their freedom to be and grow in every part of the home is a central value and driver for IKEA. The designers work with renowned children’s research centers to develop products that are first and foremost completely safe, even edible (as their markers are) but also lend to a child’s openness and creativity. Healthy eating and lifestyle are a key part of this message, and to underscore that we scanned reading books discussing gardening and squeezed plush toys shaped like carrots! Giving kids a healthy start is a passion and priority for our First Lady Michelle Obama and her path-breaking “Let’s Move” initiative, and many of IKEA’s values lined up perfectly with those of our President and many Americans.

Thank you Mikael Ohlsson and the IKEA family for an incredible visit! One that opened our eyes not only to IKEA, but allowed us to better understand the Swedish culture and what is important to Swedes.  Our visit places our shared values in an even stronger light!

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
 

A Road Trip To Karlstad

On September 20, 2012, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
0

Last Friday I had the pleasure of bringing a piece of our Embassy to the region of Värmland and the city of Karlstad, in the Western part of Sweden. Packing up the car and placing a microcosm of our Embassy “in a box”, as we call our Embassy Roadshow, to travel to a new place to connect with a fresh group of people has become one of my favorite things to do as Ambassador.

 

I truly believe the best way to get to know a country and its people is by getting to know firsthand the many dimensions of its society, not just in the capital but in the four corners of the nation. Meeting new Swedes on their terrain, standing on the land they’ve worked to preserve for centuries and learning about their community firsthand from those who inhabit it is so rewarding for me and important for the great Swedish-American friendship.

 

My 317 km journey to the Delta City began before sunrise, and in fact the sun hid for the first half of the day as rain pelted the car throughout our trip to Varmland. The city has as its motto ‘Solen alltid Skiner’ (The Sun Always Shines), and I knew rain or shine, the trip would be phenomenal and full of positive energy.

 

While entering the city I was able to see the beautiful vision of two of Sweden’s great natural waterways; the 500km long Klara River and the mighty Lake Vänern. As a true nature lover, I am always awe-struck by the unvarnished, almost wild beauty of the Swedish landscape.

Upon arrival, I was Greeted by both the Mayor, Per-Samuel Nilsson and the Governor of Värmland, Eva Eriksson, who demonstrated what I have heard so frequently about Karlstad: that the people are exceedingly warm, welcoming and hospitable.

 

From the moment I stepped out of the car, I was able to meet and engage with enthusiastic citizens and inquisitive young people – that Friday I met with almost 500 young people. Having the opportunity to connect on a personal level and discuss shared values and a shared sense of social responsibility, was such a significant moment for our Embassy community. I felt we were building a vibrant foundation that would last and be cultivated over time.

 

By reaching beyond the city limits of Stockholm, we were able to connect with a dynamic community and open dialogue with more than 500 students. It is so important to us as an Embassy team to authentically connect with the young generation, to not talk at them but to truly listen and be open and responsive to their perspectives. I met some of the most impressive and informed young people that day, and was so excited to connect with them on issues of sustainability, environmental protection and other global challenges, including in the Middle East. It gave me an incredible opportunity to learn a lot from a group of future leaders.

 

On Saturday, I was given the opportunity to speak at the Swedish American Bridge
Conference. Sweden’s Ambassador to the U.S.A. (and a great friend) Jonas Hafström, and hockey legend Håkan Loob, joined me as speakers for the morning session of the conference. Here, I was able to convey America’s focus on environmentalism and the innovative things happening on sustainability in the US.

It was a great and memorable visit to Karlstad.  Here are photos of our US Embassy Road Show:

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • •
 

Visiting Fryshuset: A Haven for Young People

On September 13, 2012, in Mark, Natalia, by Ambassador Brzezinski
0

Summer has left us with barely a whisper, and September has ushered in a wave of heightened engagement and energized activity. Yesterday in the crisp Fall sunshine, we visited arguably one of the largest youth activity centers in the world, Fryshuset. Youth engagement focused around open dialogue, inclusivity and tolerance is a pillar for U.S. Embassy Stockholm’s outreach and a personal passion of mine. In a week where the United States diplomatic community has faced such tremendous losses, the work Fryshuset performs is an unparalleled public service to ensure a safer future.

Stepping into the grand corridors of what was an old freezing warehouse [hence the name “Fryshuset”], we saw these objectives come to life in the inspiring work Fryshuset, its 400 employees and more than 2,000 youth participate in on a daily basis. It was an astoundingly motivational afternoon, and forced me to ask myself: How can I be a better citizen? What more can I do to give back and affect positive change?

Passion and proactivity serve as the foundation for the authentic relationships Fryshuset’s employees seek to form with the almost 15,000 youth they reach in 3 cities— Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo— within Sweden. Passion brings young people together around sports, theater or music, and proactivity, or the will to act and act swiftly and decisively, creates a cohesive responsiveness on the side of the volunteers and employees to help young people realize their identities and reject extremism and violence.

Fryshuset was founded 30 years ago for a group of kids who desperately needed a place to gather and play basketball. Today, the massive complex has two large basketball courts where concerts are often held, vast spaces for conferences, a bright cafeteria and three schools. They have a fantastic basketball team, with 50 percent female participation, who were shooting 3-pointers with ease as we toured the facilities.

Fryshuset employs a holistic approach toward youth engagement with specific niche programs that cut to the core of relating with young people. “Easy Street” is aimed at youth ensconced in gangs and employs former gang members and other young people from similar communities to connect with the young people in need. “Scenarios” utilized short feature films to address gender issues, and there is also a separate program to connect with and provide guidance to young people trapped in right-wing extremist and Neo-Nazi groups.

Fryshuset sensed there was a bubbling issue with right-wing extremism, and the non-profit along with the government, really focused on reaching out to these young people and giving them a new sense of purpose and identity. According to counselors at Fryshuset, there is also a great level of cooperation with American non-profits focusing on similar issues, and many of the counselors we met with had just returned from a fact-finding, informational trip to New York City. Thanks to grants by the U.S. Embassy here, Fryshuset is sending a group of young people to New York City in the spring to further these efforts and discuss best practices in an interfaith setting.

Fostering a common ground based on our similarities as human beings not our differences, is one way the counselors at Fryshuset have been able to use their programs to galvanize interfaith dialogue and combat gangs, right-wing extremism and hate crimes. Their embrace of diversity could be seen in the mystical stained-glass windows emblazoned with a diverse set of religious symbols images that adorned the courts and shone over the children playing each day as a living symbol. Standing in a circle with a young Imam from Jordan, a female priest, a Swede of immigrant background who studied criminal justice in New York City and several Swedes who grew up in Stockholm, I felt a sense of pride at how far we have come as global citizens and also that there is a strong acknowledgement of the hard work we still need to do and a strong will to do it.

Today, Americans everywhere are mourning for the loss of our public servants in Libya, but hopefully we can come together around a unity of purpose to overcome hate and continue to believe in our shared humanity.

Tagged with: • • • • • • •
 

U.S. Green Cities Delegation Confirms “All Politics is Local”

On April 20, 2012, in Mark, by Ambassador Brzezinski
0

In the late 1970s/early 1980s, then-U.S. Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, coined the now-famous saying “all politics is local”. This holds particularly true in the United States where the federal system reserves to states and cities most authorities and decision-making powers, making America a “ground-up” society were local action and grass-roots enthusiasm leads the way.

Earlier this week Natalia and I hosted a breakfast for a group of mayors and city representatives from the U.S. National League of Cities to get a flavor of how they are developing and implementing environmentally sustainable solutions. The delegation – representing Baltimore, Maryland; Cleveland, Ohio; Dubuque, Iowa; and St Paul, Minnesota – also met with Swedish counterparts under the auspices of the Swedish American Green Alliance (SAGA) to exchange best practices on urban sustainability to make sure that local politics does not stay local, but that these great solutions spread internationally.

Each of these elected officials displayed an impressive breadth of knowledge and determination to implement effective sustainability programs in their respective cities, each with very distinct and individual challenges and opportunities. Natalia and I were so inspired by the level of commitment and imagination in the room.  Whether it was tackling issues of transportation in Baltimore, spreading knowledge through early education on sustainability in Cleveland, or high-speed rail and an emphasis on public-private partnerships in St. Paul,  each of these city representatives were finding creative solutions to make improve the quality of life for their citizens. By utilizing his years of experience at John Deere Co.  and a dedication to improving the lives of his nine grandchildren, Mayor Boul of Dubuque, Iowa has helped make Dubuque one of the best small cities to raise a family, according to Forbes.

The delegation visited Hammarby Sjöstad together with Natalia. Hammarby has gone from being a former industrial site in the late 1980s to a sustainable neighborhood with cutting-edge holistic solutions that help its nearly 26,000 residents make significant energy savings while also saving money. The goal of the “Hammarby Model” is to integrate energy, water and waste to make the most efficient system possible.  What was once a polluted area populated by squatters, has now become a coveted residential areas for young families and professionals due to its vast and family-friendly “green areas”, efficient garbage sorting system, district heating and goal of making it the first completely electric car area by 2020. Hammarby Sjostad has become a global example of sustainability, and has over 13,000 visitors per year. Our city representatives, along with Natalia, were able to place a peg on a map of the world for all visitors. The map depicted visitors from Canada to China, Norway to Saudi Arabia.

In a similar fashion, the U.S. cities we met have adopted a number of sustainable initiatives. Council member Kraft of Baltimore told us that a 2.25% tax increase on downtown parking has allowed the city to offer free public transport in the city center which has encouraged residents to leave their cars at home.  Mayor Coleman of St Paul informed us about his city’s district heating grid which is run on biomass. Considering St Paul was one of the main destinations for Swedish emigrants in the late 19th century, it is not too surprising that it was two Swedes who constructed the city’s district heating system a couple of decades back

Both Natalia and I were pleased to see how Swedish and U.S. cities are uniting to take the lead in urban sustainability. This goes for both large and small cities. Dubuque, a town of 60 000, and its mayor, Roy Buol, has shown how a small city can serve as a small scale test pilot for bigger cities. As an example, Dubuque recently teamed up with IBM to launch a brand new smart metering system that will allow the town’s residents to keep a close eye on their energy and water consumption as part of Dubuque being IBM’s test bed for its “Smarter Cities” initiative. The overall goal is for this system to be spread around the United States and around the world.

All politics truly is local – sustainability is no exception.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • •
 

Wastewater is Serious Business in Sweden

On February 29, 2012, in Mark, by Ambassador Brzezinski
0

From left to right: Käppala Managing Director Per Manhem, Lidingö Mayor Paul Lindquist, Ambassador Mark Brzezinski

Northern Stockholm, or the island of Lidingö to be more specific, hosts Käppala water treatment plant which is one of the world’s cleanest facilities of its kind. On Monday morning Lidingö Mayor Paul Lindquist and Käppala Manager Director Per Manhem offered me a tour of this facility.  This facility serves approximately 600,000 people in eleven municipalities in the Stockholm area.

The purpose of the visit was to learn more about Käppala’s active role in providing not just clean water, but the city buses with biogas, local farmers with fertilizer and adjacent households with district heating. The plant was inaugurated in the 1950s but as a result of the rapid growth of Stockholm the plant underwent an expansion in the late 1990s.

At Käppala, sludge is considered valuable stuff and serious business. It is one of few waste water plants in the world that actually generates annual revenue of several million dollars a year alone for the biogas. This is hardly surprising since it has the capacity to provide 100 buses with biogas and 30,000-40,000 houses with district heating. Käppala also generates approximately 20,000 tons of sludge annually which it gives away for free to farmers who use it as fertilizer.
Before sending the fertilizer to farmers, the plant removes 98 percent of the phosphorus in the sludge to make sure it does not end up in surrounding lakes and rivers causing eutrophication. People often talk about the danger of reaching peak oil — the point at which the production of oil begins an irreversible decline — but very few ever speak of peak phosphorus!

Phosphorus is crucial to a plant’s root, flower, fruit or vegetable and seed
development – and we are slowly running out of it. The work at Käppala is therefore important in order to avoid wasting this precious mineral. The plant does not only remove phosphorus but also traces of pharmaceuticals, some of which affects the reproduction of fish.

From left to right: U.S. Ambassador to Sweden Mark Brzezinski, Käppala Managing Director Per Manhem

Käppala clearly serves the people of Stockholm in a number of ways which is probably why it has become such an integrated part of society. I was excited to see how much the United States can learn about how not to waste our waste.

Tagged with: • • • • • • •
 

Jokkmokk!

On February 13, 2012, in Mark, by Ambassador Brzezinski
0

Amb. Brzezinski and Governor Eriksson give the thumbs up to cooperation!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trip to the sub-Arctic I took last week with several Embassy colleagues advanced a number of priorities of my mission here in Sweden:  Working to advance the dialogue between America and Sweden to protect biodiversity and the interests of indigenous populations; connecting with young people on their priorities; and commercial diplomacy.

I was delighted to meet the leadership of the Parliament of the Sami people in the northern city of Kiruna, Sweden.  The Sami are the indigenous people who inhabit a landmass covering parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.  Our conversation quickly zeroed in on the practical challenges they face in protecting their way of life.  Reindeer herding – from summer to winter feeding and breeding grounds – is increasingly under threat as traditional migratory routes are faced with development and transport corridor building, and as climate change affects the overall biodiversity of the region. Striking a balance between the Sami people and industry will be difficult, but not impossible, and what is needed, and what I hope is genuinely underway, is open and constructive dialogue between interests that are not irreconcilable.

 
It was at the Jokkmokk Winter Conference where I felt I had an incredibly thoughtful and honest discussion with a large group of young people.  In the morning of that day, Embassy Economic and Environment Counselor Laura Kirkconnell and I went dog sledding, a truly memorable Arctic experience, in sunny weather but incredibly cold temperatures.  The thermometer was minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit (-32 C), and after an hour of dog sledding the pain from the cold was palpable.  It was telling that my guide Stina asked to look at my face to see if she could see white spots – evidence of frostbite.  Thankfully there were none – and all I was left with were incredible memories.

 
Over 200 young people signed up for the Jokkmokk Winter Conference, and I welcome the passion, creativity, public mindedness and energy that was brought to the table by participants.  It is meeting with groups of young people like this when you can’t help but have hope for the future.   I sat on a panel with the Russian Ambassador and the Canadian Chargé d’Affairs.  The questions were direct and spirited.  I welcome more such frank discussions.  I was especially proud that there were two American Fulbright scholars present, studying topics pertaining to socio-political questions the societies of the North will have to address.  The Fulbright program is one of America’s best exports: It gives rising stars a year to ask and try to answer really tough questions.

 
The last day of our trip we went to the Northern City of Luleå, where we had lunch with the Governor of Norrbotten province and the Mayor of Luleå.  The pride that these two leaders take in both the traditions of the region, but also the region’s future, was clear.  We visited the site where Facebook’s data center is under construction.  This will be Facebook’s first data center outside the USA, and I jumped at the chance to travel there. I can tell you the cool Arctic air that attracted Facebook to choose this site was very much apparent, as it was about minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit (-26 C).  I am deeply impressed that the data center will be powered primarily by renewable energy, and is being built not far from the 17,000 student Luleå University, with clear benefits derived from being close to a strong research institution and new ideas. The regional incubator – geared to bringing more creative industries – is incredibly sophisticated and globally oriented at a time when we are all connected.

 
My trip up north exposed me to great traditions, but also hopefully the bright future, of the sub-Arctic region.  Protecting biodiversity, indigenous people traditions and economic cooperation are by no means mutually exclusive goals.  Through dialogue, openness, transparency in decision-making, these goals are absolutely reconcilable.  I will remember the beauty of the landscape, the ruggedness of the people, and the strong Arctic sun which every day sheds light on the hopefully bright future of the sub-Arctic region.

See more photos from the trip on the Embassy’s Flickr photostream:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/usembsweden

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • •
 

Kiruna: In the air, on land and below the Earth

On February 3, 2012, in Natalia, by Ambassador Brzezinski
0

Ambassador and Mrs. Brzezinski outside Esrange near Kiruna, Sweden

In the past 36 hours, I’ve observed the enormous capacity of man thousands of miles into space, and been plunged thousands of feet below the earth surrounded by molten rock and impenetrable darkness. From the Esrange Space Center to the vast LKAB iron ore mines, the impressive level of dynamism and symbiosis with nature that Kiruna, the northernmost city in Sweden with a population of less than 20,000 inhabitants, encapsulates is undeniable. Its strategic location makes it suitable for cutting-edge experimentation and it’s an example of a region not limited but buoyed by environmental awareness.

 
As I prepared for my trip north of the Arctic Circle (Kiruna is 145 kilometers (90 mi) north of the Arctic Circle), I was inundated with descriptions of untarnished forests, biting temperatures, and roaming reindeer. But instead of the soporific quality I expected, Kiruna is bustling with industry and linking the world from air, space and land in an amazing breadth of connectivity and information.

 
We began our trip by touring the Esrange Space Center. Started in 1964, it has become a leading research center for launching experimental sounding rockets, balloons and satellites. The center boasts more than 23 different nationalities working together on aeronautic experiments that attempt to answer the questions of the moment on ozone depletion, gravity and sustainability. As space becomes busier, more competitive and more cluttered, centers like Esrange are on the cusp of facilitating cooperation in this unregulated frontier.

 
Our first day in Kiruna turned out to be not only intellectually but also visually illuminating: the evening was capped off by an incredible display of the Aurora Borealis shining above our hotel room, with three pale green, luminescent lines like paint strokes splashed across the heavens.

 
The next morning, we toured the LKAB iron ore mines closer to the center of Kiruna. This mine alone provides 90 percent of the iron ore for the European Union, and is one of the largest iron ore mines in the world. In a true feat of modern engineering, we drove through a network of paved two-lane highways zigzagging through the rock as we spent nearly two hours viewing the facilities. The mine boasts a large conference center, multiple loading docks and layers upon layers of tunnels where massive, remote-controlled machines break rock and collect ore in record time. But for me, one of the most impressive features was that nearly fifteen percent of the employees manning the control stations were women. In one of the most traditionally and symbolically male-dominated occupations, that is a feat of engineering in itself!

 
One challenge for the city is managing the expansion of the mine and maintaining the sacred balance between man and nature that is so critical to the identity of Kiruna. This challenge will be tested this year, as the entire city must be moved to accommodate the natural growth of the mine. People, cultural landmarks and homes will be literally lifted and moved to a more stable setting, or completely razed and rebuilt. Despite the overwhelming nature of this task, there seems to be a level of trust and communication between the public and industry that will hopefully ease this transition.

 

In many ways, the Arctic region both asks the tough questions and holds the complicated answers to the future of our environment. This trip made me focus more on the potential for cooperation between man and land, and how we can create harmony through respect and awareness.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • •
 

We’re all in this together

On December 7, 2011, in Mark, by Ambassador Brzezinski
0

Today marks the arrival in Stockholm of a person who personifies American leadership and great science:  Dr. Steven Chu, US Secretary of Energy. We at the U.S. Embassy are thrilled that Dr. Chu has come to Sweden for Nobel week.  Dr. Chu is a former Nobel Laureate, sharing the prize for physics in 1997.  He has run a national laboratory, is the holder of ten patents, and has published nearly 250 scientific papers — a background that spans invention, scientific collaboration, and real results on turning new ideas into action.

In announcing Dr. Chu’s selection as U.S. Secretary of Energy in 2009, President Obama said, “The future of our economy and national security is inextricably linked to one challenge:  energy.  Steven has blazed new trails as a scientist, teacher, and administrator, and has recently led the Berkeley National Laboratory in pursuit of new alternative and renewable energies.”

While I am not a scientist, I am passionate about the environment and where our world is going.  I feel most at home in the calm and stillness of nature.  There’s a place in Virginia where my family has gone for years, in the Blue Ridge mountains, for hiking and hunting, where the changing of the leaves marks the passage of time — and where every once in a while if one is very lucky one can see a black bear or wild bobcat.  When my family first moved to Washington DC in the 1970′s, the Potomac River used to freeze practically every year.  Now it rarely freezes at all.  I want my daughter and all of our children and grandchildren to live in a safe, prosperous and healthy world.  And I am very happy that the person in the United States leading our pursuit of alternative and renewable energy brings a genuine and accomplished scientific background to this challenge we all share.

I’ve been in Sweden as Ambassador for 19 days now.  One thing I hear from practically everyone is how important it is that we strive to find new solutions to energy challenges and global climate change.  It’s widely recognized that this is a challenge that does not recognize borders and national boundaries.  To make sure that we get the resources and technology to the countries that really need it, without losses through bureaucracy and corruption, the United States at this moment is collaborating with other nations, including Sweden, to put the essential mechanisms and governance in place to actually implement the important international agreements already made in Copenhagen and Cancun.

Here at the U.S. Embassy, we are working hard every day through the Swedish American Green Alliance (SAGA) to do things that make a difference — sharing technology, ideas and approaches and facilitating dynamic partnerships between Americans and Swedes.  And we want to welcome you to take part — please visit the SAGA website to see the best of what is happening on sustainability – in Sweden, in the United States, and more and more in partnership between our countries.  If you see something already happening in which you would like to be a partner, or have your own story to share so those who many want to partner with, or learn from, you can see it: send it to saga@state.gov.  Change starts with an idea, which by working together we can make reality.  But it means you need to share that project you are working on, or that “light bulb” idea in your head with the SAGA network so that we can all work together to tactically implement it.  We are all in this together.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • •