Folkbildning across borders

Transcription

Folkbildning across
borders
– resources, networks and transnational commitment
Folkbildning across borders
– resources, networks and transnational commitment
Text: Erik Nylander, Kerstin Mustel and Therése Jansson
Layout: Johan Nilsson/Kombinera
Printed by: Allduplo, Stockholm
© Folkbildningsrådet 2011
Contents
Foreword_ _______________________________________________________ 4
Summary_ _______________________________________________________ 5
1. Introduction____________________________________________________ 7
1.1 What is folkbildning?
7
1.2 Structure of the survey
10
1.3 Questionnaire survey 11
1.4 Report outline 13
2. Transnational activities of folk high schools________________________ 14
2.1 Type of principal organizer
14
2.2 Type of activities and extent
14
2. 3 Thematic focus
16
2.4 Purpose of the activities
18
2.5 Geography of the activities
19
2.6. Organizational collaboration in transnational activities
22
2.7 Funding
24
3. Transnational activities of study associations_______________________ 26
3.1 Organization Level
26
26
3.3 Thematic focus
28
31
32
3.6 Organizational collaboration in transnational activities
36
3.7 Funding
38
4. Summary analysis: Transnational folkbildning______________________ 40
4.1 Sources of funding: Where does the money come from
and for what is it used?
40
4.2 Thematic images: What do folkbildning educators want to accomplish? 42
4.3 Geography: What do folkbildning actors’ transnational networks look like? 48
4.4 Conclusion: The value of broad global connections 51
References______________________________________________________ 53
Appendices_ ____________________________________________________ 54
Appendix 1. Questionnaire for folk high schools and study associations
54
Appendix 2. Study association’s member organizations
62
Appendix 3. Mobility at university level
63
Foreword
Every year, more than a million Swedes participate in liberal adult education, known as folkbildning. The ten study associations and 150 folk
high schools offer thousands of courses, study
circles, cultural programmes and forms of folkbildning. These are at the heart of our educational
system and make folkbildning the country’s largest cultural arena.
Folkbildning is not only found in Sweden. On
the contrary, every study association and folk high
school works in some sense with global development issues, and many of them are in one way
or another involved in international work. At the
same time as they are learning from the world
around them, they are sharing their experience
of working for democratization, participation, reduced educational disparities and culture in other
countries. Many Swedish folkbildning educators
work transnationally, i.e., they collaborate with actors in other countries.
These are well-known facts. However, it is difficult to state more precisely the extent of international involvement.
In Folkbildning across borders – resources,
networks and transnational involvement, the
Swedish National Council of Adult Education, to-
4
gether with Mimer at Linköping University, gain
an unprecedented overall grasp of the transnational activities of folk high schools and study associations. The report presents the results of a survey
of transnational activities carried out in 2009. The
survey is based on a questionnaire sent to all the
country’s folk high schools and study associations
in 2010.
How extensive was transnational work during the year? In which countries did the Swedish
study associations and folk high schools operate? Which organizations were they collaborating
with and in what way? What image of Swedish
folkbildning was portrayed to the world at large?
Who paid for the work and what was the purpose?
These are some of the questions that the survey
required answers to.
The image portrayed by folkbildning’s transnational involvement both inspires and generates
new questions for future research and evaluation.
The Swedish National Council of
Adult Education, May 2011
Britten Månsson-Wallin
Secretary General
Folkbildning across borders – resources, networks and transnational commitment
Summary
In Folkbildning across borders – resources, networks and transnational involvement, the Swedish National Council of Adult Education, together with Mimer at Linköping University, gain an
overall grasp of the transnational activities of folk
high schools and study associations. The report
presents the results of a survey of transnational
activities carried out in 2009. The survey is based
on a questionnaire sent to all the country’s folk
high schools and study associations. Among folk
high schools, the response rate was 92 per cent,
and a total of 214 activities were reported. Among
study associations, the response rate was 64 per
cent, and the responses were distributed very unevenly among the various study associations. In
total, 124 activities were reported.
The survey shows that transnational activities
are well distributed around the globe, except for
Oceania/Australia and parts of South-East Asia,
the Middle East, North America and North Africa. Both study associations and folk high schools
have their greatest concentration of connections in
the neighbouring Nordic countries and the rest of
Europe. Folk high schools report a comparatively
high level of collaboration with Africa (Tanzania)
and study associations with the Middle East (Palestine/Israel).
An analysis that includes only folk high schools’
transnational courses show that folk high school
participants primarily study in countries in the
southern hemisphere, while university students
prefer to go to countries with high GDP in the
northern hemisphere. There is a marked concentration of folk high school trips to the continent
of Africa (mostly Tanzania), where folkbildning
participants, both numerically (about 627 people)
and in terms of percentage (about 38 per cent), in
2009 far exceeded the number and percentage of
university students (about 177 students, about one
per cent of all university students). Other regions
that attract a small percentage of university students and a relatively high proportion of folk high
school participants are Latin America and the Baltic States.
According to survey responses, the transnational work is primarily directed towards the
Folkbildning Bill’s seventh area of activity, public health, sustainable development and global
justice. Activities were primarily aimed at making the world fairer. About 40 per cent of folk high
school activities and nearly 35 per cent of study
association activities concerned issues of global
justice. The next most common area of activity
was lifelong learning.
From the analysis of the activities’ statements of
purpose, three paradigms emerge:
• The most common statement of purpose is
about giving: This portrays the educational activity as a mission, as a tool to help people in
other countries (often related to democratization
efforts). The Swedish educators are given the
role of specialist
• Another type of purpose deals more with receiving: These statements portray folkbildning
5
as an anthropological journey where Swedish
educators, through studying other people’s lives,
gain new perspectives on their existence.
• For certain activities, the main purpose is exchanging: These activities focus more on mutual learning processes and exchange.
The primary source of funding for folk high
schools was the state folkbildning grant. Nearly
45 per cent of folk high school activities were reported to have this as the main source of funding.
Almost 20 per cent of the activities operated primarily with funds from Sida or other aid organizations. These figures were essentially reversed
for study associations. Sida and other aid organizations were the most common main sources of
funding for the activities of almost 45 per cent
of study associations, while the state folkbildning grant accounted for most of the resources in
almost 25 per cent. The most common forms of
6
complementary ‘co-funding’ for both study associations and folk high schools were participation
fees, fund-raising and student loans.
The source of funding and the form of activity
proved to be related. The state folkbildning grant
went mainly to activities of a continuous and longterm nature (courses, regular study trips, teacher
exchanges etc.), while Sida, the Swedish Institute
and the International Programme Office for Education and Training primarily funded more shortterm projects. Within the framework of the main
source of funding ‘Sida or other aid organization’,
three of four activities were projects.
This in turn means that study associations and
folk high schools partly chose different formats
for their transnational activities. The work of folk
high schools was dominated in 2009 by courses
and participant exchanges, while study associations often worked with projects or study trips/
visits.
1. Introduction
1.1 What is folkbildning?
Purposes and areas of activity
The Government and Parliament set four global purposes for the state grant to folkbildning,
that is, to Sweden’s 150 folk high schools and ten
study associations. The state folkbildning grant is
to be used to support activities that:
• help to consolidate and develop democracy,
• help make it possible for individuals to influence their own lives and create a commitment
to participation in community development
(e.g., through political, trade union, cultural or
other non-profit work),
• help to even out educational disparities and improve the level of education and learning in society as well as
• help to spread interest and participation in cultural life.
These four objectives of folkbildning are primarily intended to be realized within the framework of
seven areas of activity:
1.The common fundamental values: Basic democratic values, such as the equal dignity of all
people and gender equality, should permeate the
content, forms and organization of activities.
2.The challenges of the multicultural society:
Folkbildning should help people with different backgrounds to come together, grow in their
understanding of one other and exchange ex-
periences among themselves so that alienation,
segregation, conflict and discrimination are
counteracted.
3.The demographic challenge: Folkbildning
should weather demographic change and win
the involvement of new generations without losing the involvement of the old.
4.Lifelong learning. Folkbildning should work
to realize the potential for lifelong learning for
adults, for alternative paths to complete upper
secondary education and further studies as well
as for vocational training.
5.Cultural activities: Folkbildning should be a local or regional force behind popular culture.
6.Persons with disabilities: Folkbildning should
be open to persons with disabilities and provide all participants with an equal opportunity
to study and to influence how the activity is
formed.
7.Public health, sustainable development and global justice: Folkbildning should promote better public health, sustainable development and
global justice by increasing people’s awareness
of the importance of changed values and lifestyles.1
1 See the Folkbildning Bill 2005/06:192: Lära, växa, förändra.
7
Study associations and folk high schools –
two types of educational organization
Nine study associations in 2009
In Sweden, there were nine study associations
running activities during 2009, ABF (the Workers’ Educational Association), SV (in Swedish,
Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan), The Study Promotion Association (Sfr), Studieförbundet Bilda,
Medborgarskolan (Mbsk), Folkuniversitetet (FU),
Ibn Rushd and the Educational Association of the
sobriety movement (NBV).2 Each study association has a more or less distinct profile, determined
by which popular movements and other organizations that are members of, or cooperation organizations to these associations. In 2009, study
associations had a total of over 350 members or
cooperation organizations in Sweden centrally and
even more locally.3 This survey has had the ambition of reaching every study association and their
various branches.
During 2009, study circles were, counted in
hours of study, the most extensive form of activity for study associations. Approximately 281, 000
study circles were run. The other major branch of
activity was cultural programmes, primarily lectures and song and music programmes. Just over
311, 000 cultural programmes were held.4
150 folk high schools5
There are in general two main principal organizers of Swedish folk high schools. Either a county
2 In 2010, another study association started, Kulturens
bildningsverksamhet (KBV). Since KBV did not have any
independent activities in 2009, it was not included in the
survey.
3 According to the Swedish National Council of Adult Education (2009). Folkrörelseanknytningar och marknadsrelationer.
4 According to the operating report of the Swedish National
Council of Adult Education’s 2009 annual report
5 In 2009, there were 148 folk high schools. Two folk high
schools were created at the beginning of 2010. These have
been included in the survey as, during 2009, they were active as independent sister schools to two established folk
high schools.
8
council or a region is the principal organizer for
a school, or a movement, organization or foundation is. Of Sweden’s 150 folk high schools, 43 are
county council folk high schools, with a county
council or region as principal organizer, while
107 are popular movement folk high schools and
have a movement, organization or foundation as
principal organizer. In the first case, the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions
(SALAR) is the members’ representative, and in
the second, the Interest Organisation for Popular
Movement Folk High Schools (RIO) is the umbrella organization.
One characteristic of folk high schools as a
form of education is the fact that they are not
bound by a centrally determined curriculum, but
each folk high school governs its own profile and
range of courses. This means that the schools’
principal organizers have great scope for making their mark on activities. Course activities are
mainly intended for persons over 18 and are based
on the needs, experiences and previous knowledge
of participants. Dialogue and active student participation in the group and in teaching are foundations of the teaching method of folk high schools.
Folkbildning between and across national
borders
Folkbildning is not only found in Sweden. Activities associated with folkbildning exist in many
countries, although the way institutions do things
may be different. In many other parts of the world,
folkbildning is not associated with institutions at
all. Swedish folkbildning also has a relatively long
tradition of international involvement. Often, this
involvement has cited values important to folkbildning, such as solidarity and democracy. One
example of Swedish folk high school work experience across borders is the long-standing relationship with folk high school-like institutions in
Tanzania, called Folk Development Colleges. The
fact that several Swedish study associations have
offices in other parts of the world suggests that
they also, to some extent, have the ‘world as their
workplace’.1
International contacts and activities are central but hitherto relatively inconspicuous parts of
Swedish folkbildning. Knowledge about the precise extent and form of current international involvement has not been gathered. It is primarily
this lack of knowledge that this survey is intended
to rectify. This survey can be said to be the second phase of a Swedish National Council of Adult
Education survey initiative. In 2006, Kerstin Mustel compiled the report – Kartläggning och analys av folkbildningens internationella kontaktnät
(Identification and analysis of folkbildningen’s
international contact.) This report describes the
links that folkbildning organizations have to authorities and various supranational organizations.
It presents proposals on how organizations are
to be able to relate to changes that have occurred
with respect to the opportunities that folkbildning
has to operate and influence in times when many
decisions that affect folkbildning are made outside
the country’s borders. The ties which folkbildning
has with the Nordic Council of Ministers, the European Union and the Council of Europe are made
visible.
The survey Folkbildning across borders – resources, networks and transnational involvement
can be described as a second and more in-depth
attempt to present an overall picture of folkbildning’s transnational work experience.6
Initiators and evaluators
The initiative to survey transnational work of
folkbildning came from two sources, the Swedish
National Council of Adult Education and Mimer
at Linköping University. The Swedish National
Council of Adult Education was commissioned by
the Government to be responsible for national as6 Within the Swedish National Council of Adult Education,
FOLAC, Folkbildning – Learning for Active Citizenship, has
also made an internal compilation of folk high schools’ international contacts (Akselsson Le Douaron, 2010).
sessments of folkbildning, including those parts
that extend beyond the borders of Sweden. To create a basis for future evaluations, the Swedish National Council of Adult Education needed first to
make the work visible by means of a survey. Another purpose was to develop a method for implementing this type of study in the future.
The second initiator was the research network,
Mimer, based at Linköping University. Mimer was
founded as a national programme for research
on folkbildning. In late 2009, Mimer established
an internationalization committee charged with
‘promoting internationalization in research on
folkbildning’.7 The survey was considered to be an
adequate inventory of folkbildning’s transnational
work experience which could also provide the basis and generate questions for further research.
The Swedish National Council of Adult Education and Mimer’s internationalization committee
has been involved in planning the structure and
basic design of the survey. The Swedish National
Council of Adult Education was given the principal responsibility for the implementation of the
survey.
Three evaluators were brought in to implement
the survey and write this report: Therése Jansson, political scientist, employed by the Interest
Organisation for Popular Movement Folk High
Schools (RIO), Kerstin Mustel, Swedish folkbildning educator and former member of the Executive
Board of the European Association for the Education for Adults (EAEA) and former chair of the
Nordic Folk High School Council (NFR) and Erik
Nylander who is a doctoral student at Linköping
University.
Within the evaluation group, Therése Jansson
has had the main responsibility for Chapter 2 of
this report , Kerstin Mustel for Chapter 3 and Erik
7 Mimer’s international committee consisted of Mats Bernerstedt (the Sensus Study Association), Bernt Gustavsson
(Örebro University), Henrik Nordvall (Örebro University),
Erik Nylander (Linköping University), Eva Åström (the
Swedish National Council of Adult Education) och Eva Önnesjö (Tollare Folk High School/ RIO, the Interest Organisation for Popular Movement Folk High Schools).
9
Nylander for Chapter 4 as well as for the report’s
graphic illustrations.
1.2 Structure of the survey
Purposes and questions
The goal of the report was to gain an overall grasp
of the transnational activities of folk high schools
and study associations during the year 2009. The
results of the survey are intended to be used in
the planning of the Swedish National Council of
Adult Education’s forthcoming national assessments. The idea is that the survey should also provide inspiration for further research in this area.
Another purpose of the work has been to test an
analytical tool that can be used in future investigations by the Swedish National Council of Adult
Education.
The work focused on these questions:
• With which other countries do Swedish study
associations and folk high schools work?
• Which actors collaborate with study associations and folk high schools and in what way?
• From where do the financial resources for transnational activities come and to which forms of
activity are resources directed?
• What do study associations and folk high
schools want to achieve with transnational activities?
Transnational activities – not the same as
international
The questionnaire also asked about folkbildning’s
‘transnational activities’. Transnational activities referred to activities involving an ‘exchange
between Swedish folkbildning organizations and
at least one party (organization or individual) in
another Nordic country, Europe or the rest of the
world’. An important aspect of this broad working
definition is that both the flow out into the world
10
and the flow into Sweden are regarded as transnational. The reported activities thus include events
abroad as well as forms of transnational collaboration that take place in Sweden, but where parties
based in other countries are involved.
Respondents have reported everything from
shorter conference trips, participant and teacher
exchanges, ICT-based teaching, foreign elements
in courses, to more long-term projects and transnational activities that constitute regular course
activities. Activities that do not comply with the
above definition of transnational activity, but
which concern other countries (such as language
teaching, geography, international politics, etc.)
or that include participants who previously lived
in other countries (e.g., ‘Swedish for immigrants’)
have not been included in the survey.
The term ‘transnational’ is related to ‘international’, which is a more widespread term in the
fields of education administration and development assistance policy. The latter term, however,
primarily includes phenomenon in which nationstates, or those who represent the nation-states,
are collaborating and conducting various forms
of exchange. This study does not have its primary
focus on nation-state as actors. When attention is
turned to civilian society and the education sector, we have deemed it more appropriate to use the
term ‘transnational’. (See also Sörlin, 1994, 29,
Börjesson, 2005)
Delimitations and unanswered questions
The survey’s primary purpose is to highlight and
portray the distribution and character of folkbildning’s transnational activities. This delimitation means that many questions are raised without
any answers being presented. What strategies do
folkbildning’s actors have for their transnational
activities? Are folkbildning organizations themselves working for increased internationalization
or is this development simply following participants’ curiosity about the world? Is the outcome
of the survey the result of an accelerated transna-
tionalism in recent years – as we have seen in the
academic world – or does it rather fall back on a
long tradition of ideas and idea-driven work being imported to Sweden and then being exported
to other countries? Which are the groups involved
in folkbildning’s courses and projects geared to
the world around us? Who are the participants that
come here from abroad, and what experiences do
they take away with them?
The fact that this study is defined as a ‘survey’
also creates certain delimitations. For example, it
means that results are reported and compiled, but
not evaluated – which would have been the case
if we had carried out an evaluation. It also means
that the findings of this report will not be analyzed
as deeply and thoroughly as if they had resulted
from a research study.
mation letter was sent to all the principals of folk
high schools and study associations. The questionnaire was sent out in May 2010, which was followed by three reminders during the spring and
early summer.
To further improve the response rate, a followup questionnaire for study associations was conducted in September.
Response rates and loss of information
The survey resulted in a comprehensive body of
data. To clarify its empirical base, here are two tables displaying the response rates.
Diagram 1.3.1 Response rates, all folk high schools and
study associations.
Type of _
organization
1.3 Questionnaire survey
In spring 2010, a questionnaire was sent to every
study association and folk high school in Sweden.
It contained questions about transnational activities during 2009. To make comparative analysis
possible and to eventually be able to track changes over time, the survey was given a quantitative
character. Fixed response options were favoured
rather than open-ended questions.8
Work procedure
After the Swedish National Council of Adult Education and Mimer’s internationalization committee had defined the overall purpose of the questionnaire and developed questions, a test panel
was chosen. This consisted of employees at various levels in a number of study associations and
folk high schools. Their feedback was used to
further develop the questions. After this, an infor8 For a more detailed report of the questions in the questionnaire, see Appendix 1.
Number of
mailings
Number of
responses
Response
rate
Folk high schools
150
138
92 %
Study associations
496
317
65 %
Total
646
455
70 %
Response rate and loss of information for folk
high schools
Of the 150 folk high schools, 138 responded (99
popular movement folk high schools and 39 county council folk high schools) to the survey. This
gives an overall response rate of 92 per cent. As
much as 71 per cent of the total 138 responding
folk high schools reported having transnational
activities in 2009, while 29 per cent answered that
they had not run any such activities during the
year. In total, folk high schools reported 214 transnational activities.9 The empirical basis for folk
high school statistics can be regarded as solid.
9 For folk high schools, a course, for example, has been reported as one (1) ‘activity’ in the survey, even though this in
itself had contained a number of different activities. If the
folk high school had two courses characterized by transnational interests, two ‘activities’ were therefore reported, and
so on.
11
Diagram 1.3.2 Reported activities per study association in relation to the number of response units per study association.
Number of_
mailings (units)
Study associations
ABF
SV
The Study Promotion Association
Number of re
sponses (units)
Response
rate
Number Yes
(units)
Number No
(units)
80
59
76 %
21
36
178
122
71 %
15
107
62
41
66 %
10
26
Bilda
9
7
78 %
7
0
NBV
17
11
73 %
4
7
Sensus
37
15
42 %
2
13
5
4
80 %
1
3
Ibn Rushd
Mbsk
83
41
49 %
1
39
FU
25
17
68 %
1
16
496
317
65 %
Total
Response rate and loss of information for
study associations
Study associations run activities at association
level, district level and branch level. The questionnaire was addressed to all these levels, a total of
496 units.
In total, 317 responses were submitted by study
associations, giving a response rate of approximately 64 per cent. Of these, just over 20 per cent
(70 units) reported that they had organized transnational activities in 2009. In total, study associations reported 124 transnational activities.
Although the overall response rate for study associations may seem acceptable (65 per cent), the
response statistics are very problematic, especially
since the responses are unevenly distributed between the different associations:
An overall assessment of loss of information
shows that study association statistics hardly describe all transnational activities in 2009. The low
number of reported activities and misalignment
of the distribution of responses make it possible to
discern trends in the transnational work of study
associations, but this is not a sufficient basis for
a comprehensive assessment of study association
10 Eight of the study association units reported that they
had run transnational activities, but that these had been reported by another respondent. Seven of the units reported
that they had run transnational activities but submitted no
other details about this.
12
62 10
247
activities. In reality, their transnational involvement is far more extensive than is stated in this
report. As a consequence of this problem of information loss, the part of the report concerning
study associations should be read with considerably more caution than the part concerning folk
high schools.11
Another consequence of the shortcomings of response statistics is that the study associations that
had a very low proportion of affirmative responses
have also been removed from the reports and discussions that follow. This applies to Folkuniversitetet, Medborgarskolan, Sensus and Ibn Rushd.
In the survey comments, emphasis is instead
placed on the associations that have reported most
activities, namely, Bilda, the Workers’ Educational Association (ABF), SV, the Study Promotion
11 An example of the loss in educational statistics not providing an accurate picture of activities comes from the Sensus Study Association. Within Sensus, about 200 foreign
service allowances were paid in 2009. Therefore, at least 200
foreign trips were made. These are not apparent in the activities reported in the survey. A further example comes from
the Folkuniversitetet. Folkuniversitetet did not state any activities at all in the survey but referred instead to a separate
report on the association’s international activities in 2009.
Data from that report, however, is not compatible with the
data gathered from the questionnaire and cannot therefore
be included in this report. However, the report indicates that
Folkuniversitetet operated extensive international operations
during the year.
Association (Sfr) and the Educational Association
of the sobriety movement (NBV). The reason being that only these associations have provided a
sufficiently large empirical basis for it to be meaningful to compare trends and outcomes.
Internal loss of information
Of the study associations and folk high schools
responding to the survey, some have skipped individual questions or made reference to previously
reported answers. This internal loss of information is significant in certain questions. Where relevant, this is commented on in the text or in connection with the diagrams.
Anonymity
To illustrate the statistics, the report contains a variety of quotations, taken from survey responses.
Our hope is that the use of quotations will yield a
deeper analysis. The providers of the quotes are
anonymous. It should not be possible to associate quotations with individual respondents or response units.12
1.4 Report outline
Following this introduction to the report, there are
two chapters which present the survey results. The
transnational activities of folk high schools and
study associations are described separately – folk
high schools in Chapter 2 and study associations
in Chapter 3. As far as possible, these presentations have been designed to make it possible to
draw comparisons between the responses of study
associations and those of folk high schools.
The report ends with Chapter 4, where the results are placed in a larger analytical context. This
summary analysis begins with a statistical survey
of the various sources of funding for transnational activities – study trips, participant exchanges,
projects, etc. This is followed by a discussion of
the statements of purpose which educators have
specified for their transnational activities. Finally,
the mobility patterns of folk high school participants are analyzed with respect to the travel destination. This pattern is compared with the distribution of Swedish development assistance and with
student mobility in the higher education sector.
12 This means that when specific activities have been mentioned, names have been deleted and/or specific characteristics altered.
13
2. Transnational activities
of folk high schools
2.1 Type of principal organizer
As previously mentioned, Swedish folk high
schools have different types of principal organizers. Of Sweden’s 150 folk high schools, about 30
per cent are county council folk high schools and
about 70 per cent are popular movement folk high
schools. This diversity of principal organizers can
mean that individual folk high schools are given
different profiles. This is primarily a distinguishing feature of the group popular movement folk
high schools.
The diagram below shows the folk high school
principal organizer for each transnational activity
reported.
Diagram 2.1 Proportion of activities, by principal _
organizer group. (Number of activities: 214)
County council
folk high schools
Popular movement folk high
schools
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Per cent
The table shows that the number of transnational
activities organized in 2009 was distributed proportionally between county council folk high
schools and popular movement folk high schools,
in relation to the number of schools within each
principal organizer group. The approximately 70
14
per cent consisting of popular movement folk high
schools reported just over 70 per cent of the activities, while the approximately 30 per cent consisting of county council folk high schools accounted
for just under 30 percent.
In other words, it seems that the role of principal organizer has not been decisive for the number
of activities organized. However, the focus and
content of the activities may have been affected.
Type of activities
The regular activities of Swedish folk high schools
consist largely of long-term courses, which are
in turn divided into general courses and special
courses. 13 A general course is preparatory for further studies and is the equivalent of compulsory
school and upper secondary school level. Special courses are profile courses, often unique to a
folk high school and made up of a combination of
subjects. Many schools also offer short courses.14
Since folk high schools themselves govern their
activities, there are also activities that may be of
13 Long-term courses are between 15 days and four years
long.
14 Short courses are between half a day and three weeks
long. These are often profile courses in various subjects.
particular interest to the principal organizer, such
as ideologically oriented courses of various kinds,
as well as projects.
The transnational activities of folk high schools
are designed a little differently compared to other
activities. The diagram below shows the categorization of reported transnational activities by form
of activity:
Diagram 2.2.1 Type of activities._
(Number of activities: 212. Non-categorized activities: 2)
Projects
Therefore, more than half of the activities were
longer than one year, presumably due to the fact
that projects and courses were the most common
activities. The various themes which the projects
touched upon are often strategic and therefore require more long-term work. At the same time,
courses can be assumed to be a part of folk high
schools’ long-term and regular activities.
Participants from folk high schools
Diagram 2.2.2 Participating groups from folk high
schools.
Course activities
Participant exchange
n 0 n 1–2 n 3–9 n 10–20 n More than 20
Employee exchange
Conferenses
Student at a folk
high school
Study visit
Teacher at a folk
high school
Work experience
travel
Other employees
Cultural activities
0
5
10
15
20
25
0
30
35
Per cent
Most activities, totalling about 55 per cent, were
described in the questionnaire responses as
projects or course activities, while various forms
of participant or employee exchange, including
study visits, conferences and work experience
travel, accounted for just over 40 per cent of activities. Relatively few activities, less than five per
cent, were cultural activities.
Extent in time
The survey concerns transnational activities in
2009. The responses show that activities are often
long-term, that is to say, longer than one year, and
are often integrated in the regular work of folk high
schools. Approximately 36 per cent of reported activities extended over several years, and about 20
per cent was part of regular activities. Only 17 per
cent consisted of one-year activities, and about 27
per cent took place on a single occasion in 2009.
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Per cent
Number of
responses
No_
responses
Student at a folk high school
178
Teacher at a folk high school
191
36
23
Other employees
125
89
Total number of answers
494
148
Number of respondents
213
–
The diagram shows that representatives from all
groups at a folk high school participated in the
activity. Students participated mostly in groups of
10–20 persons or more. In the case of teachers at
the schools, either one or two persons participated
or they travelled in groups of 3–9 persons. Other
employees also took part in the activities, however
to a somewhat lesser extent and usually only a few
people per activity.
The fact that this was the case for participation
in transnational activities might be considered
natural. There is often a relatively large number
of course participants, who are assumed to be accompanied by one to two members of school staff
during transnational activities.
15
2. 3 Thematic focus
Seven areas of activity justify a particularly high
degree of state support for folkbildning. In the
diagram below, folk high schools have arranged
their transnational activities according to the
themes of these seven areas. The seventh area of
activity has, in the diagram below and in the statistics, been broken down into its three sub-areas:
public health, sustainable development and global
justice.15
Diagram 2.3.1 Thematic focus. Percentage of the total
number of responses.16
Common fundamental
values
Challenges of the
multicultural society
The demographic
challenge
Lifelong learning
Force behind cultural
activities
Accessibility for persons with disabilities
Public health
Sustainable
development
Global justice
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Per cent
Global justice was by far the most common theme
stated. The second most common theme was lifelong learning, closely followed by activities classified as being within the framework of common
15 The thematic arrangement in this section is thus based
entirely on how educators have chosen to classify an activity. One problem with this thematic arrangement of activities based on the areas of activity framed by the State is that
these areas are open to interpretation and are not mutually
exclusive. This leads to somewhat arbitrary thematic arrangements.
16 In the questionnaire, it was possible to state several thematic focuses for one and the same activity. Of the total
number of activities reported by folk high schools, 214, 22
are not included in the diagram below. For these, no theme
was stated in the questionnaire responses.
16
fundamental values. The challenges of the multicultural society were the fourth most common
theme, followed by a force behind cultural activities and after that by sustainable development.
Relatively few activities focused on public health,
accessibility for persons with disabilities and the
demographic challenge.
Below are some examples of statements of purpose which are attributed to each thematic focus:
• Common fundamental values
In order to ‘establish the concept of folkbildning in Egypt’, a folk high school collaborated in
a project categorized as being related to fundamental values. This activity had also been arranged in accordance with the theme of lifelong
learning. In order to ‘achieve greater understanding for each other’s work and a shared outlook on the purpose of education’, another folk
high school had organized teacher exchanges.
• The challenges of the multicultural society
A folk high school organized participant exchanges and received visiting students on a
number of occasions in 2009. These activities
had the purpose of creating ‘an opportunity for
Finnish students to see from the inside how our
schools and other schools work’. Another folk
high school organized participant exchanges
with Spain in order ‘to learn from each other’.
• The demographic challenge
One folk high school organized a study trip to
Norway in order ‘to become acquainted with a
border area’.
• Lifelong learning
One folk high school organized regular courses
in another European country with the purpose
of ‘increasing student confidence in communicating in a foreign language and becoming
acquainted with/meeting another culture’. Another school took participated in an EU project
with the purpose of promoting lifelong learning through ‘the exchange of experience and the
development of language and IT-instruction for
senior citizens’.
• Driving force behind cultural activities
One folk high school organized study trips and
visits to various European countries with the
purpose of ‘getting contact with cultural activities in other European countries’. Another received visiting students from Poland and Uruguay with the purpose of ‘providing interested
persons with the opportunity to discover Sweden and the folk high school’.
• Accessibility and opportunities for persons with
disabilities
In collaboration with other Nordic educational
and learning activities, one folk high school organized a project which had the purpose of ‘creating a hub for research, education and rehabilitation/habilitation within neuropedagogik’.
• Public health
One folk high school received visiting teachers from an education and learning organization in Italy with the purpose of ‘deepening
their knowledge about food, eating habits and
other cultures’ views on raw materials and dietary habits’. Another folk high school initiated
a project with Norway, which had the purpose
of ‘increasing collaboration with a newly started
treatment home’.
• Sustainable development
As a part of regular courses, one folk high
school ran projects and activities in collaboration with Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda with the
purpose of providing ‘a better understanding of
global conditions, various democratic perspectives as well as solid work experience for our
students’. This activity was also arranged under
the theme of global justice. Another folk high
school contributed with folkbildning methodology in a project which had the purpose of ‘creating sustainable livelihoods for coastal communities in India and Kenya’.
• Global justice
One folk high school ran a course which included working study visits to Bolivia. The purpose
was ‘to see potential for the Convention on the
Rights of the Child in another country based on
a course on the rights of children and adolescents’. With the purpose of ‘providing information on how human rights can be used to defend
democracy and human dignity’, another folk
high school organized a project in Peru.
Diagram 2.3.2 Thematic focus in total and per principal
organizer group. Proportion of categorizations._
n RIO n SKL n Totalt
Common fundamental
values
Challenges of the
The demographic
challenge
Lifelong learning
activities
Public health
Sustainable
development
Global justice
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Per cent
RIO
SALAR
Total
Respondents
146
46
192
No response
17
5
22
A closer examination of the thematic focus per
principal organizer group shows that global justice was the most common thematic focus of both
popular movement folk high schools and county
council folk high schools. However, the proportion
of activities with this focus was greater at county
council folk high schools than at popular movement folk high schools. The second most common
theme, lifelong learning, is present to about the
same extent in both principal organizer groups.
17
The third most common theme of common fundamental values was significantly more common
among county council folk high schools. The reverse was the case for the fourth most common
theme, the challenges of the multicultural society,
which was more common among popular movement folk high schools.
County council folk high schools had a greater
number of activities arranged according to the
theme of public health. This may have to do with
the principal organizers (county councils and regions) having a mandate on public health that permeates all mandates of the principal organizer.
Popular movement folk high schools had more
activities within the theme of sustainable development.
‘To increase student confidence in communicating in a foreign language and becoming acquainted with/meeting another culture.
Giving, receiving and exchanging
Sweden and the Swedish
Other words that appear in the image cloud are
receiving and exchanging, but not to as great an
extent as giving:
The expressions Sweden and Swedish have a dominant place in these thematic images (see diagram
2.4.1 on next page). This may be perceived as natural as it is precisely Swedish folk high schools that
have described the purpose of the activities. More
surprising, perhaps, is that the word folkbildning
has not been used to any great extent. Understanding seems, for example, to be a far more frequently
used term, as is the case for knowledge.
Increase, create and learn
Among verbs, expressions such as increase, create and learn dominate the image. In many cases,
these occur together with words such as knowledge, understanding, culture and opportunities.
‘To create understanding for the perspectives
and conditions of different cultures by participating in a voluntary project in another country.’
18
”To increase understanding and insight into living conditions and circumstances in the third
world in terms of ecology, environment and solidarity.”
”A mutual increase of knowledge about other
parts of the world. Get gender and democracy
issues on the agenda; focus away from charity
to a mutual and societal change process.”
”Create global alliances between popular
movements to strengthen the common work for
global justice.”
”Gaining knowledge about international issues,
giving a greater understanding for other cultures, gaining a deeper knowledge of the work
of peace and reconciliation.”
”To study the three religions, the political and
cultural situation, have an exchange with people locally and make an assessment of the folk
high school’s international work.’
”To increase knowledge about indigenous peoples and their situation. By studying indigenous
peoples and the problems surrounding them,
the participant gains another perspective on the
society and part of the world that he/she lives
in.”
Other activities are described as learning processes in which folkbildning actors give something to
someone else:
Diagram 2.4.1 The purposes of folk high school activities. 17
”To give students from other countries the opportunity to come to Sweden and study at a folk
high school.”
”Creating involvement and participating in societal development. To raise the level of learning through knowledge of the country in question. To create interest in another culture.”
”To educate and disseminate Swedish fundamental values.”
Others, participants and students
In the diagram, others, participants and students
are prominent concepts. Countries, teachers and
people are also common. It is these groups which
activities are primarily designed to reach or in17 Diagram 2.4.1 gives a focused picture of the concepts
used by educators to describe the purposes of transnational
activities. The principle behind the diagram is that a word is
depicted as larger the more frequently it is used. Conversely, words appear smaller and more peripheral the less often
they are used. The software for creating ‘word clouds’ of this
kind can be downloaded from the internet at www.wordle.
net.
fluence in some way. It therefore seems to be primarily people who are to be affected. It is less
common for activities to focus on institutions or
societal power structures.
Several geographic areas are prominent in the
word cloud, especially Tanzania, but also Russia
and Europe. This fits well with the image presented by the survey and which is presented below in
Section 3.5 Geography of the activities.
Folk high schools throughout the world
The transnational relationships of folk high
schools span large parts of the world (see diagram
2.5.1 on the following page). Most activities take
place in Europe. Tanzania is the country outside
Europe that stood out, especially with regard to
activities in 2009.
Comparatively few activities took place in
North America and in large parts of Asia. No activities that have been in collaboration with actors
in Australia or Oceania were reported in 2009.
There are grants that can be applied for from
19
Diagram 2.5.1 The activities of folk high school, by part
of the world. 18
Folk high schools in Europe
Europe can be said to be the epicentre of transnational activities. A total of 165 activities were organized together with actors in Europe. Looking
at the map of Europe, few countries are not represented, though the number of activities per country varies widely.
Diagram 2.5.2 Countries in Europe collaborating with folk
high schools.19
Part of the world
n Europe except. the
Nordic countries
n Africa
n The Nordic countries
n Asia
n North America
n Latin America
n Oceania/Australia
Total
Activities
Percentage
165
66
44
17
62
16
51
14
11
3
24
6
0
–
379
100
various organizations which often have different
purposes and are focused on specific geographical
areas. These focuses sometimes change over time,
which may be a possible explanation for the concentration of a greater number of activities in specific countries and areas.
Of most significance, probably, are already established contacts and networks between countries. Collaboration between countries is also promoted by common umbrella organizations, such
as the Nordic Folk High School Council in the
Nordic countries and the organization Karibu in
Tanzania.
18 One and the same transnational activity may include
activities in different countries. The activities in the table
therefore exceed the total number of reported activities (214).
20
Folk high schools have most transnational contacts with Germany, Finland, Denmark and Russia, followed by Poland and Norway. That activities in collaboration with these countries were so
extensive can be explained by long-term relationships and cooperation.
Activities in collaboration with one of our
neighbouring countries were particularly common. A total of 62 activities were organized together with another Nordic country. Folk high
19 This section reports the activities of folk high schools
by country. The larger the circle on the map below, the more
activities which are related to the specific country. The survey describes activities that take place in both directions,
that is, both inbound and outbound from Sweden. It is therefore important to note that these activities do not always take
place in the country in which they form part of the circle, but
may have taken place in Sweden. http://geocommons.com/
maps/30455.
Russia and Eastern Europe
Besides the Nordic countries, Eastern Europe
was well represented in the transnational work
of folk high schools in 2009. Russia stood out
in particular. In 2009, around 20 activities took
place in collaboration between Swedish folk
high schools and various actors in Russia.
A possible reason for this comparatively
large number of activities could be that various organizations, e.g., the Swedish Institute,
have over the years focused efforts on Russia,
among other places. This has given folk high
schools an opportunity to apply for the partial
funding of projects in collaboration with that
country. This may have attracted schools to
create new contacts and promote already established relationships. Another possible explanation is that the countries have long-standing
business and communication relationships due
to a geographical proximity.
schools in northern Sweden work closely with
neighbours on the Finnish side of the border. Contacts with Denmark belong primarily to folk high
schools across the Sound. A certain collaboration
across Nordic borders is organized with the aid of
funds from the Nordic Folk High School Council
and the Nordic Council of Ministers.
These are some of the purposes of activities
in collaboration with Russia:
‘To build upon the perception of affinity in
learning and life situation between Russia,
Estonia and Sweden, as well as to create a
permanent cross-border communication using newly acquired IT skills for a societal
group which does not usually have access to
mass media.’
‘To strengthen ties between students in
countries surrounding the Baltic Sea. An
understanding for each other’s cultures and
social situation.’
‘Our participants had the opportunity to visit another country, meet their peers and discuss current problems.’
Diagram 2.5.3 Countries throughout the world collaborat
ing with folk high schools. 20
Folk high schools outside Europe
Most transnational activities reported for the year
2009 were, as we have seen, in collaboration with
actors in Europe. The second largest group of activities, a total of 66, took place in conjunction
with a country on the African continent, primarily with sub-Saharan countries. In North Africa,
Egypt was the most common country to collaborate with.
In sub-Saharan Africa, activities were organized with a number of countries, primarily on
the east side of the continent, e.g., Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Kenya, Botswana, Malawi and
South Africa. A small number of activities took
place in collaboration with actors in countries in
20 http://geocommons.com/maps/30455.
21
Tanzania
Approximately 30 activities took place in collaboration between Tanzania and Swedish folk
high schools in 2009.
Collaboration between Tanzania and Swedish folk high schools dates back to the mid1960s, when the country became independent.
The Tanzanian Government identified at that
time a number of areas that the country needed
to work with and which required massive efforts in the field of adult education.
Inspired by Nordic folkbildning, a number
of folk high schools, Folk Development Colleges, were started with financial support from
Sida and in collaboration with Swedish folk
high schools, Linköping University and other
partners. The political force behind this reform
was the socialism reform launched by Julius
Nyerere. The Karibu Association was formed
about 30 years ago and has since then worked
to promote collaboration between Sweden and
Tanzania. There are currently about 60 Folk
Development Colleges in Tanzania, many of
which are twinned with Swedish folk high
schools.
West Africa: Tanzania, Nigeria, Togo and CongoBrazzaville. As the map shows, there are some
countries of the world that stand out in particular.
Tanzania is one of these countries.
A total of 51 activities were reported in collaboration with one or more Asian countries. These
were mainly concentrated in the Middle East region (excluding North Africa) and South East
Asia.
Overall, 24 activities in collaboration with Central and South America were reported in 2009.
Most activities in South America took place in
collaboration with actors in Brazil, closely followed by Bolivia and Ecuador. Only eleven activities were organized with partners in North America – the U.S. and Canada.
22
Historical relationships and contacts have
thus existed between Sweden and Tanzania
since the mid-1960s which helps to explain the
large concentration of activities in Tanzania
and Africa. Here are some quotations that describe the various purposes given for collaboration between Sweden and Tanzania:
‘To stimulate informal learning and education for the rural population of Tanzania.’
‘To strengthen folkbildning through the work
of the Karibu Association (an organization
for folk high schools) in Tanzania on women’s rights, HIV and AIDS, the right to education and sustainable development in rural
areas.’
‘To strengthen local democracy in rural areas in Tanzania and Zimbabwe through local
libraries and knowledge centres. ‘
2.6. Organizational collaboration
in transnational activities
The responsibility of ownership or a
collaborating party
In transnational activities between different organizations, it is normal for one party to own the
activity and the other parties to have the role of
collaborating parties. The responsibility of ownership means that the organization has the primary
responsibility for planning and budgeting the activity. As a collaborating party, an organization
can participate in several ways depending on the
type of activity. It is common to contribute re-
sources in terms of time, facilities, funding or expertise.
Diagram 2.6.1. Folk high school responsibility for the _
activity. _
Participated as a
collaborating party
Diagram 2.6.2 Type of foreign collaboration organization._
Sister organization
Same principal
organizer
Another educational or
learning organization
No collaboration
organization
The responsibility of
ownership
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Per cent
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Per cent
The diagram shows that for about two-thirds of
the reported activities, a folk high school in Sweden has had the responsibility of ownership. In
other cases, a folk high school participated as a
collaborating party. Folk high schools therefore
had primary responsibility for a large part of the
transnational activities they participated in.
Type of collaboration organizations
Swedish collaboration organizations
It was most common for folk high schools in Sweden to work with ‘other educational or learning
activities’ – about 27 per cent of activities. 25 per
cent of activities were organized together with
another collaboration organization, such as the
Swedish Institute, religious organizations or other
non-profit organizations. Another 14 per cent was
organized jointly with a member organization. In
one third of the activities, about 34 per cent, a folk
high school did not collaborate with anyone else in
Sweden.
Foreign collaboration organizations
Two-thirds of activities, therefore, took place in
collaboration with another organization in Sweden, and folk high schools had, in most cases, the
responsibility of ownership. But which foreign organizations were part of the collaboration?
The diagram above shows that, even when abroad,
it was most common to collaborate with another
educational or learning organization. This was the
case in 50 per cent of the activities. These collaborating parties were in a number of cases foreign
universities, state education coordinators or nonprofit organizations. Collaboration organizations
in the field of learning and learning centres were
also represented, albeit to a much lesser extent.
Just over one fifth of activities took place in collaboration with a ‘sister organization’.21 One of the
sister organizations which is mentioned several
times is Karibu in Tanzania. Religious denominations were another type of sister organization.
In a small number of activities, folk high schools
collaborated with an organization abroad with the
same principal organizer.
Less than one fifth of activities were reported
to take place without a collaboration organization
in another country. But the folk high schools that
participated in these activities can be assumed to
have collaborated with another party or actor even
in these cases because they considered the activity to fall under the survey’s definition of transnational activity. For 50 activities, no response has
been provided for this question, which should be
regarded as a great loss of information.
21 The concept of sister organization can be used both by
a school belonging to the same principal organizer and by a
school that one has regular collaboration with.
23
2.7 Funding
The folkbildning activities of Swedish folk high
schools are funded primarily by state and county council grants. In addition to this, folk high
schools finance activities with their own revenue
or through grants from other actors and organizations. The following diagram shows the main
sources of funding used to finance the transnational activities which have been reported. 22
Diagram 2.7.1 The main source of funding for trans
national activities. 23
Sida/other aid
organization
The European
Social Fund
The Swedish Institute
The Nordic Council of
Ministers
The International
Programme Office
Grants from a member
organization
Municipal or county
council grants
The state folkbildning
grant
0
10
20
30
40
50
Per cent
The diagram above shows that the state folkbildning grant was the main source of funding for
about 43 per cent, i.e., almost half the activities of
folk high schools. Sida or another aid organization
was stated as the next most common main source
of funding.24 The International Programme Office
22 As regards the funding of transnational activities, the
questionnaire responses only provide a basis for an analysis
from a Swedish perspective, i.e., of how the Swedish party
has financed its part of the transnational collaboration.
23 It should be noted that the size of the percentages in the
diagrams below represent response rates – how often the
main source of funding is provided by a funding authority
– and not the financial size, i.e., not the amount of funds. If
funding were to be stated in financial terms, these proportions might be different.
24 The combined response category Sida/other aid organization makes it impossible to tell exactly how large a propor-
24
for Education and Training and the Swedish Institute were the primary funders of about one tenth
each of the activities. The European Social Fund
and grants from a member organization were the
main source of funding for eleven activities each,
and the Nordic Council of Ministers accounted for
nine activities. Only three activities had municipal or county council grants as the main source of
funding.
A more detailed study of main sources of funding arranged by principal organizer group shows
that activities have been funded by the state folkbildning grant to the same extent for both principal organizer groups. In addition, the activities of
county council folk high schools are funded to a
much greater extent by the Swedish Institute. The
activities of popular movement folk high schools
are funded to a greater extent by money from Sida
or other aid organizations.
In connection with the question about the main
source of funding, there was also the open-ended
response option of ‘other actor’. The responses
given here show that it was common for participants to use their student aid to finance their own
participation. Funding with the help of fundraising and working study visits, for example, were
not uncommon either. Funds also came from other
organizations or actors other than those printed in
the questionnaire, such as, the Folke Bernadotte
Academy, the Swedish National Board for Youth
Affairs and Nordplus. EU programmes such as
Grundtvig and Leonardo Da Vinci are named as
additional sources of funding.
In addition to the question about the main
source of funding, the questionnaire contained a
question about possible supplementary sources of
funding. This question has been answered for 153
activities of the total 214 reported. For about 40
per cent of these activities, no other source than
the main source of funding has been reported. For
the remaining activities, supplementary funding
has come from the state folkbildning grant (aption of funds from Sida is used. The greatest proportion of
funds reported in this category comes, however, from Sida.
proximately 30 per cent of activities), municipal
and county council grants (about 14 per cent of activities), Sida or another aid organization and the
Swedish Institute (about 5 per cent of activities),
as well as, to an even lesser extent, grants from a
member organization and the International Programme Office for Education and Training.
In connection with the question regarding sup-
plementary funding, there was also the response
option of ‘other actor’. The comments show that
participants’ own forms of contribution, such as
student aid/student loans, working study visits and
fundraising, are common. Financial grants from
municipalities, organizations and various foundations were less common, as were funds from the
schools’ own development grants for teachers.
25
3. Transnational activities of
study associations
3.1 Organization Level
Study associations in Sweden generally have three
levels of organization, even though organisational structures may differ between the associations. All the associations have national offices,
and most also have regions or districts. At the local level, there are either more autonomous local
branches or local offices in the district/region. The
number of branches varies widely between associations, from a handful to over 170 local branches with 300 local offices. Organisations are not
static. Now and then, there are changes, such as
branches being closed or merged. The generally
low response rate from certain study associations,
as previously described, may be related to changes
in the organization of these study associations.
Diagram 3.1.1 Proportion of activities, by organization _
level, study associations in total. (Number of activities: 124)
Federation
offices
Districts
Branches
0
10
20
30
40
50
Per cent
Diagram 3.1.1 shows that all organization levels
reported transnational activities in 2009. Overall,
branches and districts were most active, while the
proportion of federation offices was about fifty
26
per cent. It appears that the district or national office coordinates activities within a covenant, but
such coordination is not always evident in the responses.
All NBV’s transnational activities were reported from branches, and about half the activities of
the ABF and SV. SV’s national office reported one
third of the association’s transnational activities.
For Bilda and the Study Promotion Association,
national offices accounted for a fifth. NBV reported no activities at association level.25
The regular activities of study associations in
Sweden consist mainly of study circles, cultural
programmes and other folkbildning activities.
The Swedish National Council of Adult Education
statistics for 2009 show that, counted in hours of
study, study circles were the largest activity, with
cultural programmes in second place. If the comparison is instead based on the number of events
25 Sensus reported only two activities, both from the same
branch. The only activity reported by Medborgarskolan
came from their national office, while the only activity stated by Ibn Rushd came from a district. NBV has an office in
Brussels for study visits, contacts, coordination of projects
etc., which should result in a number of activities at association level. However, these are not present in the association’s
questionnaire responses.
and number of participants, cultural programmes
were the largest activity. Other folkbildning activities had fewer hours of study, fewer events and
fewer participants.26
This is not the case for transnational activities.
These consist largely of projects and study trips.
It should be noted that these may include elements
of both study circles and cultural programmes.
The diagram below shows how study associations
have categorized the transnational activities that
they have reported.
Diagram 3.2.1 Type of activities. Study associations in _
total. (Number of activities: 119. Non-categorized activities: 5)
Projects
Course activities
Diagram 3.2.2 Type of activities. Per study association._
Respond No re
ents sponse
SV
29
0
Sfr
23
1
Sensus
2
0
NBV
5
2
Mbsk
1
0
Ibn
Rushd
1
0
Bilda
22
1
ABF
36
1
Total
119
5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Per cent
n Participant exchange
n Cultural activities n Employee exchange
n Projects Employee exchange
Conferenses
Study visit
Work experience
travel
n Conferenses
n Course activities
n Work experience travel
n Study visit
Cultural activities
0
10
20
30
40
50
Per cent
The study associations categorized just over 40
per cent of transnational activities as projects. The
proportion of study trips was about half as large.
There were cultural programmes in about twelve
per cent, and courses were held to a more limited
extent. A closer examination of the activities reported by the three organization levels showed
that it was primarily local branches of study associations which organized cultural activities and
courses.
26 Other folkbildning activities are organizd in more free
and flexible forms than the study circle. Sessions may be
longer and be held more frequently. There may be a lower
number of sessions and a greater number of participants,
who may also include younger people.
Two-thirds of the SV’s activities and just over half
of ABF’s consisted of projects. This proportion
was slightly lower for the Study Promotion Association (Sfr) and NBV. The Study Promotion Association was the study association that had the
greatest variety, with roughly equal proportions
of projects, cultural programmes, study trips and
conferences.
Bilda differed from the other associations
through its strong focus on study trips, which represented two-thirds of their activities. None of
the other associations had study trips representing more than one-fifth of their activities. Cultural
activities were not organized to any significant
extent in transnational activities, even though this
has a large representation in Sweden. The Study
Promotion Association and NBV had somewhat
more cultural activities than Bilda and ABF. Most
cultural activities were accounted for by branches.
27
Extent in time
The survey shows that the study associations’
transnational activities are often long-term.
Half of the activities were multi-year. But also
occasional and shorter activities were relatively
common, constituting one third of activities in
total. Less common were one-year activities and
those that were a part of regular activities.
Bilda and the Study Promotion Association differed from the others by prioritizing occasional
activities, which is probably related by the fact
that their activities often took the form of study
trips. Multi-year projects were most common with
ABF, SV, NBV and also quite common with the
Study Promotion Association. Bilda and NBV also
invested in one-year projects.
Participants from study associations
Diagram 3.2.3 Participating groups from study associa
tions. (Number of activities: 122. Non-categorized activities: 2)
n 0 n 1–2 n 3–9 n 10–20 n More than 20
Circle participants
Circle leaders
Other employees
0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Per cent
All groups were represented in transnational activities. Circle leaders and other employees mostly
participated in small groups of 1–2 persons (especially in ABF, Bilda and the Study Promotion Association) and to a slightly lesser extent in groups
of 3–9 persons (mostly in SV, NBV).
The involvement of circle participants was more
varied. They participated to the same extent in
groups of 3–9, 10–20 and more than 20 persons.
Circle participants in small groups of 2–3 persons
were most frequent in ABF and the Study Promotion Association. Circle participants in the larg-
28
est groups were found predominantly in Bilda and
NBV, which may be related to the fact that Bilda
has a very high proportion of study trips and NBV
a relatively high proportion of courses, two forms
of activity where it is natural to work with large
groups.
3.3 Thematic focus
Seven areas of activity justify a particularly high
degree of state support for folkbildning. In the
diagram below, study associations have arranged
their transnational activities according to the
themes of these seven areas. The seventh area of
activity has, in the diagram (3.3.1 on next page)
and in the statistics, been broken down into its
three sub-areas: public health, sustainable development and global justice.27
The most dominant thematic focuses of study
associations were global justice and lifelong learning. These focuses each encompassed just over 30
per cent of activities. Between 20 and 30 per cent
of activities were categorized as the challenges of
the multicultural society, common fundamental
values and sustainable development. About 15 per
cent of activities were devoted to a driving force
behind cultural activities. Few activities were designated as the demographic challenge or accessibility for the disabled.
Below are some examples of activities within
each theme:
• Common fundamental values
A couple of study association made study trips
to Israel/Palestine to ”study the three world religions, and experience on-site both the tradi27 The thematic arrangement in this section is thus based
entirely on how educators have chosen to classify an activity. One problem with this thematic arrangement of activities
based on the areas of activity formulated by the State is that
these areas are open to interpretation and are not mutually
exclusive. This leads to somewhat arbitrary thematic arrangements.
larities and differences, and their roles in society.”
Diagram 3.3.1 Thematic focus. Study associations in _
total. Proportion of categorizations.
Common fundamental
values
Challenges of the
The demographic
challenge
Lifelong learning
activities
Public health
Sustainable
development
Global justice
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Per cent
tional and contemporary cultural and political
situation.” Others made study trips to European
folkbildning institutions to ”exchange experiences on folkbildning in other countries.” Several study associations focused on democracy,
where some wanted to ”spread the Swedish
model of trade union-political collaboration”,
another association participated in a project
to ”investigate and provide information about
transparency between citizens and government
in Hungary, Romania and Sweden”.28
• The challenges of the multicultural society
An example of this area of activity is crossborder New Year celebrations taking the form
of a united drug-free festival for young people
in two countries. Several projects considered
the situation of women in the world, such as a
cultural exchange under the name ”Dialogue
between women of different cultures but a common religion, with the purpose of discovering
the situation of women in the world. The Simi28 In the questionnaire, it was possible to state several thematic focuses for one and the same activity. Of the total
number of activities reported by study associations, 124,
nine are not included in the diagram below. For these, no
theme was stated in the questionnaire responses.
• The demographic challenge
One study association organized a democracy
education which included the integration of
schools at different levels in India, Nepal and
Sweden and to talk about human rights, democracy and peace.
• Lifelong learning
Several study associations organized leadership
training for persons active in trade unions and
societies. Also under this heading were youth
exchanges within the EU programme Youth in
Action, which sought ”to get young people from
different cultures to come together and work together with theatre as a tool and, with intercultural learning in focus, to show that we are the
same no matter where we come from.”
• Driving force behind cultural activities
Here examples were given of poetry evenings,
theatre, rock concerts, and also a cultural conference with the objective of ”discussing forms
for developing culture within the programme
work.”
• Accessibility and opportunities for individuals
with disabilities
Study associations did not report as many
projects in this area of activity. One project
however worked to give parents of children with
disabilities increased opportunities for adjustment and income, and another worked to build
up an orchestra for individuals with disabilities
where they played together by means of a colour
system in which all notes were coloured.
• Public health
Public health projects were extremely varied.
One project was to collect glasses in Sweden,
and with the help of an optician on-site in Kenyan villages, organize eye tests there and adapt
the glasses for various people needing help with
29
their vision. Another project, located in Europe,
dealt with ‘a folk dance exchange across national borders’ and learning each other’s traditional folk dances and new variations of already
known dances. It was followed up by ”dance
exhibitions at bazaars and in the town square to
portray dance as a source of joy, exercise and
culture.”
• Sustainable development
Many of the activities with a thematic focus on
sustainable development had a broad perspective. Courses in organic farming were held sideby-side within an activity which also offered
training in the development of small businesses
in Ethiopia. Another example was a project to
create a basis for a web-based part of a climate
exhibition.
• Global justice
Global justice was the most common thematic focus. Several study associations organized
folkbildning for the empowerment of individuals and groups, partly in the form of capacity
development for organization leaders and partly
in the form of training for circle leaders and
studies organizers who would then be able to
organize folkbildning in civil society. Specific
courses were organized for emergency needs,
such as to train non-violence educators and
Middle East relations officers, or to give education about HIV.
Circle participants were not often involved in activities geared towards common fundamental values, instead this category mainly comprised of
circle leaders. Participants instead were the only
ones to take part in activities focused on the driving force behind cultural activities. Circle leaders
were slightly more involved in lifelong learning
and sustainable development than the participants.
30
Diagram 3.3.2 Thematic focus. Per study association.
Proportion of categorizations.
Respond No re
ents sponse
SV
27
2
Sfr
20
4
Sensus
2
0
NBV
6
1
Mbsk
1
0
Ibn
Rushd
1
0
Bilda
21
2
ABF
37
0
Total
115
9
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Per cent
n Common fundamental values
n Challenges of the multicultural society
n The demographic challenge
n Lifelong learning
n Force behind cultural activities
n Accessibility for persons with disabilities
n Public health
n Sustainable development
n Global justice
An analysis of the individual associations’ thematic focus showed that they differed in some respects. Diagram 3.3.2 shows that ABF was highest
for life-long learning, Bilda for global justice, SV
for sustainable development and lifelong learning.
In the Study Promotion association, the challenges
of the multicultural society were most common.
The demographic challenge and accessibility for
the disabled generally had very low figures. This
was not something that was given priority in the
context of transnational activities.
Diagram 3.4.1 The purposes of study association activities. 29
Sweden, Israel, the Palestinian areas and
Bolivia
Some countries have a more dominant position in
the image of the study association’s statements of
purpose. In addition to Sweden being dominant,
we also see how countries such as Bolivia, Israel
and Palestine are relatively frequently included in
the vocabulary of study associations.
Knowledge, folkbildning, study circles,
culture
Words such as knowledge, folkbildning, culture
and activities are very common. This gives some
29 Diagram 3.4.1 gives a focused picture of the concepts
used by educators to describe the purposes of transnational
activities. The principle behind the diagram is that a word
is depicted larger the more frequently it is used. Conversely,
words appear smaller and more peripheral the less often they
are used. The software for creating ‘word clouds’ of this
kind can be downloaded from the internet at www.wordle.
net.
indication as to what transnational activities are
about according to the actual folkbildning educators. The verbs in the diagram show that they often relate to working, creating and building, studying and disseminating.
”Active folkbildning efforts on environmental issues.”
”Establishing study circle activities as a tool for
democracy in South Africa.”
”Young people from different cultures should
be able to get together and work together with
theatre as a tool. With intercultural learning in
focus, young people show that we are the same
no matter where we come from.”
People, women, cultures, organizations,
conflicts and rights
In the diagram, words such as people, young people and women give us an idea about which groups
the activities are intended to reach. Similarly,
there seems to be a lot of interest in experiencing
other cultures. The collection of words can also be
31
interpreted in the light of the fact that many activities take place in communities of ongoing conflict
and places where human rights are an extremely
current issue. That the thematic images often relate to strengthening and developing democratic
organizations also seems to be clear.
Study associations throughout the world
Diagram 3.5.1 The activities of study associations, per
continent/region of the world. 3031
”To support and train leaders and active persons in ABC, Bolivia.”
”To investigate the situation of Christians in
Israel/Palestine and see how the conflict affects
everyday life.”
”To contribute to Palestinian women increasing
the power over their own lives in all areas and
to the emergence of democratic and participant
controlled associations. ”
”To provide further training for journalists with
regards to the conflict in Israel and the Palestinian areas.”
Contacts, exchange, networks
The questionnaire shows that study associations
have established contacts and collaboration across
almost the entire world, so the fact that words
such as contacts, exchange, experience and together dominate in the word cloud is perhaps not
surprising. Transnational activities often have the
purpose of creating interaction between people
who come from other or different cultures. Another popular theme in the study association statements of purpose is exchanging experiences and
learning together.
”To establish women’s networks to create the
conditions for working with the issues of honour
violence across several countries.”
”Exchanging folkbildning experiences with other folkbildning educators in Europe.”
32
Part of the world
Activities
Percentage
n Europe except the
74
37
n Asia
n North America
n Latin America
n Africa
n The Nordic countries
n Oceania/Australia
52
26
1
0,5
19
9,5
Nordic countries
Total
22
11
32
16
0
–
379
100
These Study association transnational activities,
according to the responses, reach most parts of the
world. The greatest concentration of relationships
can be found in Europe. One possible explanation
for this is that EU projects often require the participation of parties from several countries, so that
30 Note that the questionnaire responses reported in the
diagram and table below show collaboration between countries, not in which country an activity has taken place or how
many countries participated in each activity. For study associations, this map is not complete either, but it gives an indication of the trends and concentrations that exist.
31 One and the same activity could involve collaboration
with more than one country. Therefore, the ‘number of activities’ in this diagram exceeds the total number of activities
reported by study associations.
in Europe, one and the same activity can involve
relationships with several countries to a greater
extent than elsewhere. Study associations reported
collaboration with a total of 58 countries in 2009.
Only a few activities were organized in North
America. Apart from Europe, Asia is the continent with which study associations collaborated
most, with twice as many activities as Africa and
Latin America combined. This can be explained
by a large concentration in the Middle East, where
one Swedish study association in particular had a
large number of study trips to Israel and the Palestinian areas.
Many activities probably take place in the context of well-established contacts and networks and
can therefore continue for years or even decades.
There are grants that can be applied for from a
number of agencies, foundations and aid organizations. They often have explicit purposes and are
focused on certain geographical areas. This focus
often has a time limit. When the focus is phased
out, the effect is that folkbildning activities in the
area decrease in number.
Study associations in Europe
In Europe, 35 countries were represented in the
transnational activities of study associations, with
a total of almost 50 per cent of reported activities.
The European countries which study associations mainly concentrated on in 2009 were Finland and Germany. In the rest of Europe, they reported roughly the same number of transnational
activities in Western and Central Europe as in
Eastern Europe, but the countries they collaborated with in Eastern Europe were greater in number.
Finland a common collaborating party in the
Nordic countries
In the Nordic countries, Finland was the dominant collaborating country. It is common for border towns to work together across their borders,
and in this case, collaboration related to actors at
the border between Sweden and Finland, between
Diagram 3.5.2 Countries in Europe collaborating with
study associations. 32
Swedish Tornedalen and Finnish Österbotten.
Half of the activities were reported here.
Some activities followed longitudes rather than
borders between countries. In these cases, there
were collaborating parties in the whole of Nordkalotten in the northernmost parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and sometimes also Russia, in the
Barents region. There were also transnational activities with Denmark, Iceland and Åland, albeit to a
lesser extent. Activities were very different in purpose and content, and ranged from cultural activities to the development of sustainable businesses.
In a study of the individual study associations,
the Study Promotion Association, followed by
ABF, appeared to be the associations which were
most active at the border with Finland. SV had the
most variation and collaborated with almost all
the Nordic countries. ABF was the only study association that ran activities in collaboration with
Iceland. NBV had the least Nordic collaboration.
‘Rajarock gathers young rock musicians between 14 and 18 years of age from the Barents
32 This section reports the activities of study associations
by country. The larger the circle on the map below, the more
activities which are related to the specific country. The survey describes activities that take place in both directions,
that is, both inbound and outbound from Sweden. It is therefore important to note that these activities do not always take
place in the country in which they form part of the circle, but
may have taken place in Sweden. http://geocommons.com/
maps/30459.
33
Region . They participate in workshops and in
concerts with all the participating Nordic countries. Bands receive good instruction and a lot
of exchange, plus contacts. The purpose is also
drug-free activities for young people.’
”Development of the tourism industry from a
sustainability perspective in collaboration with
Northern Norway, Northern Finland and Italy.”
“To increase the understanding of civil society and to impart knowledge and experience of
work within organizations, which belong to civil
society.”
Study associations outside Europe
Diagram 3.5.3 Countries throughout the world collaborat
ing with study associations. 33
Extensive collaboration with Germany
Germany was, after Finland, the country in Europe which study associations collaborated most
with. Spain, Italy and the UK were also common
collaborating parties, with Ireland, France, Austria, Greece and Turkey also collaborating parties
in several activities. The choice of German collaborating parties was often a result of the German
learning institutions Volkshochschulen. Here are
some examples of quotations about activities with
German collaborating parties:
”To gain a European perspective on folkbildning and exchange experiences with folkbildning
educators in other countries through study visits to folk high schools in Germany.’”
”To increase knowledge of how to work with
immigrant groups.”
In 2009, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus and Bulgaria
were the most frequent collaborating countries in
Eastern European.
ABF primarily organized most of their activities in collaboration with Lithuania, while SV collaborated the most with Belarus. Here are three
examples of activities in collaboration with Eastern European and Russian folkbildning educators
or participants:
“To start projects with Belarus with a focus on
ceramics.”
“Young people from various countries discussing issues of democracy.”
34
The transnational interests of study associations
extended in 2009 to all parts of the world except
Australia/Oceania. Together with actors from 15
Asian countries, 36 activities were initiated or
completed, of which nearly half was related to the
Middle East. Israel and the Palestinian areas were
highly dominant. Africa was a co-party in 24 activities in a total of 12 countries, and Latin America in 19 activities in nine countries. No activities
were reported from Oceania/Australia.
The Middle East dominated in Asia
Asia was the continent, after Europe, where study
associations reported most transnational activities in 2009. Collaborating countries were mainly
India, Nepal and Iran, but also China, Iraq, Tibet, Afghanistan, the Philippines and Japan. The
greatest concentration of collaboration was with
the Middle East, where Israel and the Palestinian
areas were in particular focus.
ABF was the study association which had most
activities in Asia, with several activities in India
and in Nepal, and a few in Iran, Iraq and the Phil33 http://geocommons.com/maps/30459.
The Middle East
Approximately 20 activities took place in the
Middle East in 2009, mostly in the form of
study trips to Israel and the Palestinian areas,
but also to Syria. Bilda was the owner of 18 of
these activities, and the coordinator of these
study trips and projects was Bilda’s study centre in Jerusalem. Some other study associations
ran occasional activities. These activities were
primarily study trips with a focus on meeting
people in a world of conflict, but also on the
study of the roots of Christianity:
”Bilda’s study trip concept involves preparation through a study circle, participation
in planning the study trip programme, daily
reflection and processing thoughts during
the trip and follow-up at home. Each travel
project lasts about one year. Participants
will get to meet Jews, Christians, Muslims,
settlers and persons living in refugee camps.
They will visit schools in both Israel and the
Palestinian areas to form their own opinion
on the situation.”
ippines. NBV was the only Swedish study association which collaborated with China and Japan.
Bilda was represented in Afghanistan and India.
”In collaboration with the organization Bayanihan, we ran a voluntary project for two weeks
with the Philippine Red Cross in Manila.”
”Educational activities for democracy, human
rights and peace. We collaborate with organizations and schools in India and Nepal...”
Africa – most collaboration with Kenya and
Tanzania
Study association activities south of the Sahara
were concentrated in the countries of the east
”Train non-violence educators and Middle
East relations officers in collaboration with
the Swedish Fellowship of Reconciliation.”
”Young women in Sweden/Israel/the West
Bank work with UN resolution 1325 on women’s participation in societal development,
and work with conflict management and nonviolence. Exchanges with travel in both directions. The purpose is knowledge of one’s
own situation and a greater understanding
for the situation of others.”
Participation fees accounted for approximately
one third of the financing of activities in the
Middle East, but the state folkbildning grant
was also used. Typically, in other cases, costs
were covered from many different sources,
such as the Folke Bernadotte Academy, Sida,
the Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs,
the Church of Sweden, the Swedish Institute as
well as fundraising.
coast of Africa, Ethiopia and Somalia, Kenya,
Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
On the Atlantic coast, there was collaboration
with Namibia, Cameroon, Gambia, Senegal and
Sierra Leone. There were no activities at all north
of the Sahara.
Most activities took place in collaboration with
Kenya, where ABF, SV, the Study Promotion Association and Bilda were represented, and with
Tanzania, where the Study Promotion Association
and NBV participated. Next came South Africa,
where ABF and SV had collaboration projects, the
Gambia, where ABF and NBV had activities, and
Zimbabwe, where SV was involved in several collaboration projects.
35
Below are some examples of statements of purpose for activities in the countries concerned:
bildning units with local support and national
collaboration.”
”Through education/study circles, there is an
increase of awareness and knowledge of the
above-mentioned areas so that the area and its
inhabitants may continue living in self-sufficiency and in better health…”
”To get women active in associations and folkbildning.”
”To spread our experience of the study circle
method to movements with similar values and
aspirations, and bring home practical experience of using the circle method in contexts other
than at home in Sweden.”
”To increase awareness of the history of previously marginalized groups and its part of the
common history of South Africa. To identify involvement and an organizational structure for
cultural environment education in the country.”
”To develop small business in Ethiopia.”
”To pass on knowledge and experience concerning cooperatives for the production, processing
and sale of fruit and vegetables in Colombia.”
More activities in Latin America and Central
America than in North America
In transnational activities between different parties, it is normal for one party to own the activity
and the other parties to have the role of collaborating parties. The responsibility of ownership
means having the primary responsibility for the
planning and budgeting of the activity. A collaborating party can participate in various ways depending on the type of activity. It is common to
contribute resources in terms of time, facilities,
funding and expertise.
In Latin America, study associations collaborated primarily with Bolivia and Colombia, but
also with Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru
and El Salvador. In Central America, there were
projects in collaboration with Cuba. ABF had a
well-developed collaboration with Bolivia, and SV
with Colombia. ABF and SV predominantly ran
project activities with the South American countries. In North America, only occasional activities
were reported.
The projects often focused on folkbildning and
popular movements, democracy and associations,
but there are also examples of purposes related
to the development of cooperatives or local businesses.
”To support and train leaders and active persons in ABC Bolivia.”
”To strengthen the local population by setting
up/strengthening democratically organized folk-
36
”To building up a trade union school in Sao
Paolo.”
3.6 Organizational collaboration
in transnational activities
The responsibility of ownership or a
collaborating party
Diagram 3.6.1 Study association responsibility for the _
activity. (Number of activities: 119, non-categorized: 5)
Participated as a
collaborating party
The responsibility of
ownership
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Per cent
The diagram above shows that study associations
themselves had the responsibility of ownership
for nearly two-thirds of the activities they had reported. A closer examination of individual study
associations and organization levels revealed that
is the case primarily for ABF, Bilda and SV, while
the Study Promotion Association had responsibility for nearly half of the activities.
As regards the different organization levels of
study associations, the district took on the responsibility of ownership for two-thirds of the activities they reported, while the national office and
branches seem to have had the responsibility of
ownership for about half ‘their’ activities.
Type of collaboration organizations
Swedish collaboration organizations
In many transnational activities, study associations collaborated with other organizations both
in Sweden and abroad. The collaborating parties
of study associations in Sweden were primarily
member organizations and collaboration organizations. 39 per cent of activities were carried out
together with member organizations, 27 per cent
with collaboration organizations and 11 per cent
with representatives of other educational or learning activities. For 23 per cent of activities, associations had no collaborating party in Sweden.
Foreign collaboration organizations
Diagram 3.6.2 Type of foreign collaboration organization.
Study associations in total. _
(Number of activities: 91, non-categorized activities: 33.)
Sister organization
half the activities. Here we notice, for example,
foreign universities, democratic institutions, German Volkshochschulen, cultural societies, trade
union organizations, educational publishers and
churches.
A quarter of activities were organized in collaboration with a sister organization. The associations named sister organizations such as ABC
Bolivia, ABF Norden, or organizations with a religious orientation such as the Orthodox Christian
Church. The term sister organization usually refers to organizations similar to their own in terms
of objectives, which have a principal organizer
with a similar focus as their own, or to an organization there has been close and continual collaboration with. Study associations also, in some cases, indicated an affinity with principal organizers
in a broader sense, such as when a study association with ties to Catholic or Protestant teachings
collaborates with institutions linked to the same
religion in other countries.
14 per cent of activities were organized with a
collaborating party other than those listed in the
diagram above.34 Study associations were shown,
in several activities, to have collaboration with
cities, municipalities or town district committees
in the collaborating country. This can possibly be
explained by associations in some cases also having close contact with their own municipality in
Sweden. Other examples of collaborating parties
from the open-ended response category were private businessmen or cooperatives, women’s centres and local interest groups.
Individual study associations
Same principal
organizer
Another educational or
learning organization
No collaboration
organization
0
10
20
30
40
50
Per cent
The most common collaborating parties in other
countries were actors offering other educational
or learning activities. These participated in almost
At association level, there were certain differences between study associations. SV and the
Study Promotion Association followed the general
picture and mainly collaborated with other educational institutions. ABF also had a lot of collaboration with other educational institutions, but
even more with its sister organizations. Bilda also
34 The questionnaire provided an opportunity for leaving
comments if the response alternatives were not sufficient.
37
differed from the overall pattern and collaborated
mostly with the same principal organizer (53 per
cent) and only then with sister organizations (24
per cent).
Diagram 3.7.1 The main source of funding for transna
tional activities. Study associations in total. 37
(Number of activities: 84, non-categorized activities: 40)
Sida/other aid
organization
The European
Social Fund
3.7 Funding
The Nordic Council of
Ministers
A prerequisite for transnational collaboration is
that study associations are able to finance their
participation in the activity. Often, several sources of funding are required, both a main source
of funding and supplementary funding. Associations have been able to use their ordinary state
folkbildning grant for certain transnational activities. They can also turn to municipalities and
county councils and apply for grants. Grants can
also come from their member organizations, particularly in cases where they are in close collaboration with them. There are also grants that can
be applied for from Sida and other aid organizations, the Swedish Institute, the Swedish National
Board for Youth Affairs, the International Programme Office for Education and Training, the
Nordic Council of Ministers and the European
Social Fund, ESF. The focus of the various donors
changes over time, and this may affect the focus
and location of activities.35
Study associations in total.
Sida or another aid organization was the most
common main source of funding for study associations.36 These aid organizations were the main
source of funding for 43 per cent of activities,
35 As regards the funding of transnational activities, the
questionnaire responses only provide a basis for an analysis
from a Swedish perspective, i.e., of how the Swedish party
has financed its part of the transnational collaboration.
36 The combined response category Sida/other aid organization makes it impossible to tell exactly how large a proportion of funds from Sida is used. The greatest proportion of
funds reported in this category comes, however, from Sida.
38
The International
Programme Office
Grants from a member
organization
Municipal or county
council grants
The state folkbildning
grant
0
10
20
30
40
50
Per cent
while the state folkbildning grant accounted for 24
per cent, and municipal and county council grants
for 12 per cent. Often, associations were also required to use additional financial resources. In
these cases, the state folkbildning grant was used
as supplementary funding in one third of activities. On top of this, there were additional resources from municipal and county council grants,
which accounted for 15 per cent of supplementary
funding.
Funds from the Nordic Council of Ministers,
the Swedish Institute, the ESF and the International Programme Office for Education and Training did not, taken individually, constitute large
amounts, but when combined, they accounted for
18 per cent of the main source of funding.
Grants from member organizations were not
common and occurred in only five per cent of activities. Participation fees, student aid and money
from fundraising, as reported in comments to the
open-ended question on other funding, constituted a much larger part. About 30 per cent of all
37 It should be noted that the size of the percentages in the
diagrams below represent response rates – how often the
main source of funding comes from a funding authority –
and not the financial size, i.e., not the amount of funds. If
funding were to be stated in financial terms, these proportions might be different.
the responses received on supplementary funding referred to their own revenue, fundraising and
loans.
Diagram 3.7.2 The main source of funding for transna
tional activities. Per study association._
(Number of activities: 84, uncategorized: 40. )
Respond No re
ents sponse
The different organization levels of study
associations
A detailed study of organization levels shows that
all three levels – national offices, districts and
branches – had Sida as the most common main
source of funding, and that the state folkbildning grant was the most common source of supplementary funding at all levels of the organization.
Branches and districts used funds from municipalities and county councils as sources of funding more often than national offices did. National
offices, in turn, applied for and obtained grants
more often from the International Programme Office for Education and Training, the Nordic Council of Ministers and the ESF.
Grants from Sida or from other aid organizations accounted for just over half of the main
source of funding for ABF and SV. The Study
Promotion Association utilized municipality/
county council grants for one third of activities
and grants from Sida and the state folkbildning
grant for one fifth each. The Study Promotion Association also named municipal and county council grants as supplementary funding for 29 per
cent. A small part of activities in ABF and SV
was contested by the Nordic Council of Ministers,
while the Study Promotion Association and SV
reported a number of smaller grants from the ESF,
the Swedish Institute and the International Programme Office for Education and Training.
Bilda used the state folkbildning grant by far
the most, amounting to three-fifths of their main
SV
25
4
Sfr
19
5
Sensus
1
1
NBV
3
4
Mbsk
0
1
Ibn
Rushd
0
1
Bilda
10
13
ABF
26
11
Total
84
40
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Per cent
n The state folkbildning grant
n Municipal or county council grants
n Grants from a member organization
n The International Programme Office
n The Nordic Council of Ministers
n The Swedish Institute
n The European Social Fund
n Sida/other aid organization
source of funding. The corresponding figure for
the Study Promotion Association was one quarter,
and for NBV two-thirds. SV did not have the state
folkbildning grant as their main source of funding
for more than eight per cent of their reported activities. SV did, however, have this as supplementary funding in one third of their activities. ABF
used the state folkbildning grant least, for only
one fifth of their activities, and as supplementary
funding for only five per cent.
39
4. Summary analysis:
Transnational folkbildning
In this concluding chapter, the results of the survey are analyzed in three areas of specialization:
• Sources of funding: Where does the money
come from and for what is it used?
In this first area of specialization, we look at the
type of grant which transnational activities rely
upon and what connections there are between
sources of funding sources and forms of activity
(courses, projects, conferences, study trips, circle leader exchanges, etc.).
• Thematic images: What do folkbildning educators want to accomplish?
The second area of specialization provides an
analysis of the purposes and thematic images
of study associations and folk high schools. In
what way do folkbildning educators think that
activities relate to the overall areas of activity?
What values and what direction do they perceive the learning activity to have?
• Geography: What do folkbildning actors’ transnational networks look like?
Finally, the international connections of folkbildning actors are analyzed, with focus on geographical location. The travel patterns of folk
high school participants are compared with the
mobility of Swedish university students as well
as with the geographical distribution of Swedish
development aid.
40
4.1 Sources of funding: Where
does the money come from and
for what is it used?
Folkbildning in Sweden is largely funded through
support from the state, county councils/regions
and municipalities. In addition to these public
funds, various forms of compensation for the responsibilities and project activities, conferences
and other activities, and participation fees and
sales revenues for the study associations part.
Also in the case of transnational activities, different sources of funding are reported.
As we have seen in previous sections, folk high
schools and study associations have partly different ways of financing their transnational collaborations. For folk high schools, the state folkbildning grant represented the main source of funding
for 43 per cent of reported activities in 2009, while
the corresponding figure for study associations
was 24 per cent. As regards funding from Sida
or other aid organizations, the proportions were,
in principle, reversed: Sida was the main source
of funding for roughly 43 per cent of study association activities compared to 18 per cent for folk
high schools. Also municipal and county council
grants accounted for a higher proportion of study
association transnational activities than for those
of folk high schools. In the case of other grants
and funding authorities specified in the question-
naire, the funding patterns of study associations
and folk high schools are about the same.
Participation fees and fundraising accounted for
a comparatively large proportion of the funding
for both folk high schools and study associations.
In almost 30 per cent of all the responses about
the main source of funding, reference was made
to self-financing. In the questionnaire, however,
this type of financing was reported in the comments section under ‘other funding’, which brings
a measure of uncertainty to its proportional share.
As regards supplementary funding, fundraising
and participation fees were stated as having been
used in almost three out of four activities. This can
be interpreted as participants often being personally motivated to take part since they seem willing to
use their own resources to make the projects a reality. The overall picture of sources of funding (Diagram 4.1.1) shows that public funds are the primary
resource base for transnational activities.
Diagram 4.1.1 The main source of funding for trans
national activities. Study associations and folk high
schools.
%
Number of
activities
State folkbildning grant
36%
90
Sida/Other aid organization2
26%
65
8%
19
8%
21
Member organization
6%
15
The European Social Fund (ESF)
5%
13
Municipality/County council
5%
13
The Nordic Council of Ministers
5%
12
100%
248
Main source of funding
International Programme Office
Total
Almost all the activities reported by study associations and folk high schools were funded primarily with the help of Swedish public funds. The state
folkbildning grant and grants from Sida together
appear to account for the main source of funding for just over 60 per cent of activities. All this
points to the conclusion that the internationalization of folkbildning depends primarily on government money.
Similar funding structures have previously been
described by researchers who have examined the
transnational processes of the university sector
(Sörlin, 1994).3 Civil society’s organizations therefore appear, in a similar way to universities, to be
embedded in processes where institutional contact
networks are widening and links with the outside
world are being established. However, the resource allocation system that facilitates this development is still largely possible to trace back to the
state budget bill. This phenomenon has therefore
previously been termed as a state-sponsored form
of transnational activity (Cf. Sörlin, 1994, 225).
Who pays for what? In the short-term or
long-term?
The figures in Diagram 4.1.2, which is based on
a cross tabulation between source of funding and
form of activity, show how the state folkbildning
grant, Sida funds and the main source of funding from the Nordic Council of Ministers and the
European Social Fund (ESF) are used in relation
to various forms of folkbildning (projects, conferences, courses, study trips, etc.).
Diagram 4.1.2 Main source of funding, by form of activity.
Study associations and folk high schools.
The state folk
bildning grant
Main Funding
Antal
%
Participant exchange/Visiting
students
9
10
Conference
3
3
Cultural activity/
Cultural programme
Nordic
& ESF
Sida
Antal
%
Antal
%
1
2
4
16
4
6
0
0
4
4
0
0
0
0
36
40
5
8
0
0
Teacher/Circle
leader exchange
5
6
0
0
2
8
Work experience
travel
2
2
2
3
1
4
Course
6
7
48
74
18
72
Study trip/Study visit
Project
25
28
4
6
0
0
Total number of
activities
90
≈100
65 ≈100
25
100
41
The diagram shows that courses, study trips, participant exchanges and projects are the most common forms of transnational activities. If we compare the different funding sources, it seems that
activities financed by the state folkbildning grant
in a total of 80 per cent of activities were participant exchanges, courses and study trips. Funds received from Sida, the Nordic Council of Ministers
and the European Social Fund (ESF) are instead
used primarily for project activities. This means
that in relation to other sources of funding, the
state folkbildning grant was primarily used for activities of a more regular and long-term nature.
The patterns found in the table above are also
reflected in the figures we have already presented.
In a comparison of study associations and folk
high schools, it emerges that the state folkbildning
grant is the most common main source of funding for folk high schools, with Sida being the most
common for study associations. Just over half of
the folk high schools reported activities focused
on courses, participant exchanges and study visits,
while only 30 per cent were described as projects.
Study associations use grants from Sida more often. Of the reported activities, almost half were
projects, while about one third were courses, participant exchanges or study visits.
4.2 Thematic images: What do
folkbildning educators want to
accomplish?
In the name of global justice
Why do study associations and folk high schools
participate at all in transnational work? What do
they want to accomplish?
A first step towards finding answers to these
questions might be to explore how folkbildning
actors themselves perceive their activities to relate
to folkbildning’s seven areas of activity:
42
Diagram 4.2.1 Thematic focus. Study associations and
folk high schools. Proportion of categorizations. 38
n Folk high schools n Study associations
Common fundamental
values
Challenges of the
The demographic
challenge
Lifelong learning
activities
Public health
Sustainable
development
Global justice
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Per cent
Both study associations and folk high schools define most of their transnational activities as being primarily related to the seventh area of activity. This relates to just over 60 per cent of study
association activities and approximately 70 per
cent of folk high school activities. More specifically, many of the activities deal with the creation
of global justice. In just over 30 per cent of study
association activities and more than 40 per cent
of folk high school activities, global justice is at
the top of the agenda. It is also common for activities to relate to sustainable development and
public health. Study association activities with a
focus on global justice were primarily designed
as projects, study trips or conferences, while folk
high schools, for the most part, stated this theme
as a focus for its courses.
Even activities in the context of lifelong learning, multicultural society challenges and common
fundamental values are common. Study associations and folk high schools categorized 20–30 per
cent of their activities within each of these areas.
This primarily related to courses and projects
38 In the questionnaire, it was possible to state several thematic focuses for one and the same activity.
Diagram 4.2.2 The collective response of study associations and folk high schools to the question: “What do you want to
accomplish with the activity?”
for folk high schools and temporary projects and
study trips for study associations. A relatively
high number of courses focused on lifelong learning, and quite a high number of cultural activities
were also came under the heading of challenges
of the multicultural society. Transnational work
involving participants with disabilities or which
was conducted within the framework of the demographic challenge seem to be less common. This
includes both study associations and folk high
schools, even if there can be great variation between individual folkbildning organizers.39
Allowing folkbildning actors themselves to relate the activities to the areas of activity showed,
39 It was not primarily the very young, the oldest or participants with disabilities who were involved in transnational
collaboration. In cases where activities also related to these
groups, they usually consisted of study trips or projects organized by study associations or courses run by folk high
schools.
in summary, that there is a solid idea that folkbildning can help create more justice in the world.
It was also in the seventh area of activity that the
vast majority of activities were considered to belong.
Receiving, giving or sharing?
Another way to examine the motives of folkbildning educators is to observe how they, in their own
words, choose to describe the objectives of their
activities (see diagram 4.2.2).
In earlier sections, the motives of study associations and folk high schools were presented separately in word clouds. Each section also contained
a number of examples of phrases taken from the
reported activities. The purpose of this section is
to broaden the previous reasoning.
The vast majority of verbs that describe the pur-
43
pose of the activities are change and development
oriented. Folkbildning actors gladly use the words
create, give, increase, deepen, learn, strengthen,
disseminate, develop, educate, build and establish.
Areas to be developed include culture, knowledge,
understanding, perspective, democracy, collaboration, methods, contacts, and awareness. Judging
by diagram 4.2.2, it is primarily different partnering countries, participants and individuals in other
parts of the world that are the subjects of this reform agenda.
A detailed analysis of the response shows that it
is mainly Swedish folkbildning educators who are
described as proactive in the activity. It is much
more common for Swedish folkbildning actors to
appear to be giving something to someone else,
than the contrary, that they are receiving something
from someone else. Transnational contacts are also
more often described as a developmental process in
which Swedish folkbildning educators share their
knowledge and experience to the benefit of the foreign collaborating partners. The overall picture
created by the statements of purpose is that other
countries have something to learn from Swedish
folkbildning, for example, by comprehending the
didactic approach, pedagogical models, or other areas related to folkbildning expertise.
Through an analysis of the statements of purpose, based on the three verb paradigms to give,
to receive or to exchange, the attitudes that Swedish folkbildning educators bring to their transnational initiatives become clearer.
Increase knowledge, spread the word and
help others: Folkbildning as a mission
Many descriptions illustrate a donation-driven attitude. In its most extreme form, the partnering
countries constitute a kind of folkbildning-related
tabula rasa. Folkbildning initiatives break virgin
territory and the challenge for folkbildning actors
is to preach folkbildning forms or basic pedagogical outlook. These descriptions create the image
of only the partnering country benefiting from
activities. The objectives can be described in the
following manner:
44
”To transfer and establish the experience of
Swedish folkbildning to be used as a resource
within human development and change management (..) in Ukraine.”
”To implement study group activities in 16 organizations in Belarus.”
”To establish the idea of folkbildning in Egypt.”
”(The study association) assists the trade union
(..) in creating folkbildning activities aimed at
building up a trade union school in Sao Paolo.”
In these objectives there is a tendency for Swedish
folkbildning educators to appear as the transnational activity ”democracy experts”. It may relate
to the Swedish actor representing folkbildning as
a phenomenon or a successful example of democratization. Quite often folkbildning is portrayed as
a tool for broader forms of social change:
”Establishing study circle activities as a tool for
democracy in South Africa.”
”Increasing and strengthening leaders in democracy, leadership, social involvement and poverty reduction.”
”Improving the understanding of civil society and
to impart knowledge and experience of work
within organizations, which belong to civil society. Show how civil society can collaborate with
the public administration. Convey basic knowledge of democracy and association activities.”
”Spread the Swedish model of trade union-political interaction.”
These quotations are based on the idea that folkbildning expertise communicates and assists overseas nations with what they perceive as traditional
folkbildning methods or models.
However, Swedish folkbildning is not always
portrayed as a democratic miracle cure. Transna-
tional activities can also be presented as part of a
broader and more complex strategy of change:
”This is a project that, in collaboration with
the trade union movement in Europe, deals with
the creation and implementation of a course for
union representatives in multi-national companies that provides knowledge about their rights
to information and consultation in multi-national companies. We will hold workshops with the
same content in the countries involved in the
project . Thereafter, the courses will be national.”
”To carry out initiating measures by means of
collecting glasses in Sweden by VFA (Vision
For All = opticians organization), measuring
the strength of the glasses and distributing them
locally in villages and organizing eye tests, for
one day per village, by an optician from VFA
.(..) The purpose is to help find opticians locally
that can take over and run a continuous activity.”
”At the invitation of the Ministry of (...), to implement adaptation courses for the visually impaired, as well as educational efforts, to serve
both as encouragement and as an example of
the development of domestic vision initiatives in
Kurdistan.”
”The overall objective is for Palestinian women
to increase the power over their own lives and
for democratic and member/participant controlled associations to emerge. The project’s goal
is that women in the villages (..) become willing
and able to increase their influence over their
own lives both from a financial and social perspective, that their status in the family increases
through this and that they actively take part in
the construction of a local women’s organization.”
Even though these activities appear to be donor
driven, i.e., that the direction of the folkbildn-
ing initiative is still seen to go from Sweden to
other locations, the goal for folkbildning educators seems to be less focused on exports. Though
these latter project descriptions are still based on
the idea that folkbildning educators give skills or
resources to someone else, the statements here are
closer to the old aid development mantra of ”helping people help themselves”. The objective of an
activity is to is to make itself redundant.
One way to interpret the dominance of donororientation in the statements of purpose is to associate them with the overall structure. In the
survey’s previous sections, it was found that both
study associations and folk high schools, in most
cases, have the responsibility of ownership for activities, which means they have a major commission to govern issues such as content, budget and
implementation. This can also make an impact
on how activities are designed and how the actual
theme is developed. Giving is also about establishing a dominance relationship.
With the world as a workbook: Folkbildning as
anthropology
The survey also reported a number of transnational activities where the primary objective was more
described in terms of receiving. Here the purpose
is set out to the effect that Swedish folkbildning
educators must learn from their partners, rather
than try to transfer knowledge to others. In the
recipient-oriented statements of purpose it is often
knowledge of general living conditions in other
countries and other peoples’ ways of relating to
the world that comes into focus:
”A two-week trip to Spain for the participants
on a general course with an international profile. The aim is for participants to sample a new
language, see another country, quite simply to
experience something outside Motala’s ‘ four
walls’.”
”The participant should gain knowledge and
awareness of global issues in general and Africa in particular. He/she shall, in an independ-
45
ent and critical way, evaluate news reports and
other information dissemination on the continent.”
”To increase understanding and insight into living conditions and circumstances in the third
world in terms of ecology, environment and solidarity.”
”Knowledge of Latin America specializing on
Ecuador. Preliminary studies in economics,
politics, the life of society, environment and language. Work experience in rural areas in Ecuador shall give the student insight into the lives
of small farmers as well as development in the
Spanish language.”
A recurring objective is for participants to gain
perspective on the part of the world that they
were brought up in and to form their own opinions about this with the help of experience from
other countries. Activities are designed to give the
Swedish participants greater world understanding
and – in the long-term – for the participants to disseminate their newly acquired external knowledge
to others:
”To increase our understanding of living conditions in the countries of the South, to make
contacts with people in the universal Church, to
recognize that the link between material wealth
and general well-being is weak.”
”The participants studied societal and social issues in Riga, Latvia in order to make comparisons with the situation in Sweden.”
”A greater understanding of how people live in
other cultures, it also provides a wider perspective on the situation of individuals with disabilities.”
”To increase knowledge about indigenous peoples and their situation. By studying indigenous
peoples and the problems surrounding them, the
46
participant gains another perspective on the society and part of the world that he/she lives in.”
”We want to give participants the opportunity
to study, reflect and meet people from an area
that is at the forefront of media attention, namely the West Bank, Gaza and Israel. Our participants get to meet Jews, Christians, Muslims
and settlers, living in refugee camps. They visit
schools in both Israel and the Palestinian territories and so can form their own opinions on
the situation.”
In activities with this type of recipient-oriented
purposes, there is for the most part no mention
of foreign experts who are considered to convey
specialized knowledge, neither do they single out
a specific focus that participants are expected to
focus on. To receive knowledge and experience in
this context seems to relate to being present in a,
as far as the Swedish are concerned, foreign environment. The world is an open workbook from
which you can learn.
As a rough description, it can be ascertained
that in the first and more donor-oriented statements of purpose they describe how Swedish folkbildning experts make statements or provide other
understanding of democracy, adult education and
popular mobilization. It often relates to descriptions where active folkbildning educators travel
out into the world to preach the real or imagined
merits of Swedish folkbildning. The more recipient-oriented statements of purpose present instead
Swedish folkbildning participants as anthropologists who through their study of foreign customs
gain a perspective on their Western lives.
Mutual learning processes: Folkbildning as
exchange
The third type of statements of purpose emphasizes more clearly how collaboration parties learn
from each other or that participants from different
countries shall learn things together. The objectives often relate to how individuals from different places work towards common societal-political
objectives or more generally work together to get
to know each other better. The activities’ statements of purpose are often focused on creating
platforms where the participants’ own ideas and
work processes can be the guide:
”To, by means of the method of exposure, work
with their own self-image and become better
equipped to meet others in a positive way. To
become more responsive and attentive to events
in their own and other people’s lives as well to
the outside world. To practise being attentive
and to increase in knowledge so that they can
penetrate and reveal damaging structures in
society. To practise consideration and reflection
together.”
”On Gotland, they dance old forms of Swedish folk dances, something which also occurs in
Norway. In 2008, Norra Gotlands Folkdanslag
(Northern Gotland Folk dancers) received visits
from friends in Norway, and in 2009 it was the
islanders turn to go to Norway. Through the exchange, they learn new variations of old dances. Via dance exhibitions at bazaars and in the
town square they spread the joy of dancing and
portray the dance as a source of joy, exercise
and culture.”
ing something from someone else. Instead, they
underline how a political vision or a specific
cultural expression can generate learning processes that are reciprocal in nature. However, it is
not entirely clear that the parties are projected as
equal just because the statements of purpose relate
to exchange. In some statements of purpose it is
considered that individuals from both partnering
countries need to learn different things:
”Give the South African participants education
with a focus on folkbildning, leadership, political leadership, democracy, outdoor education
and multicultural issues. To give the Swedish
students (at-risk youth, general programme)
knowledge of global issues and understanding
of international collaboration, practical experience of democracy-building and leadership in a
nation with a short democratic history, the opportunity to study and experience the methods
of conflict resolution.”
”‘Rajarock gathers young rock musicians between 14 and 18 years of age from the Barents
Region. They participate in workshops and in
concerts with all the participating bands. Bands
receive good instruction and a lot of exchange,
plus contacts from other Nordic countries. The
aim is also to provide drug-free activities for
young people.”
According to this description, the South African
participants need to learn one thing and the Swedish something quite different. In South Africa,
they need to learn how to lead others, to be a good
democrat and to live side by side, bridging the different ”cultures”. The Swedish participants can,
however, concentrate on observing living conditions. In this case, they also have the chance to
”study and experience the methods of conflict resolution” as this is considered a key aspect of South
African democracy-building.
Analyzing folk high school thematic images is
not just a question of who is considered to learn
things and who is considered to teach things. It
may well be interesting to analyze transnational
folkbildning work on the basis of the content that
is considered suitable for different participants.
There is a risk that the direction of this learning
work is coloured by the status, position and standing of those involved.40
What is distinct about these statements of purpose is that they do not stop at either party learn-
40 Critical studies of folkbildning’s transnational work experience, from a post-colonial perspective, have been covered
by, inter alia, Berg (2007) and Dahlstedt & Nordvall (2009).
”A mutual increase of knowledge about other
parts of the world. Get gender and democracy
issues on the agenda; focus away from charity
to a mutual and societal change process.”
47
4.3 Geography: What do
folkbildning actors’ transnational
networks look like?
Folk high schools and study associations
in different countries
By defining transnational activities as activities involving the exchange between Swedish folkbildning
organizations and at least one party (organization
or person) in another country, the working definition in this study is broad and covers a wide range
of activities. This is important to bear in mind
when looking at the overall statistics and the maps
presented in the preceding two chapters.
With this broad definition of ”transnational
work” the folk high school’s and study association’s international network of contacts is spread
over large parts of the world, with a clear concentration in Europe and Scandinavia:
Diagram 4.3.1 Folk high school’s (brown) and Study as
sociation’s (yellow-orange) transnational cooperation
countries throughout the world
.
As shown in Diagram 4.3.1, folkbildning’s transnational activities are relatively well distributed across
the world map, except for Oceania and some parts
of South East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Both study associations and folk high schools
have their greatest concentration of connections in
the neighbouring Nordic countries and Europe.
That the exchange is concentrated in the Nordic
countries and Europe is not surprising, especially
since the figures above include all forms of courses,
48
teacher exchanges, projects, conferences, exchanges, etc. What is more striking is the special, close
relationship that seems to exist with actors in Africa and the Middle East. On the part of folk high
schools, it mostly relates to exchanges with Tanzania, and on the part of study associations with Palestine/Israel. Study associations also appear to have
relatively strong ties to Kenya, Colombia and Bolivia, while folk high schools gladly cooperate with
operators in Russia, Egypt and India.
If we compare between the continents/regions,
it seems that folk high schools have slightly more
activity in Europe, North America and in Africa
than study associations, while study associations
are represented more than folk high schools in
Latin America. The main difference, however, is
that almost twice the proportion of activities reported by study associations – 26 per cent compared with folk high schools’ 14 per cent – is conducted in collaboration with Asian countries.
The geographical location of folk high
school participation
Folk high schools have, at least since the 1970s,
had regular course activities that included trips to
other countries. In this section, statistics will be
presented showing where folk high school participants, mainly through participation in travelling courses, study abroad. A comparatively large
share of folk high school transnational exchanges
take the form of such courses. Folk high school
participants’ travel patterns are then compared
with corresponding data on student mobility at
university level, as well as with the geographical
distribution of Swedish development aid.
Diagram 4.3.2 below shows activities where
folk high schools reported that outbound travel is
a part of the permanent and regular courses. Compared with previous maps in this report, all types
of short-term projects, teacher travel, conferences
and Swedish courses have now been deleted.
The proportion of non-European activities has increased relatively (especially in comparison to Eu-
rope) if only the folk high school regular outbound
courses are taken into consideration. Folk high
school courses are therefore directed more to nonEuropean countries than transnational folkbildning
activities in their entirety. If the statistics are made
more precise to show which countries are represented most by folk high school participants’ outbound trips, the following set of nations emerges:
Diagram 4.3.2 Folk High School participants per coun
try. Based on the number of reported travellers, financial
year 2009.
Tanzania
India
dia and Bangladesh dominate. Even Latin America is relatively well represented, through activities
in Ecuador and Nicaragua.
In the rest of Europe, Germany, Finland, Latvia
and England have the most registered travellers.
The diversity of the destinations is probably among
the different motives that drive folk high school
participants out into the world. Courses in Germany, England and France are quite simply a species
apart from the courses run in collaboration with,
for example, Bangladesh, Iraq or Palestine.
Distributed in participant volumes and percentages, the breakdowns by continent/region are as
follows:
Germany
Table 4.3.3 Folk high school participants in different con
tinents/regions. Estimated number and percentage, in
2009. 41
England
Finland
Latvia
Number of outgoing
exchange participants
South Africa
Brazil
Part of the world/Region
Ecuador
Africa
Estonia
France
Holland
Kenya
Poland
Ukraina
USA
Bangladesh
38 Latin America (including Central America)
215
13 Other Europe (including Russia)
209
13 England/Germany/France/Spain
206
13 Asia
152
9 The Baltic States
112
7 The Nordic countries
88
5 North America (U.S. & Canada)
32
2 Total
Iraq
Per cent
627
Oceania
Denmark
Estimated
number
0
0
1 641
100 China
Nicaragua
Palestine
Russia
Uganda
Hungary
0
5
10
15
20
25
Nomber of participants
Diagram 4.3.2 shows that in addition to a relatively large number of courses run in collaboration
with actors in Tanzania, nine more regular courses were destined for the African continent among
the reported responses. In Asia, the courses in In-
41 The respondents in this questionnaire had the task of
choosing between five response categories: 0, 1–2, 3–9,
10–20 or more than 20. In this calculation, the responses
have been aggregated from the following numbers: 1, 6, 15
and 25. The category 0 has been completely excluded. Nonrespondents have also been excluded. The figures in this
table 4.3.4 have thus been estimated in two stages. First, the
survey respondents estimated how many individuals participated in the reported activity, then the average figure
was calculated to form the basis of this presentation. There
may be cases where courses have been jointly reported and
other cases where several schools have reported the same
exchange programme. Naturally, the information has, wherever possible, been reviewed in order to eliminate any cases
of double reporting. However, some caution is recommended
in relation to the presented results.
49
The results show that most folk high school participants in the outgoing courses study in Africa or
in Europe – making up approximately 38 per cent
in each region It is worth noting in this context
that countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Spain together, do not attract more
than about 13 per cent of the total population. Neither the U.S. or Australia appear to be particularly
popular. After Africa and Europe comes Latin
America (13 per cent) and Asia (9 per cent).
Comparable examples: Student mobility
and aid distribution
The two numerically largest forms of international
student exchanges at university level are student
exchange, where the universities conclude agreements and establish links with each other to facilitate movement and free movers whereby students
organize their own foreign study tours. During
the academic year 2009, just over 27, 000 Swedish
students were registered as either free movers or
exchange students around the world. Their study
pattern differed in several respects from the folk
high school participants:
Diagram 4.3.4: University students with student grants
in different continents/regions in 2009. Number and per
cent. Source: CSN 4
Outgoing students
Part of the world/Region
Number
Per cent
England/Germany/France/Spain
9 272
34
Other Europe (including Russia)
4 822
18
North America (U.S. & Canada)
4 857
18
The Nordic countries
3 385
12
Asia
2 357
9
Oceania
2 056
7
557
2
Africa
177
1
The Baltic States
125
0
27 608
≈100 Latin America (including Central America)
Total
A large majority of university students choose to
study in North America or in one of the EU coun-
50
tries. Moreover, approximately 40 per cent of all
students study in Anglo-Saxon countries, i.e. in
the UK, U.S. or Australia. For a more detailed report of Swedish student mobility, see Appendix 3.
This means that large numbers of students and
folk high school participants conduct their studies
in different regions of the world. While very few
university students study in Africa (one per cent)
and Latin America (two per cent) these two areas
were the two highest visited regions of the world
for folk high school participants. In the case of Africa, both the proportion and number of folk high
school participants (38 per cent, 627 participants)
was significantly larger and more than university
students (1 per cent, 167 students). It also appears
to be much more common for folk high school
participants to be attracted to the Baltic countries.
Conversely, Oceania (Australia) and North America (U.S. and Canada) are regions with almost no
Swedish folk high school participants, while almost 25 per cent of university students studying
abroad travelled there in 2009. 42
The folk high school transnational courses are
thus directed towards other countries to a greater
extent than the university’s courses. While university students primarily visit the northern hemisphere, folk high school participants visit both the
north and south. Folk high school courses also appear to be distributed more widely over the world
than university courses. The folk high school
students’ destinations, with the exception of the
42 Two other related exchanges at university level may be
worth mentioning in this context. Within the framework of
the Minor Field Studies (MFS) each year approximately 500
university students are given the opportunity to write an essay at a Swedish university, where the topic and materials
must be derived from a field visit to other parts of the world.
These scholarships include and are paid only for Swedish
students in a developing country and are only provided at
an advanced level. Linnuaes-Palme is also an exchange programme for teachers and students within higher education.
During the academic year 2007/2008, the programme included 209 outgoing students from Sweden. In relation to the
size, there are many more folk high school participants than
university students who travel each year on either of these
two types of travel scholarships.
concentration in Tanzania, are not concentrated
to any specific country. Although the folk high
school travellers in actual numbers amount to no
more than about 1,600 they were represented in
many different countries. 43
As Sida has proven to be a key financier of the
folk high school transnational work, and participants expressed the idealistic motives such as the
creation of global justice, one could imagine that
the folk high school mobility more closely resembles the map of the Swedish development assistance than the Swedish student mobility. That
seems not to be the case:
Diagram 4.3.5 Sida’s support to non-governmental or
ganizations by country (in SEK million). Operational year
2009. 44
Moçambique
Tanzania
Afghanistan
Kenya
Palestine
bat poverty by promoting the growth of democratic institutions. While the overall objectives seem
to resemble the thematic images voiced by the educators in this survey, we do not see such a large
overlap between the countries where folkbildning
actors are present and the allocation of Swedish
assistance.
The country that tops the list of popular study
destinations among the folk high school outreach
courses – Tanzania – receives comparatively large
assistance grants from Sida. Other countries that
are both major recipient countries for Sida funds
and popular folk high school study destinations
among participants are Kenya, Palestine, Uganda,
Ukraine, and Nicaragua. But there are also many
countries that receive proper assistance but who
do not appeal to some folk high school participants and vice versa.
The geography of folk high school participation seems to summarize a distribution that is neither similar to student mobility and distribution of
Swedish development assistance.
Kongo, dem rep.
Uganda
Sudan
4.4 Conclusion: The value of
broad global connections
Bangladesh
Ethiopia
Bosnia-Hercegovina
Bolivia
Somalia
Mali
Zimbabwe
Nicaragua
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
Million SEK
Sida’s support to civil society organizations is
mainly directed at countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Sida’s primary assistance objective is to com43 A more in-depth study of student mobility in higher education is given in Mikael Börjesson’s thesis Transnationella utbildningsstrategier (Transnational education policies)
(2005).
44 Sida (2010).
One of the clearest empirical results which the
survey transnational public education led to is
that the departures of folk high schools are primarily to countries with low GDP per capita, whereas
university students go to countries with high GDP
per capita. Another outcome is that folkbildning
participants have partnerships with a myriad of
different countries and thus appear to have a very
wide-ranging international network of contacts.
The comparison with the university world is interesting as their international exchange is strictly
concentrated to the former colonial powers. Folk
high schools are, relatively speaking, and as an
institution, considered, to have a more diverse
and geographically extensive network of contacts.
That the folkbildning transnational activities in-
51
clude broad and diverse contacts with the outside
world should also lay the foundations for a more
thorough and adequate knowledge of the outside
world. If people travelling to the same countries
learn the same language and acquire the same image of the outside world, they are simply more
single-minded than when they encounter a greater
diversity of cultures, languages and lifestyles.
Institutional networks of this type structure,
in many ways, which other cultural experiences
are given the chance to perform and become incorporated into our way of relating to the world.
The languages that

the future idealists acquire,
the intercultural marriages (and divorces) that occur and the extent of the geographical coverage of
future friendly relations, are all actually dependent on the breadth of these types of transnational
networks. The folk high school as an institution
thus has the potential to cultivate knowledge and
contacts beyond the former colonial powers and
strongest economies.
52
The idealistic spirit of the Swedish folkbildning educators will be expressed in different ways.
In this questionnaire, we have witnessed how the
educators described the transnational activities
either as a kind of mission to help others or as an
anthropological quest to understand and familiarize themselves with how other people live. Additional thematic images describe more egalitarian
forms of exchanges. By thinking about the direction of the cultural initiatives, such as whether
the folkbildning actors receive, give or exchange
knowledge about the world, we have tried to describe how folkbildning can accommodate a variety of different motives and purposes. At least
as important as the places where the folkbildning
actors interact and the money that pays for their
activities is of course the manner in which the activities are in fact conceived. But this is, as they
say, another story.
References
Akselsson Le Douaron (2010)
Berg, Linda (2007) Internacionalistas. Identifikation och främlingsskap i svenska solidaritetsarbetares berättelser från Nicaragua (The identification and alienation in the Swedish solidarity
worker stories from Nicaragua). H:Ströms.
Bjerkaker, Strula & Summers, Judith (2006)
Learning Democratically, National Institute Of
Adult Continuing Education.
Börjesson, Mikael (2005) Transnationella utbildningsstrategier vid svenska lärosäten och bland
svenska studenter i Paris och New York. (Transnational education strategies at the Swedish
university and among Swedish students in Paris
and New York.) Uppsala University. Uppsala.
Dahlstedt, Magnus & Nordvall, Henrik (2009)
”Folkbildning i (av)koloniseringens skugga
(Popular Education in the shadow of (de) colonization): Demokrati, nationella mytologier
och solidaritetens paradoxer”, Utbildning &
Demokrati (Democracy, national mythologies and paradoxes of solidarity”, Education
& Democracy). Vol 18. No 3. Theme: ”Vuxnas
lärande” (Adult Learning). Örebro.
The Folkbildning Bill (2005) Lära, växa, förändra
(Learn, grow, change) 2005/06:192. The Ministry of Education and Research Stockholm.
The operating report of the Swedish National
Council of Adult Education’s 2009 annual report (2009)
Korsgaard, Ove (2010) ”Den rene hojskole som
ideal. Den orene som praksis.” I Två sidor av
samma mynt? Folkbildning och yrkesutbildning
vid de nordiska folkhögskolorna. (Two sides of
same coin? Folkbildning and vocational training at the Nordic folk high schools.) Lundh Nilsson & Nilsson (red.). Nordic Academic Press.
In 2006, Kerstin Mustel – Kartläggning och analys av folkbildningens internationella kontaktnät
(Identification and analysis of folkbildningen’s
international contact). The Swedish National
Council of Adult Education Stockholm.
Page (2010) Sweden’s development cooperation in
numbers.
Sörlin, Sverker (1994) De lärdas republik: Om
vetenskapens internationella tendenser. Framtidens Europa. Liber-Hermonds.
Internet references
www.folkhogskola.nu (24-04-2011)
www.geocommons.com (24-04-2011)
www.wordle.net (24-04-2011)
53
Appendices
Appendix 1. Questionnaire for folk high schools and study associations
Folk high school questionnaire
Operating across national borders – transnational activities
There is a lot of work within folk high schools and study associations that extends beyond the borders of
Sweden. With regard to the extent of this activity, its focus and content, it is difficult to say. The purpose of
this questionnaire is to review the current situation.
By highlighting the work of folkbildning across borders, we present an important activity that might otherwise be invisible.
In the questionnaire we ask you about the transnational activities you were involved in during 2009. By
transnational activities, we mean activities that involve some form of exchange between you and at least
one other party (organization or individual) in another Nordic country, Europe or elsewhere in the world.
The exchange can take place in both directions, i.e., it can relate to both activities abroad and activities in
Sweden, when parties based in other countries are involved.
In order for the activity to be classed as transnational in this context, it must involve a hands-on collaboration with active partners in these countries. It is not enough that the activity deals with other countries
(such as language, geography, politics, etc.) or that the participants have previously lived in other countries
(e.g., Swedish for immigrants).
1. Did your school ran transnational activities in 2009 (in accordance with the above definition)?
No (Thank you for your participation. The questionnaire has been completed)
Yes (In the remaining part of the questionnaire you will answer questions about the transnational activities that you completed in
2009, one by one. Twelve questions are asked about each activity.)
54
2. Activity 1
Enter a title, name or designation for the transnational activity
3. How should this transnational activity be categorized?
Choose the answer that is most applicable.
Project
Course
Participant exchange/Guest student
Teacher/Circle leader exchange/Guest teacher
Conference
Work experience travel
Cultural activity/Cultural programme
Other, please specify (e.g., social forum, festivals)
4. Thematic focus
Describe the activity’s main thematic focus.
the common fundamental values
the challenges of the multicultural society
the demographic challenge
the lifelong learning
driving force behind cultural activities
accessibility and opportunities for persons with disabilities
public health
sustainable development
global justice
Other specialization...
5. What do you want to accomplish with the activity?
Describe the purpose of this activity.
6. How long is the period of the activity in total?
A few occasions in 2009
One year
Several years
Ordinary activities
55
7. Which groups at your folk high school participated in activities in 2009?
Select the number of persons in each category who participated
0
1–2
3–9
10–20
Student at a folk high school
Teacher at a folk high school
Other staff at the folk high school
more than 20
8. Which country/countries do you interact with, within the framework of this activity?
9. What type of organization have you worked with in Sweden in connection with this activity?
Member organization
Cooperation organization
Other training or educational activities
No cooperation organizations
Other, please specify
10. What type of foreign organization have you worked with in Sweden in connection with this activity?
Sister organization
The same principal
11. What level of responsibility does your folk high school have for this activity?
Owner, i.e., responsible for the activity and has budgetary responsibility
The collaborating party, i.e., another organization is responsible for the activity and has budgetary responsibility
12. Who provides the main funding for this activity?
Municipal/county council grants
Grants from member organizations
Nordic Council of Ministers
European Social Fund (ESF)
SIDA/aid organization
Other funding (e.g., collections, student aid etc.)
56
13. What other funding sources have been used?
No other source of funding
14. Did you run any other transnational activities in 2009?
Yes
No
15.Activity 2–10
The answers are saved when you click OK
57
Study association questionnaire
Operating across national borders – transnational activities
There is a lot of work within folk high schools and study associations that extends beyond the borders of
Sweden. With regard to the extent of this activity, its focus and content, it is difficult to say. The purpose of
this questionnaire is to review the current situation.
By highlighting the work of folkbildning across borders, we present an important activity that might otherwise be invisible.
In the questionnaire we ask you about the transnational activities you were involved in during 2009. By
transnational activities, we mean activities that involve some form of exchange between you and at least
one other party (organization or individual) in another Nordic country, Europe or elsewhere in the world.
The exchange can take place in both directions, i.e., it can relate to both activities abroad and activities in
Sweden, when parties based in other countries are involved.
In order for the activity to be classed as transnational in this context, it must involve a hands-on collaboration with active partners in these countries. It is not enough that the activity deals with other countries
(such as language, geography, politics, etc.) or that the participants have previously lived in other countries
(e.g., Swedish for immigrants).
1. Study association name and unit
(Example, ABF Stockholm)
2. Did you run transnational activities in 2009 (in accordance with the above definition)?
No (Thank you for your participation. The questionnaire has been completed)
Yes (In the remaining part of the questionnaire you will answer questions about the transnational activities that you completed in
2009, one by one. Twelve questions are asked about each activity.)
Yes (but the answers were given by another respondent)
3. Activity 1
58
4. How should this transnational activity be categorized?
Choose the answer that is most applicable.
Project
Course
Teacher/Circle leader exchange
Conference
Work experience travel
Cultural activity/Cultural programme
Other, please specify (e.g., social forum, festivals)
5. Thematic focus
Describe the activity’s main thematic focus.
the common fundamental values
the challenges of the multicultural society
the demographic challenge
the lifelong learning
driving force behind cultural activities
accessibility and opportunities for persons with disabilities
public health
sustainable development
global justice
Other specialization...
6. What do you want to accomplish with the activity?
Describe the purpose of this activity.
7. How long is the period of the activity in total?
A few occasions in 2009
One year
Several years
Ordinary activities
59
8. Which groups at your study association participated in activities in 2009?
Select the number of persons in each category who participated
0
1–2
3–9
10–20
Circle participants and other participants
Circle leader
Other employees
more than 20
9. Which country/countries do you interact with, within the framework of this activity?
10. What type of organization have you worked with in Sweden in connection with this activity?
Member organization
Cooperation organization
11. What type of foreign organization have you worked with in Sweden in connection with this activity?
Sister organization
The same principal
12. What level of responsibility does your study association have for this activity?
Owner, i.e., responsible for the activity and has budgetary responsibility
The collaborating party, i.e., another organization is responsible for the activity and has budgetary responsibility
13. Who provides the main funding for this activity?
60
14. What other funding sources have been used?
Municipal/County council grants
Sida/aid organization
No other source of funding
15. Did you run any other transnational activities in 2009?
Yes
No
16. Activity 2–10
132. Have you conducted more activities and need more space for the report?
Enter Title, followed by Type of activity
The answers are saved when you click OK
61
Appendix 2. Study association’s member organizations
• Workers’ Educational Association (ABF), has
60 member organizations and also cooperation
agreements with 57 organizations. Member organizations are primarily from the labour movement and cooperative movement, but there are
also many national federations for the various
disabilities, as well as many ethnic federations.
• The Study Promotion Association (Sfr), has 19
member organizations, most of them are nature
and recreational organizations, as well as large
organizations within the youth field. The Study
Promotion Association cooperates with several thousand local associations and networks
around the country.
• Adult Education Association (SV) has about 100
member organizations and cooperation organizations. The largest are the Centre Party, the
Liberal Party of Sweden, the Norden Association, the Federation of Swedish Farmers, as well
as many local heritage societies, folk dancing
guilds, genealogy societies and numerous national associations for the disabled etc.
• The Educational Association of the sobriety
movement (NBV) has 16 member organizations,
such as IOGT, KRIS, MHF and a number of
temperance societies.
• Sensus has 31 member organizations, among
them are humanitarian organizations, the
YWCA-YMCA movement, Scouts, self-help and
support organizations, and the Swedish Church
and related organizations.
• Medborgarskolan (Mbsk) include members
such as the Moderate Party, the Confederation
of Swedish Conservative and Liberal Student,
the Moderate Youth League, Aktiv Ungdom,
Aktiva Seniorer and the Royalist Association.
• Ibn Rushd has a number of Muslim member organizations.
• Folkuniversitetet (FU)
• Studieförbundet Bilda (Bilda) has about 60
member organizations and cooperation organizations. They can be divided into different groups: Associations and their youth related
organizations, the Catholic Church, Orthodox
churches and Ecumenical organizations.
62
Appendix 3. Mobility at university level
Swedish students with study grants, number of travellers by destination country, 2009.
Great Britain
USA
Denmark
Australia
Spain
France
Germany
Poland
Italy
Japan
Norway
Hungary
Holland
China
Switzerland
Canada
Rumania
Austria
Finland
Singapore
Chech Rep.
Ireland
Chile
Hong Kong
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
5500
Number of travellers
63
Folkbildningsrådet
Box 380 74, 100 64 Stockholm
Visting address: Rosenlundsgatan 50
Tel: +46-8-412 48 00, fax: +46-8-21 88 26
fbr@folkbildning.se
www.folkbildning.se