18 million Swedish crowns of EU subsidies to companies in and around Ulricehamn were granted this week. I wrote the proposal and it has been a week of much attention and positive feedback. It is easy to be popular when you bring in money in hard times and hard times we have.
Our politicians talk about more money to stimulate growth and development or less taxes and regulations for businesses. There are many ways and the ideas often take an ideological path but I wish they would talk in more concrete terms. Sweden has the highest level of youth unemployment in Europe. If we want to help young people out of unemployment – what can we do? If they don’t want or are able to study or if they want to combine studies with work can we find suitable solutions?
I think we can but people in public organisations today are so stuck to the structures that it does not stimulate new creative ideas and cross over cooperation. I think it would be interesting to make a youth employability centre including several municipalities working with the motivation of young people. I also think that the people involved should be entrepreneurs, think tanks, experts on social media, new technology and most important – from other parts of the world. Many youth workers or unemployment officers today have little knowledge of starting your own business or creating your own future. How can a young person find a path to hang on to when the trainer is someone who just got a job from the unemployment office herself? Role models showing possible paths and trainers from different professions should be in charge of the training and all possibilities to international encounters should be rewarded.
The EU gives out a lot of money on work experience, voluntary work, youth exchanges and other youth projects and these opportunities of finance should be used to a much larger extent. We also need to change the mind setting of people and make them see the positive effects of international relations. It is not only about learning a different language or understanding a different culture. It is about becoming a world citizen and taking part and taking in all the possibilities we have outside the Swedish boarder. Migration will increase in the future and intercultural experience will be an essential skill for employability. Therefore all ideas surrounding what we should do with the unemployed youth should and need to have an international perspective.
With this I end my ideas regarding youth employability and wish you all a wonderful midsummer. Tomorrow Sweden will be a party place, the police will work extra hours but in my family we will do it the Dutch way. We skip the traditional haring and snaps and instead go for a barbeque with Dutch friends visiting us for the weekend. Cultural traditions are important but so is the choice to decide not to follow the usual pattern all the time!
Ulrika Geeraedts
May 2013
in Ulricehamn
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
No wise man ever wished to be younger.
I just got back from celebrating my mothers 65th birthday with family and lots of friends. Many of the people at the party knew me before I knew them. They were friends with my parents before I was born and I grew up playing with their children, seeing them at the many parties my parents always hosted and spending holidays with them. Over the years some new friends have joined in and other have sadly passed away and every change has been a part of my life as well as of my parents. Naturally not to the same extent and maybe not always as profound but the weddings, birth of grandchildren, celebrations but also hard times such as divorces, sickness and death have reached me via my parents. As I grew older and travelled the world I saw my parents friends less but I still got the news and heard about their lives.
It was nice to see them all yesterday and get an update about everyone and to hear how busy these pensioners (or pensioners to be) are. The generation from the 40s might be leaving the workforce but they don’t seem to be slowing down. They travel, visiting their kids who all live spread out over the globe, they prepare for later days by moving to apartments, play golf or start new businesses and participate in clubs and cultural events.
However, the best thing about yesterday was not to see them all or to eat the fantastic food my parents had prepared for the 60+ guests. The best thing was to see the love shared for my parents and especially my mum on her big day. My mum has a huge network of friends and she is a member of more clubs and organisations then I can count to. I come from a social family where the doors were always open and dinner parties took place every week and this is still the case. At my parent’s house, life is enjoyed and friends and family are cared for. My mum turned 65 and previously I would have said that this is quite a distinguished age. Still, the spirit yesterday was not one of letting go or giving in. Instead, I believe it was a spirit of enjoying life and doing all of the things that are yet to be done.
In the past I viewed time as a horizontal line stretching into the future. The past was something one could not change and therefore not very interesting.
I have spent many years in different places, meeting different people and sometimes created deep friendship with people who live very far away and that I don’t see very often (or will never see again). At first I thought that friends that I would never meet again were lost friends but now I look at it differently. Friends and family who are no longer in my life due to whatever reason are nevertheless here with me as it is the experiences we share that join us together. The past and the present have merge and I can to some extent decide where the future takes me. My mother filled her house full of friends and family on her 65th birthday and celebrated her aging in a wise way. And I will end this column as I started it using the words of Jonathan Swift;
No wise man ever wished to be younger.
Ulrika Geeraedts
It was nice to see them all yesterday and get an update about everyone and to hear how busy these pensioners (or pensioners to be) are. The generation from the 40s might be leaving the workforce but they don’t seem to be slowing down. They travel, visiting their kids who all live spread out over the globe, they prepare for later days by moving to apartments, play golf or start new businesses and participate in clubs and cultural events.
However, the best thing about yesterday was not to see them all or to eat the fantastic food my parents had prepared for the 60+ guests. The best thing was to see the love shared for my parents and especially my mum on her big day. My mum has a huge network of friends and she is a member of more clubs and organisations then I can count to. I come from a social family where the doors were always open and dinner parties took place every week and this is still the case. At my parent’s house, life is enjoyed and friends and family are cared for. My mum turned 65 and previously I would have said that this is quite a distinguished age. Still, the spirit yesterday was not one of letting go or giving in. Instead, I believe it was a spirit of enjoying life and doing all of the things that are yet to be done.
In the past I viewed time as a horizontal line stretching into the future. The past was something one could not change and therefore not very interesting.
I have spent many years in different places, meeting different people and sometimes created deep friendship with people who live very far away and that I don’t see very often (or will never see again). At first I thought that friends that I would never meet again were lost friends but now I look at it differently. Friends and family who are no longer in my life due to whatever reason are nevertheless here with me as it is the experiences we share that join us together. The past and the present have merge and I can to some extent decide where the future takes me. My mother filled her house full of friends and family on her 65th birthday and celebrated her aging in a wise way. And I will end this column as I started it using the words of Jonathan Swift;
No wise man ever wished to be younger.
Ulrika Geeraedts
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
A new little miracle!!
I am a very proud aunt!! On the 4th of June Lisa was born, 57 cm and 4,44 kg, daughter to my sister Hanna and to Kristian, and sister to little Ellen. Everything went well despite having to wait 11 days extra for the little miracle. Enjoy your new family Lisa!!!
In Ulricehamn it is raining today and I am tired after spending 5 days on a course in the Netherlands about creating more impact with international projects. The visibility, dissemination and exploitation of project is getting more and more attention in EU projects and I was there to learn about this so we can integrate it better in all our projects. As it was arranged by the Youth in Action program, and as youth programs always have a lower budget than all other EU programs we stayed at a youth hostel sharing rooms with 4 people in one room. Is it not interesting that we decide to go low budget when it concerns the youth but not when it concerns other issues? Anyway, I enjoyed the course and hope to use what I learned in all our projects.
We are only one day away from the children’s summer vacation and on Sunday they go to the Netherlands with Jochem. We only have to get a new passport for Nils as his has expired. Cost; almost 1000 crowns and an extra trip to Landvetter (a hour drive one way) to get a temporary passport. Well, we will hopefully learn from this and will apply for "real" passports to all the children this week as well. Are your passports up to date?
I have been barking again in the local press and this time regarding the fact that we have no women in any of the municipalities’ company boards. The municipality owns shares in 5 different companies and therefore has 17 seats to fill on 5 boards. All 17 board members are men! Do I need to say any more? Not everyone is pleased about my article but sometimes making a statement or raising the issue outside the internal sphere might lead to a quicker change. And I am far to outspoken and into speedy results to wait for a political reaction! Below follows the article in Swedish.
Looking forward to a Saturday in Lund celebrating mum who is turning 64+ this weekend! Kisses to Ellen and Lisa!!
Insändare i Ulricehamns tidning 6/6 -09
Kompetens och jämställdhet hör ihop!
Av kommunens 17 representanter i de kommunala bolagen finns inte en enda kvinna stod det att läsa i UT den 30 maj. Jag var tvungen att läsa inledningen av artikeln en gång till för att vara säker på att jag läst rätt. Därtill kom dagens fråga i UT om man borde könskvotera in kvinnor där ett av svaren löd ”nej, man skall väljas på grund av kompetens”. Visst skall man väljas utifrån kompetens och inte enbart kön men man måste vara medveten om att vi alla ser och tolkar just kompetens mycket individuellt.
Alla arbetsgivare och valberedningar vill finna den mest kompetenta kandidaten och för att hitta denne tar vi fram olika kriterier och vi väger olika färdigheter utifrån våra egna värderingar och normer. För ett par år sedan klagades det på att det fanns för få kvinnliga professorer i landet och universiteten besvarade kritiken genom att säga att männen var mer kompetenta. Det visade sig att ett av de viktigaste kriterierna vid urvalet var antalet publicerade böcker, artiklar och rapporter. Kvinnor som varit borta ett år eller flera pga. föräldraledighet blev ”omskrivna” av sina manliga kollegor och kom inte upp i samma antal publicerade verk. Var dessa kvinnor mindre kompetenta än sina manliga kollegor?
När en valberedning går ut och säger att vi har försökt att hitta kvinnliga kandidater men inte hittat någon så måste man ju fråga sig hur sökandet av kandidater går till. Kvinnorna är kanske inte med i samma nätverk som de som sitter i valberedningen (och som ofta består till största delen av män)? Hur viktiga är uppdragen i dessa styrelser? Om de anses viktiga så borde ju tillsättandet av posterna prioriteras högt.
Om det nu visar sig vara så illa ställt att vi inte kan hitta en enda lämplig kvinnlig kandidat från Ulricehamn så borde man kanske se över huruvida det måste vara någon från Ulricehamn. Att vara just från Ulricehamn gör oss kanske inte mer kompetenta. All forskning talar för att grupper med en blandning av män och kvinnor är mer kreativa och fattar bättre beslut. Vetenskapsrådet uppmanar valberedningar inom forskarvälden som påstår att de inte kan hitta lämpliga kandidater i Sverige att ta in oberoende kvinnliga styrelseledamöter från andra länder. Borde vi bredda våra vyer (t.ex. grannkommunerna)?
I en brittisk studie från 2004 (Cranfield School of Management) granskades styrelsemedlemmar i 100 engelska företag. Kvinnliga styrelseledamöter hade i genomsnitt högre examen, från mer prestigefyllda universitet och hade haft en mer varierad karriär än männen. Dagens kvinnor går nu om männen i utbildningsnivå både i Sverige och i många andra länder. Samtidigt visar statistiken att jämställdheten i Sverige stannat av och under 2007 gick antalet kvinnor i styrelser t.o.m. tillbaka. Vilka förebilder vill vi ge dagens ungdomar i Ulricehamn? Vi vet alla att lönsamheten ökar i jämställda företag och just i dagen läge känns det som ett vinnande argument för att göra något åt situationen, eller hur!
Ulrika Geeraedts
In Ulricehamn it is raining today and I am tired after spending 5 days on a course in the Netherlands about creating more impact with international projects. The visibility, dissemination and exploitation of project is getting more and more attention in EU projects and I was there to learn about this so we can integrate it better in all our projects. As it was arranged by the Youth in Action program, and as youth programs always have a lower budget than all other EU programs we stayed at a youth hostel sharing rooms with 4 people in one room. Is it not interesting that we decide to go low budget when it concerns the youth but not when it concerns other issues? Anyway, I enjoyed the course and hope to use what I learned in all our projects.
We are only one day away from the children’s summer vacation and on Sunday they go to the Netherlands with Jochem. We only have to get a new passport for Nils as his has expired. Cost; almost 1000 crowns and an extra trip to Landvetter (a hour drive one way) to get a temporary passport. Well, we will hopefully learn from this and will apply for "real" passports to all the children this week as well. Are your passports up to date?
I have been barking again in the local press and this time regarding the fact that we have no women in any of the municipalities’ company boards. The municipality owns shares in 5 different companies and therefore has 17 seats to fill on 5 boards. All 17 board members are men! Do I need to say any more? Not everyone is pleased about my article but sometimes making a statement or raising the issue outside the internal sphere might lead to a quicker change. And I am far to outspoken and into speedy results to wait for a political reaction! Below follows the article in Swedish.
Looking forward to a Saturday in Lund celebrating mum who is turning 64+ this weekend! Kisses to Ellen and Lisa!!
Insändare i Ulricehamns tidning 6/6 -09
Kompetens och jämställdhet hör ihop!
Av kommunens 17 representanter i de kommunala bolagen finns inte en enda kvinna stod det att läsa i UT den 30 maj. Jag var tvungen att läsa inledningen av artikeln en gång till för att vara säker på att jag läst rätt. Därtill kom dagens fråga i UT om man borde könskvotera in kvinnor där ett av svaren löd ”nej, man skall väljas på grund av kompetens”. Visst skall man väljas utifrån kompetens och inte enbart kön men man måste vara medveten om att vi alla ser och tolkar just kompetens mycket individuellt.
Alla arbetsgivare och valberedningar vill finna den mest kompetenta kandidaten och för att hitta denne tar vi fram olika kriterier och vi väger olika färdigheter utifrån våra egna värderingar och normer. För ett par år sedan klagades det på att det fanns för få kvinnliga professorer i landet och universiteten besvarade kritiken genom att säga att männen var mer kompetenta. Det visade sig att ett av de viktigaste kriterierna vid urvalet var antalet publicerade böcker, artiklar och rapporter. Kvinnor som varit borta ett år eller flera pga. föräldraledighet blev ”omskrivna” av sina manliga kollegor och kom inte upp i samma antal publicerade verk. Var dessa kvinnor mindre kompetenta än sina manliga kollegor?
När en valberedning går ut och säger att vi har försökt att hitta kvinnliga kandidater men inte hittat någon så måste man ju fråga sig hur sökandet av kandidater går till. Kvinnorna är kanske inte med i samma nätverk som de som sitter i valberedningen (och som ofta består till största delen av män)? Hur viktiga är uppdragen i dessa styrelser? Om de anses viktiga så borde ju tillsättandet av posterna prioriteras högt.
Om det nu visar sig vara så illa ställt att vi inte kan hitta en enda lämplig kvinnlig kandidat från Ulricehamn så borde man kanske se över huruvida det måste vara någon från Ulricehamn. Att vara just från Ulricehamn gör oss kanske inte mer kompetenta. All forskning talar för att grupper med en blandning av män och kvinnor är mer kreativa och fattar bättre beslut. Vetenskapsrådet uppmanar valberedningar inom forskarvälden som påstår att de inte kan hitta lämpliga kandidater i Sverige att ta in oberoende kvinnliga styrelseledamöter från andra länder. Borde vi bredda våra vyer (t.ex. grannkommunerna)?
I en brittisk studie från 2004 (Cranfield School of Management) granskades styrelsemedlemmar i 100 engelska företag. Kvinnliga styrelseledamöter hade i genomsnitt högre examen, från mer prestigefyllda universitet och hade haft en mer varierad karriär än männen. Dagens kvinnor går nu om männen i utbildningsnivå både i Sverige och i många andra länder. Samtidigt visar statistiken att jämställdheten i Sverige stannat av och under 2007 gick antalet kvinnor i styrelser t.o.m. tillbaka. Vilka förebilder vill vi ge dagens ungdomar i Ulricehamn? Vi vet alla att lönsamheten ökar i jämställda företag och just i dagen läge känns det som ett vinnande argument för att göra något åt situationen, eller hur!
Ulrika Geeraedts
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