Discovering Europe
A model of openness
Sometimes considered with suspicion, always with envy, the ‘Swedish Model’ of a welfare state – and especially of egalitarian State – leaves its mark on every policy. Starting with development cooperation. In terms of percentage of its gross national income, Stockholm is rightly proud of being the most generous city with South countries. At work, we find the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and a myriad of foundations. We meet with one of them, Dag Hammarskjöld.
Uppsala 2009.
© Marie-Martine Buckens
With its unrivalled percentage of 0.98% of the GNI dedicated to development aid, Sweden is a long way ahead of other industrialised countries (0,42% on average for the EU, 0,25% for G7 countries), exceeding the 0,7% of the GNI objective that most industrialised countries piously set themselves for 2012. It is perhaps because the Swedes envisage their relations on an equalitarian basis that cooperation is based on a true partnership, the ultimate goal being of making partner countries truly independent.
“Another development”
Henning Melber, executive director of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation immediately tells us: “Our aim is to fill the North / South divide by creating global alliances with persons who share the same values of democracy, human rights and security.” The foundation (http://www.dhf.uu.se/Default.html), situated in the university city of Uppsala, forty miles to the north of Stockholm, bears the name of the Swede who was Secretary General to the United Nations from 1953 to 1961 when he died in a plane crash on his way to a peace mission in Katanga. That same year, he was posthumously awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. His interventions in the Suez crisis in 1956 and in the Jordan crisis of 1958 earned him a solid reputation of peace defender.
Dag Hammarskjöld’s spirit impregnates every action that the foundation leads today. First, there are the seminars and publications, among which the “Development Dialogue” publication, which regroups analysis by authors from different backgrounds and whose latest edition is an attack on neoliberalism. Henning Melber continues “Our greatest asset is the very name of Dag Hammarskjöld, who was very respected, particularly in South countries. And we use it to gather people who would not otherwise do so”, like for example the meetings initiated since last February between Chinese, African and Swedish representatives to discuss Africa-China relations. ‘China is very present in Africa. Amongst other things, it sits on the United Nations Security Council. However, its experts are not up to date on the social realities in Africa, which results in growing frictions with some African countries”, and he pursues: “We use this tradition for dialogue in other areas too, particularly in agricultural issues. Thus, many believe that Kofi Annan’s Green Revolution for Africa, supported by philanthropic agencies, will mainly benefit large agro food companies, particularly those specialising in GMOs. We want to organise a seminar on the issue next November, during the European Development Days. The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala will be one of the participants.” Since Sweden will then preside over the European Union, Stockholm will host the Development Days.
Finally, the most recent – albeit not the least – undertaking: setting up an office of the foundation in New York, where the United Nations is in session. “Our objective is to put pressure to truly democratize the UN system, reinforcing the forces that truly want peace and security”, adds Henning Melber.
Research, a priority
The important place occupied by cooperation for research is another particularity of Swedish cooperation. In 1975, the Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries (SAREC) was created. Throughout the years, the agency has become one of the largest departments of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The SAREC does not solely finance Swedish universities and research institutes conducting research programmes relative to development. In actual fact, its first mission is to finance institutes in countries of the South with one objective in mind: making these countries viable, little by little, without outside aid. For the time being, SAREC enjoys bilateral relations with a dozen other countries, including Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
