Sweden and The American-Scandinavian Foundation
Internet Resources
Sweden has been an active and integral part of The American-Scandinavian Foundation since the organization was established in 1910. H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf graciously serves as the Foundation's Patron from Sweden.
ASF's sister organization in Sweden is The Sweden-America Foundation (Sverige-Amerika Stiftelsen).
Exchange Activities
Over the years, more than 27,000 young Americans and Scandinavians have participated in ASF's exchange programs of study, research and practical training. Collaborating in this effort in Sweden are The Sweden-America Foundation and The International Employment Office (Arbetsförmedlingen Utland).
Fellowships
For the 2006-2007 academic year, the Foundation has provided $140,000 in funding to 11 Swedes for study and research in the United States and $49,000 to 6 Americans for study and research in Sweden in fields as diverse as mechanical engineering, political science, and music.
Training
Each year approximately 150 students and young professionals came from Sweden for practical on-the-job training in the United States in a variety of fields, including engineering, media design, and marketing. Americans enjoy similar training in Sweden through this reciprocal program.
Lectureships
The ASF provides annual funding for a U.S. college or university to host a visiting lecturer from Sweden for one semester. Current and recent lecturers include:
- Dr. Anita Nyberg (National Institute of Working Life, Stockholm) to be hosted by the Department of Women’s Studies at the University of Southern Maine.
- Dr. Annica Kronsell (Lund University), hosted by the Department of Scandinavian Studies, the University of Washington.
- Dr. Bo Rothstein (Göteborg University) hosted by Minda de Gunzberg Center for European Studies/Department of Government, Harvard University.
Scandinavian Review
The Foundation's journal presents articles in English on contemporary Scandinavian culture and society. Recent articles related to Sweden include:
- The Stockholm Syndrome
- The Fog of Everything – translated from Swedish by ASF Translation Prize winner, Victoria Häggblom
- Five Centuries of Swedish Silver
- Linnaeus’s Uppsala
- The Stockholm Water Prize
- The President Who Like “Sweeds”
Public Projects
The ASF also brings cultural programs to an audience beyond Scandinavia House through funding for public projects throughout the U.S. and Scandinavia. Recent programs supported by the ASF include:
- Exhibition and educational programs based on the book, Elin's Amerika at American Swedish Historical Museum, Philadelphia, PA.
- Production of Pippi, a musical re-imaging of Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking by City Parks Foundation at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, Central Park.
- World premiere performance of work by Swedish composer Lars-Gunnar Bodin at the upcoming Other Minds Music Festival, San Francisco, CA.
- Production of Lars Norén's War at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, New York, NY
Programs at Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America
Current and recent programs at Scandinavia House related to Sweden include:
- Andreas Feininger: Stockholm 1933-1939, an exhibition featuring 50 photographs of Stockholm by German-American photographer.
- New films from Sweden are regularly shown as part of the ASF film program. Recent Swedish screenings include Four Shades of Brown, Heartbreak Hotel, Love & War, a series of Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander mysteries and short films by the next generation of Swedish filmmakers.
- Astrid Lindgren Family Concert, with the Children’s Choir of the Swedish Church.
- Carl Linnaeus: Life and Achievements, a lecture by Professor Gunnar Broberg from Department of History of Science and Ideas at the University of Lund, Sweden.
- Five Centuries of Swedish Silver, an exhibition organized by the Röhsska Museum in Göteborg featuring approximately 100 objects demonstrating the virtuosity of Swedish silversmiths from the 17th century to the present.
- Mattias Jacobsson: A Lunchtime Concert, by Swedish classical guitarist and Juilliard student.
Cultural Awards
The ASF’s Cultural Award is presented to individuals whose achievements in the fields of art and culture have significantly furthered understanding between the United States and the Nordic countries. Swedish recipients include Birgit Nilsson, Sven Nykvist, and Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson.
Translation Prize
ASF awards an annual prize for the finest English translation of prose or poetry by a Nordic author born after 1800. Winners for translations from Norwegian include:
- Rikka Lesser for poetry by Göran Somei.
- Katarina Tucker for excerpts from Jerusalem Night by Sven Delblanc.
- Paul Norlen for excerpts from A Toast to Your Ashes: The Life of the Poet Bellman from Beginning to End by Ernst Brunner.
- Verne Moberg for excerpts from Aunt Blossom by Kristina Lugn.
- Robert Bjork for excerpts from Land of Wooden Gods by Jan Fridegård.
- Lotta M. Löfgren for selected poems of August Strindberg.
- Joel Tompkins for the short stories of Per Olof Sundman.
- Rose-Marie Oster for a narrative poem, Knivkastarens kvinna, by Kjerstin Ekman.
- Stephen Klass and Leif Sjöberg for the poems from Aniara by Harri Martinson.
- Erik Thygesen for an excerpt from Modus Vivendi, selected prose of Gunnar Ekelöf.
- Kjersti Board for excerpts from The Plough and the Sword, a novel by Theodor Kallifatides.