The Swedish Women's Educational Association, referred to as SWEA but officially designated SWEA International, Inc., is a global
non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
and a network for Swedish and Swedish-speaking women who reside or have resided outside of Sweden.
SWEA is represented in many locations throughout the world and plays a major role in the
Swedish State Department's emergency management plan.
SWEA is a politically and religiously independent organization.
Organization
SWEA International is the largest non-profit organization promoting Sweden outside of Sweden with the goal of promoting the Swedish language and spreading Swedish culture and tradition.
Each year, SWEA International awards three scholarships of US$15,000 each:
* The Scholarship for Research Related to the Swedish Language, Literature, and Society
* The Agneta and Gunnar Nilsson Scholarship for the Study of Intercultural Relations
* The Sigrid Paskell Scholarship in the Performing Arts
In addition, SWEA International selects a Swedish Woman of the Year annually.
Locally, SWEA International's chapters make donations and present scholarships that total about 2 million Swedish kronor (US$250,000) per year.
SWEA International offers its members assistance during the process of relocating and transitioning between countries. Additionally, the organization extends a warm welcome and provides support to members upon their return to Sweden.
SWEA International has approximately 6,000 women members in approximately 70 local chapters in about 30 countries on five continents.
SWEA International's chairman since 2024 is Charlotte Rigby Fors.
History
In 1979, SWEA International was founded in Los Angeles by Agneta Nilsson. Princess Christina Mrs. Magnuson is the association's honorary president.
Swedish Woman of the Year
Since 1989, SWEA International has selected a Swedish Woman of the Year (abbreviated ÅSK, for ''Årets Svenska Kvinna'') annually. The recipient is announced during SWEA's annual meeting each spring and is recognized during the annual "Sweden dinner" organized each summer by one of the chapters located in Sweden. The recipient must be a Swedish woman who, through her accomplishments, has represented and brought attention to the Sweden of today in the greater world.
The following women have been recognized as Swedish Woman of the Year:
[{{Cite news, url=http://ask.swea.org/askmottagare-genom-aren/, title=Swedish Woman of the Year recipients through the years (ÅSK mottagare genom åren - Årets Svenska Kvinna (ÅSK)), work=Årets Svenska Kvinna (ÅSK), access-date=2017-03-22, language=sv-SE]
* 1989:
Ulla Wachtmeister
* 1990:
Birgitta Wistrand
* 1991, 1992: Undistributed
* 1993:
Anne-Marie De Geer
Anne-Marie Rose Nicholson (born 7 April 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. She has attained various charting singles on the UK Singles Chart, including Clean Bandit's " Rockabye", which peaked at number one, as well as "Alarm", "Ciao ...
and
Ingrid Croneborg-Bergman
* 1994:
Lise-Lotte Lübeck-Erixon
* 1995:
Ingrid Karlsson
* 1996: Undistributed
* 1997:
Ulla-Brita Palm
* 1998:
Dorothea Rosenblad
* 1999:
Kerstin Nordquist-Lane
Kerstin is a female German and Swedish given name; it is the European version of Christina.
Notable persons with this name include:
Arts and entertainment
* Kerstin Anderson (born 1994), American stage actress and singer, portrayed Maria von Tr ...
*2000:
Maria Nyström Reuterswärd
*2001:
Drottning Silvia
*2002:
Eva Olofsson
*2003:
Ewa Kumlin
*2004:
Barbro Sachs-Osher
Barbro Sachs-Osher (born 21 May 1940) is a former Swedish honorary consul general in Los Angeles and San Francisco and a well-known philanthropist, chair of the Bernard Osher Foundation and of the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation.
Biography
...
*2005:
Ingrid le Roux
*2006:
Tina Nordström
Maria Kristina "Tina" Nordström Holmqvist (born 6 August 1973) is a Swedish celebrity chef and television personality from Helsingborg, Sweden.
She hosted the second season of '' New Scandinavian Cooking'' on PBS stations on American televisi ...
*2007:
Marianne Forssblad
*2008:
Inger Schuberth
*2009:
Agneta Nilsson, founder of SWEA International, Inc.
*2010:
Kjerstin Dellert
Kjerstin Dellert (4 November 1925 – 5 March 2018) was a Swedish opera singer and theater manager.
Life Early life
Born in Stockholm, Dellert made her opera debut at Stora teatern (the old Gothenburg Opera stage) in Gothenburg in the 1950s.
...
*2011:
Christina Lampe Önnerud Christina may refer to:
People
* Christina (given name), shared by several people
* Christina (surname), shared by several people
Places
* Christina, Montana, unincorporated community, United States
* Christina, British Columbia, Canada
* Chri ...
*2012:
Filippa Knutsson
Filippa Martina Knutsson is a Swedish fashion designer. She is the owner of the fashion brand Filippa K, founded in 1993, and runs it with her former husband Patrik Kihlborg. She has been called "a household name" and "a superstar" in Sweden and m ...
*2013:
Mona Henning
Mona may refer to:
People
*Mona (name), a female given name, nickname and surname
* Mona (Angolan footballer) (born 1997)
* Mona (Brazilian footballer), Marcelo Alexandre Pires Correia (born 1973)
*Mona, ring name of American wrestler Nora Greenw ...
*2014:
Nina Stemme
Nina Maria Stemme (born Thöldte, 11 May 1963) is a Swedish dramatic soprano opera singer.
Stemme "is regarded by today's opera fans as our era's greatest Wagnerian soprano". In 2010, Michael Kimmelman wrote of one of Stemme's performances in ...
*2015:
Petra Wadström
Petra Wadström (born 20 February 1952) is a Swedish inventor of a water purification device called Solvatten, which is a portable device that heats and purifies dirty local water in locations with access to significant amounts of sunshine.
L ...
*2016:
Maria Strømme
Maria Strømme, (born 7 April 1970 in Svolvær) is a Norwegian physicist who lives and works in Sweden.
Career
She became a professor in nanotechnology at Uppsala University in 2004. She became Sweden's youngest professor in a technical subject ...
*2017:
Nikoo Bazsefidpay
*2018:
Ulrika Hydman Vallien
Ulrica, also spelled Ulrika, is a female given name of Germanic origins. Its male equivalent is Ulric, Ulrich or Ulrik.
Ulrike and Ulrikke are alternative names derived from Ulrica. A German diminutive thereof is Ullie, Swedish Ulla.
Ulri ...
*2019:
Greta Thunberg
Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3January 2003) is a Swedish climate activist, climate and political activist initially known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action to climate change mitigation, mitigate the effec ...
*2020:
Pia Sundhage
Pia Mariane Sundhage (, born 13 February 1960) is a Swedish football manager and former professional player. Currently, she is coaching Switzerland. As a player, Sundhage played most of her career as a forward and retired as the top scorer fo ...
*2021:
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland (Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée; born 14 July 1977) is the heir apparent to the Swedish throne, as the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf. If she ascends to the throne as expec ...
*2022: Undistributed
*2023:
Anne-Marie Eklund Löwinder
Sources
External links
SWEA SWEA International's website
Women's organizations based in Sweden
Charities based in Sweden
Women's education in Sweden