For a few years, MittSkåne Utveckling received visits from public officials from Africa. The study visits were part of a project run by ICLD, and since the organization believes that ”the fight to eradicate poverty in the world begins at home – in the village, city or municipality,” the leader method fits well.
The study visits to our country also always received high scores in evaluations, even though the problems are definitely not the same in Sweden as in Africa. On the other hand, there were very big differences within the visiting group, Africa is a large continent and there are prosperous rural areas as well as extreme poverty.
When the visitors were taken welcomed by the local trader in the small village in the middle of Skåne (and a small group of curious elderly people – the only ones who are at home in the middle of the day in a Swedish village) the trader begins by saying ”we who live and work on the outskirts of a municipality, far from the central town, have to shout very loudly to get access to service.” ”Yeah!” say the visitors. ”How is it with electricity?” We Skåne people have to admit that we have electricity. Just like in the central town. ”Yeah”, say the visitors. ”But water and sewage, it’s really hard to get?!” Of course, we have that too. Now the visitors look around and are probably a little pensive about what we are missing. ”But garbage collection, it never works out in the countryside!” When we again have to admit that we actually get garbage collection regularly, it is noticeable that people are thinking about what is meant by access to service. So do we have something to exchange experiences about? Aren’t we light years apart?
Yes – after that little bit shaky beginning, we see that meetings between people are still the very best thing there is to increase understanding, get constructive ideas, inspiration and tips, put your own challenges in a larger context and raise your gaze. The actual work, the local conditions, the understanding of the context, it is anchored locally and carried out by those who will live with the results. We exchange experiences of decisions that are made far from those who will live with the consequences, we discuss metropolitan standards, opportunities for education without moving, service – yes, you just have to clarify what you mean by service – and agree that those who live in a place possess a lot of knowledge and experience that must be taken into account when developing development plans for a region.
”"Where are the Swedish rural residents during the day?"”
Differences are always interesting. Like our visitors were very thoughtful that during several hours of bus travel back and forth, in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week, we saw very few people outside. Where are the Swedish rural residents during the day? And then there's the thing about having to announce "any food preferences". Telling your host that you won't eat what's offered is very rude. So I had to chew on both raisin buns and coriander during the various study visits, which was certainly character-building.
Unfortunately, the study trip disappeared during the pandemic, but we remember the educational meetings with warmth and hope to take them up again someday. Seeing your own everyday life through the eyes of others is educational!
Ann-Charlotte Thörnblad, operations manager for MittSkåne Development and Leader Skåne Mitt Northwest