News from ASI and Abroad

Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 6–7:30 p.m. Open to all current ASI members, the Annual Meeting is an opportunity to elect new trustees to the Board, to review the past year and to learn about future ASI plans. This year’s annual meeting will be held in person on the ASI campus in Larson Hall beginning at 6 pm on Wed, June 16. Refreshments will be served, and members will be able to view some of the Mansion restoration work that will be underway. Look for more details about Board candidates at asimn.org; additional information will be shared through email and social media leading up to the meeting date.

We gratefully acknowledge and express our appreciation to the three trustees who will complete six years of service on our Board: Karl Benson, Brad Engdahl, and Laurie Jacobi. Thank you for your continued support of ASI during this past year.

This April, two books published by the American Swedish Institute will become available to the public. “The Norse Saga Room” by Claire Selkurt, Ph.D. explores the history the Norse Saga Room designed by Gerhard Munthe and its fascinating journey to the American Swedish Institute. ASI is also republishing Sven Axel Hallbäck‘s 1977 book “As It Was Before”, newly translated to English by Rachel WillsonBroyles. This gorgeous publication uses wood carver Herman Rosell’s carvings to explore Swedish life and immigration to America. Both books are available through the ASI Museum Store.

Macalester assistant professor of English and published author Sally Franson was the recent winner of Allt for Sverige, a popular Swedish reality TV competition that links Swedish Americans with their Swedish ancestry. The program provides participants with information about their ancestral families by visiting locations where their ancestors lived throughout Sweden. Participants learn about Swedish culture, foods, traditions, and more.

The Gothenburg Art Museum has one of northern Europe's foremost art collections, and soon, it will have nearly twice as much space in which to present exhibitions. With more than 250,000 annual visitors, the museum is Sweden’s third largest, and features a broad collection of Nordic and international art. Recently, the city of Gothenburg announced an extension that would double the size of the museum to enable new public spaces for exhibitions and other activities. The city will conduct an architectural competition in 2022-23 that will result in the selection of the firm to design the new addition, which is estimated to cost approximately 800 million SEK (85 million USD).

The response by the Swedish Government to the invasion of Ukraine includes sanctions against Russia through the European Union, direct support of Ukraine, and strengthening Sweden. The Swedish Parliament decided to send the equivalent of approximately 40 million USD of support to the Ukrainian armed forces, including defensive weapons, body armor, helmets, field rations, and financial support. Sweden has not done anything like this since the Soviet Union attacked Finland in 1939. Since the invasion began, Sweden has allocated an additional 66 million USD to humanitarian assistance in Ukraine and has begun accepting Ukranian refugees. Over the last several years, Sweden has significantly increased its defense spending, which will reach 2% of GDP as soon as possible. The invasion of Ukraine has also intensified conversations within Sweden about joining NATO, though such a move is unlikely to be speedy or straightforward.

In what may go down as one of Posten’s most unique headlines ever, Swedish company Corvid Cleaning has begun training wild crows to pick up cigarette butts from the streets of Stockholm. The New Caldonian crows selected for this task do so voluntarily and receive food for each cigarette butt collected. According to some researchers, these birds may have the reasoning skills of a seven-year-old child, making them perfect for the task. Corvid Cleaning estimates that this may save up to 75% of costs related to the removal of cigarette butts throughout the city.

With the geopolitical landscape affecting global oil prices, Swedish and US citizens alike are feeling pinched at the pump. In early March 2022, gasoline prices in Sweden reached $2.06 per liter or about $8.15 per gallon. Gasoline in Sweden is subject to a number of taxes to encourage moderation in the use of fossil fuels and uplift the use Sweden's strong public transportation system.

A previously unknown medieval shipwreck was recently found off the coast of Fjällbacka in the Bohuslän region of southwestern Sweden. The ship is built of oak trees that were felled almost 800 years ago, sometime between the years 1233 to 1240. The wreck was found by marine archaeologists connected to Gothenburg University. Preliminary studies suggest that the boat is a cog, or a single-masted flat-bottom ship without a keel that first appeared around the 10th century.

To date this year, 22 Sami villages have sought compensation from the Sami Parliament due to the risk of reindeer starving to death because of poor grazing conditions. Mass starvation of reindeer has become more common primarily due to warm weather spikes in the Arctic caused by climate change. The higher temperatures cause rain or snow to melt, which then freeze over large areas as temperatures drop, and encase lichen, the reindeer’s primary source of food, in impenetrable ice. As the reindeer leave their traditional lands to wander south in search of food, the cost to the Sami villages related to managing the animals has significantly increased.

en renovering :: a renovation sten :: stone att bada :: to swim morgondopp :: morning dip For pronunciation, visit The People’s Dictionary: folkets-lexikon.csc.kth.se/folkets/folkets.en.html