Dialogue with Professor Muhammad Yunus

On April 15, 2013, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Professor Muhammad Yunus speaks with Ambassador and Mrs. Brzezinski

On Saturday, we were honored to host the father of social business and micro-finance, Professor Muhammad Yunus, for a two-hour dialogue on diversity, empowering women through entrepreneurship and helping society through financially-sustainable, long-term measures.

Professor Yunus’s visit to Stockholm was sponsored by the Postkod Lotteriet, and directly from here he was traveling on to Washington, D.C. where he would be receiving the Congressional Gold Medal. As a testament to his visionary status, he is only one of seven people in history to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold medal.

Beyond titles and awards, Professor Yunus radiates positive energy and lights up a room. The moment our guests began to arrive, you could sense the way they were drawn to him and the joy he took in interacting with a dynamic array of guests from some of Sweden’s most successful entrepreneurs, CEO’s and venture capitalists to governmental development aid experts from SIDA or two teenage girls from Rinkeby (a suburb outside of Stockholm with a high population of immigrants and political refugees). Our two female students from Rinkeby Akademien, budding entrepreneurs in their own right, made such an impact on the event with the articulate manner they introduced themselves and engaged in the dialogue!

Around a large dining room table, Professor Yunus described the genesis of Grameen Bank and its goal of helping the poorest people lift themselves out of poverty by providing small loans and imparting basic financial principles. Much of Yunus’s work focused on empowering women, so much so that he has been named an honorary woman in Bangladesh, a fact he shared with us smiling gleefully!

Many of our guests had the chance to ask questions ranging from how the micro-finance model can be extended to entrepreneurs in the Islamic world to the digital future of using cell phones as ways to perform ultrasounds or test your eyes in the developing world where in many nations access to nurses and hospitals is sorely lacking. Time and again, Professor Yunus interjected a common theme: one person can make a lasting impact on any social challenge through creativity and sheer determination. When youth unemployment was mentioned, he mischievously looked many of us in the eye around the table and exclaimed: one of you can hire one person, just one, and make a difference!

At a time when social entrepreneurship is the buzzword of the moment, it can be stultifying that Professor Yunus catalyzed the concept and model more than 37 years ago. In fact, he told me that in 1987 he was called up by a Governor from a very poor state in America to try to solve the challenges of poverty through a business model. That man was Governor Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, headed up the initiative. Yunus has had a long relationship with Clintons since then, and this is a shining example of the shared values between the U.S. and many of its global partners on the challenges we face today. For me, it was so special to host Professor Yunus in Stockholm because Sweden has such a rich legacy of generosity in development aid and strong core of social justice. What a wonderful evening we all spent being inspired by this great man!

You can see more photos from the event on the US Embassy Flickr page!

 

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Empowering Women in the 21st Century: U.S. Ambassador at Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer Visits U.S. Embassy Stockholm

On December 14, 2012, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues

Women’s issues are not just about women anymore. As President Obama said in April, “They are family issues, they are economic issues, they are growth issues, they are issues about American competitiveness. They’re issues that impact all of us.”

We have a President and a Secretary of State who understand the interdependence between advancing economic opportunities for women and advancing the overall prosperity and condition in society. Promoting and empowering women in business and political leadership positions is not just good for women, it’s good for all of us. Countless studies conclude it’s better for share-holders returns, better for the bottom-line and better for the productivity of corporate boards when more women have a seat at the table. The most creative innovation comes from a diversity of ideas and voices.

Our leaders take this challenge so seriously that Secretary Clinton created a brand new role within the State Department to implement this vision. Melanne Verveer is the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues. The Secretary has charged Embassies worldwide to deliver on this “strategic and moral imperative” of women’s empowerment as a top priority.

Mark and I had the honor of hosting her this week here in Stockholm.

Ambassador Verveer often cites the unique “power to convene” as an effective tool for American Embassies around the world. Bringing a diverse set of people together around a common challenge and facilitating open, authentic dialogue can be a transformative experience that can be a catalyst for change.

On Tuesday, we did precisely that. Mark and I brought together a group of Sweden’s top female and male CEO’s and senior managers around key questions: What are the critical components necessary for an ideal ecosystem to empower women in senior business positions? What can we learn from different models elsewhere? And what lessons learned could these leading business people thatlive in a country that leads on gender equality share with us? Essentially, what really works ?

We began from an empirical framework and examined low-cost childcare, maternity/paternity leave benefits, access to capital, entrepreneurial training, mentorship programs, role models, mandatory quotas and the commitment of headhunters on this issue, as basic components that could possibly create “virtuous circles” (or low cost, high leverage cycles) of change.

Low-cost, high quality childcare is an example of this. When women have low-cost childcare available they have more capital and time to put into something productive for themselves and society, such as an entrepreneurial enterprise.

Through the dialogue, Ambassador Verveer helped frame the issue for us. Simply put, gender diversity at the top makes economic sense. She called on the private sector, and in particular CEO’s, to make a commitment to empowering women and pointed to specific examples of public-private partnerships she is familiar with, like Coke’s 5/20 program. This issue is in our collective self-interest, as Ambassador Verveer said, yet no country in the world has closed the gap yet.

One country that has made great strides is Sweden. In Sweden today, there are more female Cabinet Ministers than male, including a female Minister of Defense. There are 1.5 women for every man in tertiary education (a statistic reflected also in the United States). And yet in this realm there is so much more that can be done — less than 2% of Sweden’s top executives are women although they have the highest representation globally with 21 percent.

All these numbers tell us one thing: we still have a great deal of work to do to unleash the power of gender and facilitate women’s full economic participation. With aspirational leaders like President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and Ambassador Verveer, I have true faith that women of my generation and our daughter’s will have a greater voice in the workplace because of the trailblazers before us.

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Connecting with Youth on Questions of Identity

On November 1, 2012, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Meeting with Swedish youth at the Embassy

“I thought diplomats were all older white men, it was so great to see women and young people today while visiting the Embassy.”

 
This comment by a young, female Somali student from Malmö, Sweden struck me as the core of the challenges for cross-cultural outreach: battling misconceptions and putting a compassionate human face on diplomacy.

The Embassy team has been working tirelessly and effectively to organize authentic meetings and discussions with young people from diverse backgrounds. The point is not to talk at them, but to listen and listen some more. Such an event was organized yesterday to open up the Embassy doors to Somali high school students, let them ask questions of the Ambassador, tour the Embassy, hear what diplomats do and just connect on an authentic, people-to-people level.

I attended the lunch portion of a half-day program, and was thrilled by the open level of communication, laughter and conversations going on. I sat with four sharp young women who told me of their dreams of becoming a nurse, how they wanted to go help people in the Horn of Africa or the things they both admired and disliked about images and pop culture coming out of America. I know that it’s not always easy to be frank with older “authority-type” figures especially in what can be an intimidating setting— a U.S. Embassy— but the Embassy team created such a warm, welcoming setting that made everyone feel comfortable and able to really share their views.

One recurring theme we picked up was a lack of role models. One young man told us that he had chosen vocational training to be a plumber although it’s not where his passion lies only because he had no one to go to for professional advice or any role models that “look like him” to give him motivation.

This topic blended into an evening discussion that same day by the nascent Embassy Youth Council, called “You Tell U.S.” The goal of this dynamic initiative is to bring a diverse set of young Swedes together and once again, to really listen. We gather roughly once a month over chips and soft drinks, and the theme of each evening is not set by the Embassy but by the young guests:
What does it mean to be Swedish? What is the relationship between national identity and cultural or religious identity? How can we make newcomers feel like they truly belong? Is it possible to compare Swedish and American models when it comes to integration, or are we coming from fundamentally different foundations?

These were a few of the fascinating questions that we debated with the help of Kadra,

a young Somali grass-roots community leader from Minneapolis, Minnesota who Mark had actually met with on his trip to visit the Swedish and Somali diaspora in Minnesota earlier this month. Kadra helped lead the discussions by describing the entrepreneurial spirit of the Somali community in Minnesota as well as the challenges for her organizational efforts, which included a lack of role models and a need for institutionalization.

What ensued was an incredibly vibrant discussion among a group of Swedish youth political leaders, entrepreneurs and activists both immigrants and non-immigrants that went on far beyond the two hours initially set aside for the evening. Toward the end, the conversation took an introspective turn as each of us discussed what it meant to be a Swede, or to be an American. Couldn’t people in a certain nation agree to be diverse but also agree to have shared national values, like democracy or individual freedom?

Despite both consensus and wide disagreements, the evening demonstrated that part of the answer lies in the discussion. And I look forward to learning more from these talented young people at the next “You Tell U.S.” evening.

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Visiting Fryshuset: A Haven for Young People

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

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Secretary Clinton’s Historic Visit to Sweden

On June 7, 2012, in Mark, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Secretary of State Clinton being introduced to Embassy staff by Ambassador and Mrs. Brzezinski

Natalia and I have been in Sweden for less than seven months, but I honestly can not think of any other period of time in my life more packed with excitement than this first half-year in Stockholm.  We have had the time of our lives, and literally every day has been unforgettable.   But just when I thought it could not possibly get any better…the Secretary of State comes to visit!  What an incredible honor – and what an amazing recognition of the importance of our friendship with Sweden, and the high value our most important leaders place on this relationship.  This was the first visit to Sweden in more than 30 years by a U.S. Secretary of State, purely for the purpose of enhancing, deepening, and honoring the relationship between our two countries. And that’s what made it historic.

Swedish-American relations have never been stronger or warmer.  Literally as the Secretary landed on the coldest day in Sweden in decades, the warmth of Foreign Minister Bildt and his wife ,who joined Natalia and I in greeting the Secretary on the wet tarmac, was palpable and set the tone for the entire visit.
Sweden is in the very front ranks with us in direct engagement with the immediate global problems we all confront. Our Swedish hosts were both honored and very pleased the Secretary travelled to Stockholm. They welcomed Secretary Clinton with the same enthusiasm that the staff and families of US Embassy Stockholm did. We are so proud of our Secretary of State, and we are proud of the American – Swedish relationship which her visit deepened and honored.

A Powerful Global Partnership Based on Shared Values

As Secretary Clinton said, Sweden is – and has long been – one of America’s top partners and one of our oldest friends.  Importantly, Sweden brings its diplomatic heft and its development expertise to nearly every corner of the globe.  When it comes to global priorities, whether it is Afghanistan, Iran, counter-terrorism, global economic reform, humanitarian assistance, the Swedes are right by our side.  It is a relationship based on shared and deeply cherished values, values which we and Sweden are both committed to protecting.

At the recent NATO Summit in Chicago, the U.S. warmly welcomed Sweden as one of NATO’s strongest partners, standing with us in Afghanistan as we begin the transition to full Afghan responsibility for security by 2014, as well as working for the betterment of the Afghan people into the future.  In addition, Sweden offered NATO the use of its Nordic Center for Gender in Military Operations, which further demonstrates the strong and positive relationship between Sweden and NATO.  Secretary Clinton recognized this important offer in her remarks in Stockholm with the Swedish Prime Minister Frederick Reinfeldt and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.

Working Together To Keep The Internet Free

The Secretary also noted the close cooperation we share with the Swedes when it comes to protecting Internet Freedom.  She applauded Sweden’s leadership on Internet Freedom issues, stressing that those rights belong in the Internet as much as they do in the “real” world.  She also commended our Embassy for maximizing our social media platforms, and in particular for our our work in reaching out to Swedish bloggers.  As we all know, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt is a prolific blogger himself.  So when he

complimented our embassy’s use of social media as a model for his own ministry to follow, it was high praise indeed! And when it comes to all of the large challenges that know no boundaries, such as climate change, or gender equality, or Internet freedom, it is true that Sweden is not just on the front lines, but leading.  And I am greatly appreciative for all of that work, and look forward to enhancing it in the months and years ahead.

Dealing With Climate Change Together

Personally, I’m delighted that Secretary Clinton also chose to focus on climate and the environment during her visit. Sweden and the U.S. have a strong partnership in this area — both countries are initiators of a global coalition to address short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). Secretary Clinton joined Sweden’s Environment Minister Lena Ek and H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria at an event launching the coalition’s global awareness-raising efforts, and in her remarks she said: “Few people actually know about the impact we could have on global warming if we aggressively target short-lived climate pollutants.  And fewer still know that many cost-effective solutions already exist and are just waiting to be broadly implemented.”

To bolster the efforts led by Sweden and the U.S. to raise awareness about SLCPs, Secretary Clinton announced a global contest to find the most creative ideas for raising awareness of short-lived climate pollutants and the work that must be done to stop them. You can find details on the contest at www.unep.org/ccac.

It was so terrific to have the Secretary visit Stockholm and to spend some time with our Embassy team and their families.  Our Meet and Greet with Embassy staff and families was warm and uplifting, and reflected the respect and admiration our Secretary of State has for public service.  That she took time for photos with our Marines, our Embassy’s kids and all of us will long be remembered.  As the father of a young daughter with a wife joining me in a commitment to women’s empowerment, it was inspiring to have Secretary Clinton visit Sweden, as she is a global leader on this and many other issues.  In Sweden she finds a willing and capable partner which shares our values, as Sweden’s government today has more women ministers than men, including a female Minister of Defense.  Tack så mycket (“Thank you so much” in Swedish) Madame Secretary!!!!

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Global Symposium on Women’s Entrepreneurship

On June 1, 2012, in Natalia, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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(From left to right) United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Sweden Sheikha Najla Alqassimi, Professor Mary Barrett from the University of Wollonkong, K. Shelly Porges, Senior Advisor leading the State Department’s Global Women’s Initiative and Mrs. Natalia Brzezinski

This morning I had the privilege of moderating a fascinating panel on women’s entrepreneurship. The dynamic speakers included K. Shelly Porges, Senior Advisor leading the State Department’s Global Women’s Initiative, the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Sweden Sheikha Najla Alqassimi, and Professor Mary Barrett from the University of Wollonkong.

The global symposium was organized by the Swedish non-profit organization, ESBRI, and served as the inaugural event for the coming year’s work aimed at creating a global knowledge and action network for enhancing women’s entrepreneurship with a theme of women’s entrepreneurship as both an economic force and a societal force to change society and contribute to sustainable growth.

Secretary Clinton has said: “talent is universal, opportunity is not.” This is the guiding principle behind the Global Women’s Business Initiative and a way of leveling the playing field to create opportunity for women around the world in entrepreneurship. This office utilizes policy and public-private partnerships to educate women on how to start a business, create programs to monitor their progress and facilitate support networks. See more information on the Global Entrepreneurship Program here.

The theme of the panel was deciphering a global outlook on different forms of entrepreneurship occurring around the world and how to maximize that potential. Cultural norms are critical to implementing these policies, and the challenges that women face in the Arab world are incredibly different that those in Africa or Australia. This is why having such a disparate group of women provided a very rich context for those of us listening. I found it fascinating hearing Ambassador Alqassimi discuss the burgeoning movement toward enterprise by middle class women with a lifetime’s worth of meticulous savings who want to join the marketplace, or the young generation of Emirati women who are increasingly more educated than me and craving a professional life. Professor Barrett’s assessments of Australia having equal numbers of men and women participating in entrepreneurship were also eye-opening.

However, one universal problem seemed to be a lack of confidence among women in every nation. According to statistics from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2010 Women’s Report less than half–47.7 percent–of women believe they are capable of starting a business, while well over half–62.1 percent–of men believe they are capable. One thing is crystal clear: if you don’t believe in yourself and your own ideas, no one else will.

It is essential to provide women with role models who can describe their varied journeys to success and show other women that their dreams too can become reality. I passionately believe this is the moment for women to finally break through the glass ceiling, partly because of the incredible global leadership promoting this issue by women like Secretary Hillary Clinton, but also because people, in particular the young generation, are sick of the “old way of doing business” and are demanding equal opportunities for all.

The full participation of women in the global economy is vital to prosperity, political stability and sustainable development. With female leaders like the ones mentioned in this blog, as well as male leaders such as Magnus Aronsson, the President of ESBRI, I am confident the new generation will be the women’s generation.

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An evening honoring courage & sacrifice 

On May 24, 2012, in Natalia, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nina Lagergren

This week I had the honor of being invited to an evening championing personal freedom and basic human rights around the world. The headline speaker for the Stockholm 2012 Leadership for Human Rights event was the renowned Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a man who personifies courage in the face of repression and the ideal of not being indifferent to human need.

 
The event was sponsored by Sweden’s eminent “PostkodLotteriet”—a for-profit organization leading the way in philanthropic and socially responsible efforts—  and also included speeches by Ambassador Jan Eliasson, who has been newly appointed as Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations as well as two-time Oscar winning actor Sean Penn, now Ambassador-at-large for Haiti.

 
Walking up to the great Concert Hall, I could not help imaging the scores of brilliant men and women who have walked those cobbled stones to accept their Nobel Prize. This feeling was amplified by the powerful humming music and stunning arrangement of gigantic poster-sized faces of men and women around the world from Africa to Belarus fighting for human dignity visible as guests walked up to the grand entrance of the building.

 
The evening was beautifully choreographed to include art, music, poetry and visual mediums interlaced with powerful speeches to underscore the plight of the repressed. Video interviews ranging from the wife of a Belarussian activist who has disappeared,  to rural Cambodian women whose land, and therefore livelihood, is being taken away by the government in order to be sold to private developers for big profit.
Sean Penn delivered a moving reading of Kerry Kennedy’s book “Speak Truth to Power” and I must shamefully admit shaking Sean Penn’s hand and speaking to him briefly was a highlight of the evening not only because he is famous and charming but because one could really feel his fierce passion on these issues.

But the man who charged the room with emotion was Archbishop Desmond Tutu.  His sheer presence and grace brought tears to my eyes. The way he spoke about his experiences standing up to apartheid but also fighting for those with AIDS, tuberculosis and other socially marginalized groups in South Africa injected an energy toward activism in the room that was palpable. One of the most touching moments, captured by the photo in this blog, was seeing the sister of Raoul Wallenberg, Nina Lagergren, relating with the Archbishop in a way that seemed as if they had known each other their entire lives. Wallenberg was also a man who refused to be indifferent to hatred, and is a national Swedish hero who the U.S. Embassy has most recently celebrated by planting a tree in his honor in front of the U.S. Ambassadorial residence. Nina has dedicated much of her life to celebrating his legacy and championing human dignity, and you could see the instant connection she had with the Archbishop around those universal principles.

Ultimately, as Ambassador Jan Eliasson expertly put it in his incredible speech: although we all celebrate our respective national independence days with much fanfare the world is now interdependent. We need an “interdependence day” where we demonstrate “passion and compassion” in order to effect change and enforce human dignity around the world. I could not think of a greater call to action than that!

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Human rights & Human Dignity

On May 23, 2012, in Natalia, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer addresses the audience

Yesterday afternoon I had the unique privilege of introducing Margot Wallstrom, the Secretary General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict at the United Nations, at a seminar for transatlantic challenges organized by the American Chamber of Commerce.

Unfortunately, even in today’s modern world, rape continues to be a tool of political intimidation and warfare. Empowering women in conflict zones to speak out against these atrocities is “a human rights issue, not a women’s issue,” according to Wallstrom. Consequently, global peace and stability will never occur until we empower women to have a seat at the negotiating table in peacekeeping efforts.

Wallstrom is an innovative leader who has made her own path in her career, and never chosen the easiest or most accepted route. She molded her work to fit her convictions, her family life and her creativity, and has mentored younger women to lead from a place of authenticity like as well.

Wallstrom shared the stage with Lanny Breuer, the Assistant Attorney General and Head of the Criminal Division who was introduced first by Mark. Lanny delineated his work on enforcing anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws, and the historic uptick of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prosecutions under the Obama Administration.

Although the work Lanny and Margot do seems to have little in common on the surface, in fact, both of them are fighting for human dignity, fairness and democratic values. In the wake of the Arab Spring, there is an outcry for transparency and fair treatment of all individuals and this is the common thread evident in both Margot and Lanny’s work.

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Looking to the Future

On April 27, 2012, in Natalia, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Mrs. Natalia Brzezinski, Special Adviser for Innovation Alec Ross and Sweden's Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt

Recently, I’ve participated in two distinct forums with a recurring theme: focusing on innovative solutions to the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Nothing epitomizes these challenges and opportunities like the Internet. Whether the Internet will be a force for positive change and progress or for repression and tyranny is the worrisome question facing governments, policymakers, businesses and the citizens around the world that it has finally given a voice and outlet to.

This is a pivotal issue and we were so pleased to host our friend Alec Ross, Secretary Clinton’s senior advisor for innovation, last week to shine some light on it. Alec came to attend Stockholm’s Internet conference on Internet Freedom spearheaded by Foreign Minister Bildt, an early and enthusiastic pioneer on this issue. Both Ross and Bildt gave prescient and insightful speeches and sat on a panel together addressing questions on how to positively harness the Internet for international development, freedom from political repression and economic progress.

The theme of the day really struck a chord with me as I truly believe the language of individuality, openness and expression espoused by social media and the identity of the Internet writ large is universal and increasingly becoming more integral to self-identity for the young generation than the language of their homeland. The Arab Spring brought this to the forefront, and even today we see young Egyptians from across the political and religious spectrum fighting for common values of transparency, anti-corruption and opportunity for all.

Ensuring the future for the young generation by harnessing our common values was a key theme at another event I attended yesterday.  Save the Children in collaboration with Unicef organized an inspiring seminar on children’s rights and business principles. I attended at the invitation of Ambassador Lisa Svensson, Sweden’s dynamic Ambassador for Corporate Responsibility and the youngest Ambassador in the Foreign Ministry.

Protecting and supporting children around the world is a passion of Queen Silvia’s, and Her Majesty gave a strong set of opening remarks calling on businesses to take greater responsibility for the lives of children and safeguard their rights through the ten principles developed by the United Nations “Global Compact” on corporate responsibility.

Sweden has a cultural legacy of helping those in need, and it’s no surprise that its companies are consistently ranked as having the highest levels of corporate responsibility through carefully developed and targeted programs. Many of the corporations here have been able to strike a healthy balance between making money while doing something good for society.

Children’s rights are directly tied to levels of female empowerment since women are predominantly responsible for the livelihood of young children in the developing world. If women are able to make their own money, it’s been proven that they will use that money to educate their children. For this reason, I believe promoting women’s entrepreneurship is critical to the plight of children.

It was incredibly heartening to learn about the large-scale initiatives many Swedish companies are enacting to help women start their own businesses, secure loans and get their goods to the marketplace.

In places like Bangladesh, H & M is educating women on their rights such as simply asking for maternity leave and safe places to breastfeed. While touring Ericsson’s headquarters last week at the invitation of two of its top female Vice Presidents, I learned of the many ways Ericsson is empowering women in Africa, for example, through the “Connect to Learn” initiative that brings women and children quick access to broadband. In partnership with the UN Development Program, IKEA is sponsoring the education and empowerment of women in over 500 villages in Uttar Pradesh, India to learn how to start their own businesses. These are just a few examples I have heard about recently of the many, many Swedish companies that are taking the lead on this issue. It is a rich area where both Swedish and American companies can share best practices and collaborate.

Values-based leadership with a strong foundation in social innovation will be the dominant business model of the future, in my opinion. Today, the young generation entering the workforce is demanding that their companies care about something beyond just the bottom line. Business schools are slowly moving away from a financial, investment-based “Wall Street” focus to one rooted in imagination, innovation and corporate responsibility. I have deep faith that in the next 10-20 years we will have furthered the progress of women and children around the world through innovative public-private partnerships and the dedication of both sectors to empowering women and girls.

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Boldly Going Where This Man Has Not Been Before

On April 3, 2012, in Mark, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Last week, I had the honor of leading a group of Swedish and Finnish defense officials on a visit aboard USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65) as part of the ship’s last deployment.  I am attaching a picture of us about to embark on that memorable day.

At the invitation of the U.S. Naval Sixth Fleet, guests from Swedish and Finnish Ministry of Defense, Parliament and Armed Forces were invited for the day long visit.  Our group was flown out to the carrier and experienced an “arrested” landing, as well as a “catapult” launch.  Well, actually two landings as we had a rare occurrence of a “hook skip” where the tail hook of our aircraft actually jumped over the wires that were waiting to bring us to an abrupt stop.  Thankfully, aircraft carrier pilots are prepared for such an event and we landed successfully on the second attempt!

Between those memorable events, the Swedish and Finnish guests learned about interoperability between Navies and the carrier’s ability to support the full spectrum of foreign policy from humanitarian assistance through power projection.   This theme was consistent throughout the visit as many times aircraft carriers are only thought of in the sense of attacking targets.  However, during its last deployment in 2011, USS ENTERPRISE participated in the anti-piracy mission off the coast of Africa, much as the Swedish Navy did in 2010.

Another key observation for the guests was the absolute professionalism displayed by the crew of the carrier and the pilots of its air wing.  On its 4.5 acre (18,000 square meters) flight deck–the largest in the world, with winds gusting over 30 knots, jet engines literally over the heads of the personnel working while aircraft were taking off and landing just 20 meters away, there was a ballet-level of precision.  We were told the average age of those personnel was a mere 19 years old and yet every one of them knew the overall mission of the carrier, their position in contributing to that mission and the required teamwork to accomplish the mission.  The ship and air wing leaders provided the training, direction and resources and then let the team complete the mission.

Our Swedish and Finnish guests left the carrier knowing a bit more about the ability of our military forces, as well as our willingness and desire to work with other nations.  I think they also left with a bit of admiration for the fine men and women of our country.  It was truly a day I will always remember.

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