Jeanette Junge, Frida Wännman Kvantenå, Lars-Göran Wiberg and I, Julia Falkman, from Leader Östra Skåne have been away at this year's national leader meeting. Despite a record number of registrations, a total of 270 participants, it seemed we all found space to sleep in the small cozy houses in ”The Little Town” in Astrid Lindgren's World in Vimmerby. Here follows a brief summary of our three days in Småland…
Day one
The first day was a member meeting with LUS – Local Development Sweden, the umbrella organization for leader areas. The board talked about its work backward and forward, and we got to know what is happening around Leader at the national and European level.
In the evening, we had Jerusalem artichoke soup and grilled char. We also got to meet Pippi Longstocking, who has become both older and even more obstinate, but who apparently has also taken an interest in rural development!
Jacqueline Hellsten, operations manager at Leader Sörmlandskusten, dressed as an older Pippi Longstocking.
Day two
The second day started with the session ”Let the place take place!”: What happens in a place when you combine cultural heritage, community engagement, and tourism? Based on Astrid Lindgren's authorship, Astrid Lindgren's World and Film Village have created attractive destinations in their respective locations. What can others learn from their example? And what does research say about the factors behind success? About this, and much more, spoke Jocke Johansson, CEO of Astrid Lindgren's World, Anna Mellergård, initiator and co-founder of Film Village Småland, Johanna Stejdahl, former operations manager at The power of Emil and Astrid Lindgren's Home District and Josefina Syssner, professor of cultural geography at Linköping University.
Josefina Syssner talked about soft power, or soft governance. That is, the ability to influence others through one's own interest rather than coercion to achieve the desired results.
At lunch, we had grilled pointed cabbage and afterwards we got to walk around in Astrid Lindgren's World and explore the environments on our own.
After lunch, one could choose between different parallel workshops, and I chose to participate in ”Storytelling in Astrid Lindgren's Footsteps” with Carolina Klintefelt, author and communicator at Literature Node Vimmerby. Together we listed the reasons for Astrid Lindgren's successful authorship and were reminded of tricks to use in our own stories.
In the afternoon, Magnus Kolsjö and Maria Ahlsved from the rural and infrastructure department led a workshop where we could express our opinions on the ongoing work with the new rural policy and Svesam – The Investigation on Future Regional and Rural Policy.
Maria Ahlsved summarized what is happening in rural policy and what the Svesam investigation is about.
Afterwards, we listened to a conversation about the conditions, opportunities, and challenges of Leader. The panel included: Simon Westberg, political advisor to Minister of Rural Affairs Peter Kullgren, Christina Nordin, Director General of the Swedish Board of Agriculture, and Lovisa Westling, Vice Chair of Local Development Sweden. Everyone views Leader as a unique, concrete, and successful method, with undisputed status in EU contexts.
In the evening, we were entertained by Luffarorkestern, Kling & Klang, and the one and only Prussiluskan, who led us through a delightful sing-along with competitive elements and lots of laughter.
Luffarorkestern, Kling and Klang, as well as Miss Prysselius, led the sing-along.
Day three
The last day began with parallel seminars and workshops where I chose to listen to the session on transnational projects.
Afterwards, we listened to Lisa Pelling, head of the think tank Arena idé, and Marika Palmér Rivera, investigator of fair climate transition at LO. They presented their newly released book ”Life that continues here” which is based on 200 interviews with people in rural municipalities about their attitudes towards transition. People living in smaller towns are often portrayed as opponents of the climate transition, but what do they really think? And what obstacles need to be removed to enable the transition?
Marika Palmér Rivera and Lisa Pelling.
Finally, we got to listen to Putte Svensson Sahlin, one of the founders of the Hultsfred Festival.
Putte Svensson Sahlin: ”It was not thanks to the adults that we succeeded, it was despite the adults.”.
A big thank you to Astrid Lindgren's homeland, the Rural Network, Local Development Sweden, and Astrid Lindgren's World for three well-packed, inspiring, and fun days!