Terrific Visit to Sweden by Secretary of State Kerry

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

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Mrs. Natalia Brzezinski at the ABBA Museum

Celebrating Swedish icons in music & design

On May 10, 2013, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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How many of us have not danced around our living room while vacuuming or sung loudly in our car to the addictive tune of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”? I know I have. The song and the iconic band have connected generations around their addictive melodies and emotive lyrics. I remember clearly as a young girl in the 1990s watching hours of ABBA music videos—entranced by the two beautiful women, talented male singers and their fantastic costumes— alongside my father, one of the world’s biggest ABBA fans!

A few days ago, my childhood wonderment came to life at the grand opening of the ABBA Museum in Stockholm. Hundreds of people gathered in the outdoor courtyard of the museum which will also serve as a luxury hotel and a space to highlight rising young Swedish musicians. In this way, the concept of the museum acts as a conduit between the old and new— a way to learn and celebrate the past, while promoting a bright future.

The dynamic museum display located on the ground floor follows this theme. In one area we see the original sound-board used for the earliest ABBA songs, the original glittering gold costumes worn by the group in the 1970s as well as the newest technology showcasing holographic, life-size representations of each of the members that dance and sing, or computers that one can use to “mix” your own ABBA song with the tap of your finger.

The fantastic evening concluded with a surprise performance. As hundreds of guests gathered in the elegant, cobbled courtyard the rooms facing us began to light up and some of Swedish best young singers, rappers and dancers appeared in the large window balconies dancing hip-hop and singing songs ranging from traditional ABBA tunes to Swedish House Mafia. Every guest was swaying and bobbing their heads in amazement at that point, and the fireworks bursting at the end signaled a finale to an evening that Mark and I will always remember.

Later that week, I gravitated from Swedish icons in music to design. Svenkst Tenn is one of Sweden’s most famous design stores started in 1924 by Estrid Ericson and located prominently on one of Stockholm’s most beautiful and central streets facing the Baltic Sea—Strandvagen.

It’s rare to find a home in Stockholm without some element of Svenskt Tenn adorning it. Whether it’s an elegant, clean-lined plush couch or a traditional chair conceptualized by Joseph Frank— the famed long-time designer— in 1940s that’s manufactured in Sweden by a family that has passed on craftsmanship from generation to generation or paper napkins with the bright, often nature-inspired signature patterns. The dynamic spectrum of items in a wide price-range was formulated in the vision of Ms. Ericson who wanted every Swede to be able to afford something lovely and high-quality, according to CEO Maria Veerasamy.

I met Ms.Veerasamy for lunch in the tea room of the store (another part of Estrid Ericson’s vision) and we sat next to a glass-enclosed space which was the original office of the founder whose goal was to create a brand that would last for hundreds of years. In fact, each decision that is made focuses on the question: will this help us last 300 more years? Veerasamy explains the values of the company to me as long-term, extremely protective of the original clean design and tradition, and quality, quality, quality. The goal is for each piece to be made entirely in Sweden and of the highest quality in every point of the production chain.

Although the brand is typically very Swedish, there has also been a strong thread of multiculturalism interwoven into the design and corporate culture. Joseph Frank, the famed designer and creative partner of Estrid Ericson, was of Jewish descent and escaped to the United States when WWII broke out. He came back to Sweden afterwards and brought a little bit of America with him, creating “Jackson Pollock”-inspired patterns and one even called “Manhattan.”

Veerasamy herself comes from an immigrant background with an Indian father. She grew up in a smaller town and has no formal education, she often says. But she has a vision and a determination to protect the original inspiration behind Svenskt Tenn and make it timeless. In my opinion, she is an amazing face for this brand and it was a deep pleasure to spend the afternoon with her and learn more about Svenkst Tenn!

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Art meets the Sea at Artipelag

On April 30, 2013, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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A respect for the land and a genuine sense of harmony between man and nature are two elements I’ve noticed to be strongly present in Sweden. A sense of balance and connectivity with the earth can be seen in architecture, art, education, family life and urban planning.

Artipelag— a one-year-old art gallery located just outside of Stockholm— is a living example of these values. The sweeping structure can barely be spotted from the seafront. This was done by design so as not to disturb the seamless coastline, according to owner and one of Sweden’s most successful entrepreneurs, Baby Björn founder Björn Jakobson.

In essence, the clean lines of the building both  accommodate and celebrate the rocky archipelago, dense pine forests and slinky birch trees encasing the eclectic exhibits of both contemporary and traditional international art. Even the capricious Baltic Sea, which last year nearly froze over parts of the dock where boats can come right up to the gallery’s waterfront, plays a role as a permanent exhibit overseeing what goes on inside through the scores of towering, floor-to-ceiling windows facing the water.

The name of the gallery, “Artipelag”, is a play on Sweden’s famed rocky archipelago, one of the largest in the world. This rocky topography is interwoven literally into the gallery. A huge rock sits square in the center of the café with lean, porcelain candles buttressing the back so little climbing children don’t fall off! The owners were so attached to this massive stone that they essentially built part of the gallery around the ancient rock.

Attention to detail and raw enthusiasm for the art that lives in nature as well as in man is personified by the owner of the gallery, Björn Jakobson and his wife Lillemor. We were met by the couple, and later their daughter Josefin, who passionately described the inspiration for the gallery as a place for children and parents to come together to appreciate a diverse array of art, go for a walk along the boardwalk which is wheel-chair accessible, attend a concert in the massive auditorium or eat in the restaurant which boasts fresh local fare and a chef who won an award on the culinary team for the Olympics.

The gallery is designed to pique all the senses. In additions to the eyes, the acoustics have been adjusted to near-perfection to the point that an 800-person dinner was convened there recently and no one had to shout over the din at their respective tables, Mr. Jakobson informed us. Even the nose is scintillated by the combination of tar—in homage to the way sailors and boat-makers would protect their boats by painting them with tar— to the cinnamon floating from the café where warm kanelbulle and fresh confections are made on-site.

Almost every aspect of the art process has been attended to and can be accommodated on the grounds, including acclimatized storage and a facility that can support the weight of a huge truck hauling in sculptures or rock. A graceful flow and movement is incorporated into the exhibition rooms that currently showcase artists Paul Gernes and Cosima von Bonin. The vision of the gallery is to have a flexible model that displays a variety of genres and styles of art and appeals to families, the 55-plus age group and those who may or may not be art connoisseurs. In May, Artipelag will feature American photographer William Wegman and his collection “Hello Nature”. Mark and I are especially excited about that since Mr. Wegman’s work is largely inspired by the Maine woods. My husband has been spending summers in the northernmost part of Maine for nearly 40 years, sailing, hiking, fishing and reveling in nature. Some of our fondest family memories are hiking through Acadia National Park with our newborn daughter strapped to Mark’s chest in a Baby Björn!

In this way, our worlds of family life, art and nature collide in Artipelag and we cannot wait to explore further exhibitions and bring our family there again!

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The Excellent Stockholm Butterfly Museum

On April 29, 2013, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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On Sunday I took my daughter Aurora and my visiting Mother to the Stockholm Butterfly Museum (Fjärilshuset).  Sweden is a nature-lover’s paradise.  Whether it is the sub-Arctic High North, where the remoteness and space and beauty is captivating, or the thousands of little islands in the Swedish Archipelago, or the sunsets on the West coast, it is a country of gorgeous topography, and a love of nature.

In the capital of Stockholm there is a Butterfly Museum consisting of a 3000 square meter big tropical rainforest exhibition.  Outside the museum there are places to sit, with tastefully arranged chairs and places for children to play.

In the enclosed structures, high air humidity and temperature allows 1000 butterflies of different species to fly around freely in the facility. There are presentations of flower bouquets for the butterflies, as well as little hangings upon which the butterfly’s cocoon hang, and where you can watch the butterflies hatch.  Bouquets are strategically positioned  to attract butterflies so people can see them.  There are also parrots, dart frogs, turtles, and a number of really impressively large fish swimming in indoor ponds.

Here are photos of our visit to the Butterfly museum, from which we took wonderful memories from this unique exhibition.  Thank you Sweden for yet another wonderful memory!

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SACC-NY Executive Women’s Conference

On April 22, 2013, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Reception for the 2013 SACC NY Executive Women's Conference

Last week I had the fortune to do something very special and close to my heart: celebrate and learn from successful female executives from both sides of the Atlantic!

The Swedish-American Executive Women’s conference is organized by the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce based in New York City. This year we commemorated the 10th anniversary of the dynamic women’s conference which this year saw tickets sell out months in advance. This is a testament to the work of the chamber’s first female President, Renee Lundholm, who has made SACC-NY into an effective vehicle for shared Swedish and American values and deepening people-to-people ties between our two nations through business.

The theme of this year’s conference was prescient and forward-thing: Making money in the 21st century. How do we evolve along with changing business models and shifting demographics to continue creating growth in our companies?

Several panels intermixed with individual speeches focused on “knowing and growing your value”, growth and leadership in a financially turbulent and constantly changing world, and even more detailed explanations of private equity versus conglomerate business models. Much of the discussions focused on trends and how to adapt those into growth. The co-existing trends of urbanization and digitalization, a quest for simplicity and essentiality, how the Internet is changing consumer behaviors and business models, and changing demographics, were topics of discussion.

Healthy renewal is central to any organization. I believe leadership and profitability in the future will rely largely in an ability to foresee challenges and adapt to change. This was the over-arching theme of my keynote remarks at the conference, which I was very honored to be able to deliver to such an amazing group of women.

My speech focused on how we can harness the unique values of the Millennial generation to create greater profitability. But beyond that, how can we use the values of openness, work-life balance and transparency to advance women’s leadership and create a more diverse, dynamic future workplace. In my opinion, there is a clear synchronicity between the values set of the young generation and women’s leadership.

I also believe that the United States and Sweden are ideal partners in promoting women’s empowerment. Lagom (work-life balance), consensus, transparency and even decentralized office spaces with the elimination of the “corner office” have been interwoven into Swedish society for several generations already. Our strong shared values and future goals for socially just societies bring us together with our Swedish friends on a very substantive level and make the possibilities for future partnership on gender equality and entrepreneurship, as well as a variety of other areas, endless.

I will end by imparting the advice that these successful women were willing to share with us in the audience on how to maximize their professional potential.

·         Build on our strengths, not fret continuously on our weaknesses
·         Women tend to say “no” more to opportunities, say “yes”!
·         Find a mentor, or better yet a sponsor, to support you over the long-term and explain the informal rules of an organization to you
·         Have passion for your job, but also for making your community better
·         Follow your gut instincts
·         Stay “employable”, always do the right thing and protect your personal brand, reputation is everything
·         Keep your pulse on how business is changing, find an area where you can be part of transformative change
·         Try out different roles and reinvent yourself, never stop learning
·         Women have something special of their own to bring to the table. Don’t feel that you need to bring the qualities a man would bring, being different is a plus!

Thank you Renee Lundholm, SACC-NY and the amazing women who participated in the conference for opening my eyes to new ways of thinking about growth and value and inspiring me to believe in myself and promote other women too!

For more pictures from the event, see our Flickr page!

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Toca Boca Time!

On April 10, 2013, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Emil Ovemar and Mrs. Natalia Brzezinski with some Toca Boca friends!

Two Spanish, sing-song words encompass a foolproof solution for the traveling, exasperated parent: Toca Boca. The popular Swedish gaming application is not just a reliable silencer of agitated toddlers, but a celebration of the magic in every-day life.

 
The focus is just fun and letting kids be kids, according to co-founder Emil Ovemar who led us through Toca Boca’s colorful offices dotted with huge cardboard cut-outs and smiling faces of its iconic characters. At a time when kids grow up far faster than they should, Toca Boca’s creators are betting on prolonging the simple joys of childhood and learning through play. Children are encouraged to engage in interactive play that parents can feel good about Through a visual smorgasbord of never-too-perfect looking creatures— like my favorite “Bo”, a large hairy creature with a floral wreath adoring his jovial head— and simple activities like washing tea cups in a sink overflowing with suds or blow-drying the locks of a pink-haired girl with cat whiskers.

A part of the Bonnier Group, the concept was developed as a “digital toy” and launched in September 2010. The target age was originally 3-6, but today older siblings and even parents enjoy the meditative sensibilities produced by swiping away crumbs on a table meant for a bright tea set, concocting a pink polka-dot pair of pants via Toca Tailor or curling the unruly hair of a sanguine creature in Toca Hair Salon 2.

 
Today, it’s a wild success with a presence in most Swedish households and nearly 40% of its dissemination in the United States. In 2012, the game surpassed 22 million downloads and today vies with companies like Disney for top 3 status among most popular games. A strong collaboration with Apple and a prescient understanding of the times has propelled Toca Boca’s success. With most parents looking for an alternative to the violent, aggressive games that have been dominating the decade and a new generation of hands-on parents looking to cater to their child’s emotional development not only through ABC’s and 123’s. By emphasizing the simple things parents and kids do together like grocery shopping or setting the table, Toca Boca has hit a nerve.

New statistics demonstrating that Ipad play does not destroy the brains of your little ones (and in fact may enhance them!) and the focus of President Obama and many American law-makers on early childhood education may also add to the long-term social trends that will lead to the sustained success of games like Toca Boca.

 
Personally, my Ipad is replete with so many Toca Boca games that I’m even contemplating something I vowed to never do: purchase our nearly 4-year-old daughter her own Ipad.  I strongly believe in allowing children to play with whatever inspires them. If boys prefer ironing and arranging tea cups and girls enjoy strumming electric guitars and arranging train tracks (as our daughter does), so much the better for us all! The gender neutral nature of Toca Boca games is something that has always appealed to me. There are no pink Princesses with perfect blonde hair or loud, crashing cars; all the games focus on tasks that appeal to us all and characters who we can relate to.

Thank you Emil and the Toca Boca team for inviting me to your headquarters! We look forward to what creative games will be unveiled next!

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Mrs. Natalia Brzezinski visits Ftrack

Visiting Ftrack & diving into the world of our imaginations

On March 28, 2013, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Mrs. Natalia Brzezinski visits Ftrack

Most of us have been transfixed by the special effects of a Pixar film or heard the squeals of our children as they faced a scary sea monster peering at them through a movie screen. As the movie industry becomes more technically-enhanced with characters dancing in front of our theater chairs and touching our imaginations in new and innovative ways, it has become more important for the film production process to be streamlined, efficient and cost-effective.

This week, I was able to learn much more about these modern practices by visiting Ftrack, a path-breaking new company that has revolutionized the production and visual effects processes. I was met by CEO Fredrik Limsäter and Chairman of the Board, Eva Redhe Ridderstad, at the spacious, light-infused offices of Ftrack in a modern building in Södermalm, Stockholm’s more bohemian neighborhood and home to many creative and artistic companies.

 
Fredrik told me about the genesis of Ftrack. He worked at a major movie company in Los Angeles and soon realized that the rather long and occasionally cost-bloated visual effects process could be managed in a much better way. He came home to Stockholm and in 2008 developed a state-of-the-art, fully-integrated management platform to oversee all aspects of the production process. Along with a team of brilliant young programmers, he is incessantly improving upon the software to make what’s already a very user-friendly, aesthetically pleasing system even better. The software manages budget, supervises projects, edits images, and controls time and cost in a pragmatic manner. It is a unique development in the field which the company expects to permeate the market.

A tour of through the office space took us on a journey through the raging, blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean to the grassy, cow-speckled knolls of Northern Europe with rubber faces of hairy monsters or swarthy pirates interwoven through the adventure. The marriage of fairy-tale and the most evolved levels of high-tech was truly fascinating and instructive. Sweden is a leading producer of connective technologies and Ftrack is a prime example.

To add to the whimsical and positive energy was Alfred, the son of Ftrack’s CEO who followed us inquisitively throughout the tour, dodging between computers and under desks. Seeing a serious businessmen bring his child to the office and work seamlessly, unperturbed alongside the energetic boy was a lovely sight for me!

Thank you Fredrik and Eva for the generous tour! I cannot wait to see the new dimensions Ftrack will reach in the future!

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International Women's Day lunch guests listen to Mrs. Natalia Brzezinski

Celebrating International Women’s Day

On March 11, 2013, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Celebrating International Women’s Day underscores a clear fact: empowering women in leadership positions is central to a more economically prosperous, innovative and stable world.

Secretary of State John Kerry crystallized this message in an official statement on March 8th: “It is a great and too often untold global success story that so much of the political, economic, and social progress of the last few decades could never have been imaginable without the leadership and courage of strong women.”

To honor the scores of path-breaking female leaders in Sweden, I convened a lunch of 32 women, including established CEO’s, businesswomen and political leaders, matching them with younger “rising stars” in the business world. The sun finally emerged from a long absence on the Swedish horizon and shone valiantly through the large windows as women of all ages streamed into the U.S. Ambassadorial residence.

The theme of the afternoon was connecting generations of female leaders to share stories and have honest conversations on the “how” of women’s empowerment. How do we overcome long-held gender biases in the office, the promotion process and traditional leadership structures? How do we balance work and family in a way that doesn’t deplete our productivity and joy? How do we empower ourselves and each other?

To help answer those questions I asked two of my role models here in Sweden— Maria Veerasamy, CEO of Svenskt Tenn (the iconic Swedish design brand), and Eva Redde Ridderstad, CEO of Spago and former CEO of several finance firms— to share with the group how they achieved success.

Being the only child of an immigrant father who left South Africa during apartheid, Maria Veerasamy never had a formal higher education and began her professional life working with her hands as a tailor. That is how she forged a commitment with a concept that is now the cornerstone of Svenskt Tenn: quality. She began at the lowest level of another merchandise store in Sweden, always asking her employers “What’s next?” She never became complacent and maintained a laser focus on challenging herself and what potential opportunities lay ahead.

Eva Ridderstad is an effervescent woman brimming with positive energy and determination. As she described her career story, these qualities shone through and underlined the advice she gave to the group: surround yourself with positive people, do something you are passionate about and that is beneficial for the world, focus on results and have fun! Helping younger women climb the corporate ladder and believe in themselves is something she weaves into everything she does, and giving back is her key message.

An amazing thing I’ve been able to discover in Sweden is phenomenal role models and mentors both inside and outside of the U.S. Embassy. These women have been unabashed supporters, springboards for ideas and wells of confidence-boosting when I needed it.  Because of them I have never felt such a strong conviction in my identity as a woman, a mother and professional.

Sweden is a special place for women’s leadership. It’s a country that places a premium on social justice, equality, human rights and equipping both men and women with the tools they need to fulfill their goals. Both the United States and Sweden share these egalitarian values and a belief that people have the right to maximize their potential.

With this common foundation, our International Women’s Day celebration had a unique spirit, substance and joy about it.

Happy International Women’s Day to all!

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Stockholm’s vibrant start-up scene: visiting Wrapp

On February 11, 2013, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Wrapp

Could there be an equivalent to Silicon Valley on the other side of the Atlantic? One city that is being singled-out for its energetic start-up scene, strong human capital and highly educated populace is Stockholm.

The editors of Fortune Magazine recently embarked on a global search to find a city that combines the “creativity and capitalism” of San Francisco’s Bay Area and presents a safe, transparent and dynamic place to do business. Stockholm was chosen as one of the seven best cities in the world for start-ups. In particular, there seems to be an especially vibrant high-tech environment noted by the Fortune article.

This is no surprise as Sweden has the most Internet users in the world (approximately 92.9% of its population), the United States comes in second with just over three-quarters of Americans on-line. According to a recent article in Reuters, there are twice as many people on Facebook in Sweden than in Germany. Incidentally, the only Facebook server located outside of the United States is in Sweden and under construction at the moment in the frigid, near-Arctic northern city of Luleå.

In my 15 months living in Sweden, I’ve been amazed at how everything you do from ordering a taxi, procuring a bus pass and booking a yoga class is done on-line or via an iPhone application.

Naturally, investors have been flocking to Sweden and according to the same Reuters article over the past five years Sweden received the highest amount of tech venture funds per capita in Europe. Hence companies like Spotify, SoundCloud, Klarna, Skype, Izettle, Toca Boca, Uber and many more have had great success. I visited the headquarters of one of these burgeoning start-ups on Friday to learn more.

Wrapp is located in a spacious yet nondescript building that is the epitome of the low-key, practical sensibility I have come to admire about Sweden. There is no massive signage to allude to the company’s bubbling success, just a panoply of door bells for an equally impressive set of start-ups located inside. A young guy glued to his iPhone finally lets me in and I meander around the corner through a bare gray hall with no sign of life. A short elevator ride takes me to a completely opposite set of images. As I hit the fifth floor, a gleaming utopia of techie culture greets me and the air is buzzing with activity and ideas.

Young smiling faces are sitting in deep consultation with their lap-tops in decentralized group settings. Some are quietly playing ping pong at the centrally located table and some noshing on carrots in the spotless, communal kitchen. I’m greeted by my host Andreas Ehn, one of the co-founders and former CTO of Spotify, and we take a quick tour and head to lunch.

Wrapp is a “social gift-giving service” where one can send free or paid gift cards from different stores or services via Facebook. As I understood, part of the genesis of the company was a feeling that the marketing of e-commerce was a niche that could be filled in a more social and efficient way. Wrapp allows users to engage in gift-giving in a more direct, easy and potentially time and money-saving manner. In addition to the offices I visited, Wrapp also has a San Francisco office and a small hub in New York City.

Beyond learning about the company, it was interesting to hear from Andreas the cohesive strategies and potential pitfalls of operating in a very fluid, intangible and international business environment. Despite my belief that I’m quite tech-savvy and “with it”, I quickly realized that that’s not the case especially in comparison to my brilliant friends at Wrapp. I’m definitely looking forward to learning much more about the start-up scene in Stockholm this year!

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A Dynamic Week: From Business Life in Stockholm to Culture in Visby

On January 25, 2013, in Sweden, by Ambassador Brzezinski
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Visby, Gotland Photo by US Embassy

Despite the toe-curling cold, it has been an interesting and active week here in Stockholm! We started off the week with a visit to an innovative recruitment firm in Stockholm focusing partly on promoting women’s management and youth mentorship, and ended the week with a day trip to the stunning and historic island of Gotland.

On Tuesday, I was thankfully included with the Embassy team from the Political/Economic and Commercial sections to an informative lecture and lunch at Novare thanks to the CEO, Fredrik Hillelson. Novare is a human capital firm that recruits top talent for CEO and senior management positions for many of Sweden’s most successful companies. But interestingly, the company has leveraged its sterling network and accessibility for socially responsible and egalitarian-driven purposes.

This point was driven home when I walked into their sunny, open headquarters and saw several images. First, the staff all sat together in a decentralized seating arrangement with the CEO in a standard desk as well. The one difference was that his desk had an adjacent baby’s high chair nestled next to it from when he himself was on paternity leave and brought his son to work!

A large newspaper cut-out also loomed over the common area highlighting Novare’s globally-unique management program for parents on paternity and maternity leave. The image depicted three gleeful toddlers galloping and jumping on top of the shining, cherry wood conference table of a top investment fund in town. What a vivid way to tear down formality and promote inclusivity in the workplace!

Beyond just helping give parents the tools to balance work and life, Novare also supports women in the Middle East and North Africa learn how to build a business and bring it to scale, and provides training to young people age 25-35 to develop their business skills and helps businesses learn how to retain young employees.

The visit opened my eyes further to the great power the private sector has in promoting social equality, leveling the playing field for all (not just women but also young people and those with disabilities) and using profit-making structures for socially productive purposes.

Yesterday, we veered a bit from the business side to the cultural and political side with a trip to the historic island of Gotland, roughly in the middle of the Baltic Sea. I was able to accompany two superb women from the Public Affairs section. The short 30-minute flight transported us hundreds of years to the past, as Visby (the largest city on Gotland) is a UNESCO heritage site with ruins dating back to the Stone Age. The municipality symbolizes a dynamic marriage of past and future, old and new, as it is also the host of the unique and wildly popular “Almedalsveckan”.

Almedalsveckan is a week when all the political parties, along with most major newspapers, journalists, think-tanks and some businesses, travel to the island for conferences, speeches and networking across party lines. The week has a special, down-to-earth feel and it is not abnormal to see the Prime Minister waiting in line next to a junior journalist for breakfast, or the Foreign Minister in a panel with a young female entrepreneur.

Part of the purpose of the trip was for the Embassy team to begin planning for that week, as accommodations, boat tickets and even taxis are scarce and the programming is extensive. In addition to touring through the snowy cobble stone streets and feasting on local fish, we also had the honor to meet the Governor of Gotland County Cecilia Schelin Seidegård and tour her lovely residence. Thank you Governor for taking the time to greet us and I look forward to seeing beautiful Visby in July, when the sun only sets at midnight!

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