The Swedish perspective
Sweden - ugly women, alcohol, roads, dark and cold - nothing but to kill myself. Sweden - beautiful scenery, tall blonds, idyllic childhood and a comfortable life - nothing, just live here.
a common opinion that you can meet these two extreme images, not only Sweden but all over Scandinavia. But between the extremes is what is most important for the Scandinavians - the third way.
ability of reaching a consensus, pragmatic and skillful maneuvering between interests of individuals and groups makes the Swedes, both in private life, as well as the general public most often use a single word - "Lagom. It is untranslatable into any other language of the Swedish concept shows how perceptions of reality and deal with it. "Lagom" means, inter alia, moderation, avoiding exaggeration, quiet approach to the problem, the distance to the issues that disturb the order of things. That's why staying in Sweden, we feel calm, which is why the Scandinavians are not only easy to trust each other, but also the institutions that care about their welfare.
also in everyday life Swedes are faithful to their golden rule. He throws it in the eye especially in the capital - Stockholm. Arriving in one of the most modern cities in Europe, we expect the typical capital rush, the bustle, the crowd. Meanwhile, the visitors an atmosphere of relaxation is granted, a characteristic rather than the resort towns of the city, where every day lives and works almost 1 000 000 people. The inhabitants of Stockholm are able to enjoy life, a moment.
Meet with friends at a traditional coffee, which they drink in the incredible numbers, whole families walking along the shore, slowly ascending to bookstores, museums, restauracji.Częstym views are young couples with several children, while fathers are more likely to push the stroller, or play with toddlers . Swedish special relationship to the children is apparent at every turn - the needs of young parents face all the places of public use - in any museum, shops, restaurants, and even the church has a special room with toys, where children can spend time in the absence of parents.
Relax in everyday life influences the interaction. For us, Poles, przyzwyczjonych the distance and hierarchy, expressing, inter alia, in the language or, for example, emphasizing their professional positions, shock is a directness and openness of the Swedes. Contrary to all stereotypes turn out to be extremely interlocutors disasters, engaged in conversation, and unpretentious. We saw this repeatedly in meetings with representatives of official institutions, as well as during interviews with academics universities. Egalitarian policy pursued in Sweden for many years, reflected the mentality of the Swedes, who treat each caller as an interesting partner for talks, regardless of their age or social position. Direct relationship to each, without exception, is also evident in the language. In 1971, the Act was passed, which abolished the form of an official "The Lord, Madam," replacing them with the immediate return of "you". Thus vanishes the gap between people of all ages, with varying degrees of education or social status. Norm for the Swedish student is to return to your professor by name, as a child it is natural that in the nursery it is associated Asa, and you do not impersonal teachers. Also from an early age instilled in children the ability to listen to others and the ability to compromise. It is the effective discussions are based on the pillars of the Swedish state, where consensus sets the direction of policy. Also
Swedish family operates based on this principle - with an emphasis on equal participation of all its members in the joint discussion and decision making. Children also have a voice.
right to be heard is a priority of every citizen. Even one who is not a Swede. Modern Sweden has long ceased to be a blue-haired people and a country long legs blondes. On the streets, particularly in big cities, meet representatives of various cultures and religions. They come from all over the world - especially in those regions which were affected by armed conflict. Based on the wave of immigration to Sweden, one can trace the history of armed conflicts since the 70s until now: the refugees from former Yugoslavia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and many other sites at risk the outbreak of the conflict - all sought refuge in Sweden, in which immigration policy has been since the 70s extremely liberal. The effect of the openness of the Swedish state is the complete transformation of social structure - from monokulturowego nation-state to a pluralistic multicultural society. What is surprising - in contrast to most European countries, Sweden is a country with a relatively high level of assimilation of immigrants and social tolerance. Sore point remains the Muslim minority, whose specificity is the fact that it is very diverse. Particularly lively discussions taking place in the context of respect to Muslim women, which in this liberal country like Sweden are often seen as victims of patriarchal power relations.
not only the internal problems of rapidly changing Swedish society is the subject of public debate, but also the country's rank in an integrated Europe and a globalized world. Sweden's accession to the European Union has been associated not only with zmianiami the internal policy, such as the need to modify the model of the welfare state or doctrine of neutrality, but also more active action in international forums. This kind of activity, for many countries eruopejskich issue being natural, is a kind of novelty in Sweden. Years of neutrality and the policy focused on internal business lose their raison d'etre, and this situation makes it necessary to develop a new model of action within the international community.
The globalization process is seen in Sweden over the word positively, because of new opportunities for economic development of the country. However, it also entails major problems. One of them is the status of the Swedish language threatened by the increasingly pronounced influence of English. Particularly among young people, English is used interchangeably with the Swedish, which leads to depletion of the mother tongue, as well as significant changes in the structure of language. Realizing the potential consequences of this kind of linguistic expansion, the Swedes take a series of actions aimed at protecting the Swedish language. Bilingualism Swedes, however, has many advantages - especially for foreigners. Widespread knowledge of English combined with a directness and kindness Swedes makes you feel almost like in Sweden at home.
Nothing - just live here.
Problems of
discussed in the article dealt with the members of the Scientific Society Skandynawistycznego during the academic trip to Sweden "The Swedish perspective. Scientific Departure to Sweden in 2010. " The effects of the research will be presented during the student conference "From a Swedish perspective", which will be held on 30th May 2010 in the Aula of Collegium Novum of the Jagiellonian University, ul. Pigeon 24, Kraków. Details of the trip can be found on the website of Travel www.szwedzka-perspektywa.blogspot.com. Student Conference will be the culmination of a week, organized by the Scandinavian Skandynawistyczne Scientific Circle, held on 21-30.05.2010 in which are provided for film screenings, debates and meetings on topics of the conference. Student Conference will be preceded by an expert conference "Swedish model. Egalitarianism, which will be held at the Auditorium 05/29/2010 UJ Collegium Novum. At the conference we will have the pleasure of hosting specialists and researchers from Sweden, dealing with equality policy. Details of the event soon on the website: www.skandynawistyka-uj.pl
Victoria Michalkiewicz
Justin Kulpa