Posts tagged Sweden
Sweden is best – it’s official
Jul 31st
Three years ago, the Tällberg Foundation set out to find the answer to a question: which countries and which social models have created the best societies? Which can work as tried and tested visions in the development of the evermore integrated globalized civilization?
To find an answer we collated the results of the most frequently quoted of the many indexes and ranking lists that compare how countries have succeeded in various important ways. We have chosen sixteen lists, which represent a broad range of aspects of societal development and which are among the most frequently cited. These indexes have been compiled by the UN, universities, international organizations and independent foundations. None of them are based in Scandinavia.
We combined the countries placings in the various lists into an overarching ‘meta-index’. Just as when we last did this three years ago, Sweden comes in first place, averaging 4.6. The other Nordic countries take the next four positions. Other countries on the list include Germany, which averages 15.0, the UK on 18.9, the US on 25.4, Russia 72.9, China 82.0 and India 90.6. These surveys of everything from competitiveness to human rights, the environment and democracy are based on systematic comparative analyses. The fact that Sweden and the other Nordic countries are strengthening their lead is interesting in such a rapidly changing world. Their leading positions strengthen the image of Sweden and the Nordic region as the national park of the global society.
Raggare
Jul 19th
The Swedish rock’n'roll cult comes of age — The biggest pop tribe in Sweden isn’t indie kids or techno heads. It’s made up of people who adore Chuck Berry and drive vintage cars. Meet the raggare.
In high summer, deep in the Swedish countryside, you could easily believe Rebel Without a Cause or The Wild One are being remade. The quiffs, classic cars and 1950s clothes aren’t for show, however. These people aren’t costumed extras, they are raggare, members of the largest pop-culture tribe in Sweden, and one of the most influential in Scandinavia.
Rock’n'roll never died for the raggare: they are still devoted to the music, the fashion, the aesthetics. For 50 years they have kept its spirit alive, but where rock’n'rollers in other countries have dwindled into small groups, in Sweden they have gone from strength to strength – there are now estimated to be half a million of them.
The first raggare would travel in convoy from one hick town to the next to beat lumps out of each other and ogle the women. There are still organised raggare brawls, but the movement is part of the mainstream now, its most visible manifestation the cheap 50s and 60s US cars the raggare still drive and the vintage clothes they wear. You can have three generations of raggare within the same family, and there was no more eloquent statement of raggare respectability than the 12 kronor commemorative raggare stamp issued by the Swedish post office a few years back. Read on…
The Stockholm Syndrome
Jul 6th
Stockholm Subway
Jun 20th
Swedish capitol Stockholm is not only the home of many beautiful people, it has also an amazing subway system,, maybe the most stunning world wide. Don’t miss the other spectacular shots of the Stockholm Subway System!
JoachimT
Jun 18th
“My name is Joachim. I am 16, living in Sweden but I’m actually from Norway. Photography has always been a very dear interest of mine ever since I was a little boy.” See more of his works on Flickr.
Freddie Ljungberg addresses Gay Rumors
Jun 14th
Tucked into this Q&A in the New York Times Magazine piece on the home life of Swedish football star Freddie Ljungberg, now with the Seattle Sounders, was a question about gossip and this was his response:
“There’s been a gay rumor for a long time. I don’t mind at all. I am proud of that. I love fashion, and I think so many gay people have amazing style. So that is a compliment to me. I really don’t know why people are so interested. I just made a decision that I won’t talk about it.”
The Swede is perhaps best known for appearing as an underwear model for Calvin Klein. Ljungberg is single and lives alone in an 8,500-square-foot house on a lake near Seattle, and there was no mention of a girlfriend anywhere in the story (but a couple of references to his dog).
He wasn’t the first member of the Swedish national team being on some people’s gaydar: Zlatan Ibrahimovic caused quite some discussion when a photo of him holding the hand of Gerard Pique appeared. [via]
The Female Factor
Jun 12th
In Sweden, the Men Can Have It All
Mikael Karlsson owns a snowmobile, two hunting dogs and five guns. In his spare time, this soldier-turned-game warden shoots moose and trades potty-training tips with other fathers. Cradling 2-month-old Siri in his arms, he can’t imagine not taking baby leave. “Everyone does.” From trendy central Stockholm to this village in the rugged forest south of the Arctic Circle, 85 percent of Swedish fathers take parental leave. Those who don’t face questions from family, friends and colleagues. As other countries still tinker with maternity leave and women’s rights, Sweden may be a glimpse of the future.
In this land of Viking lore, men are at the heart of the gender-equality debate. The ponytailed center-right finance minister calls himself a feminist, ads for cleaning products rarely feature women as homemakers, and preschools vet books for gender stereotypes in animal characters. For nearly four decades, governments of all political hues have legislated to give women equal rights at work — and men equal rights at home.
Swedish mothers still take more time off with children — almost four times as much. And some who thought they wanted their men to help raise baby now find themselves coveting more time at home. But laws reserving at least two months of the generously paid, 13-month parental leave exclusively for fathers — a quota that could well double after the September election — have set off profound social change. Read on…
