Role Models

I was tagged ages ago by Skolfröken to list four role models. I've been thinking about it a lot but haven't actually sat down to blog about it. Last night I went to a Mentor Sverige event on the theme role models and I was yet again reminded of the task. The kids (12-16-year-olds) together with their mentors and other sponsors of the organisation (business people mainly, and Queen Silvia, who's patron of Mentor Sverige), discussed what a role model is and who can be a role model. The result was a list of key words:

* Trust
* Respect
* Accessability
* Mother (it was interesting to hear that both boys and girl list their mother as their first role model)
* Friend
* Ties
* Courage
* Parents
* Time

My role models
This is by no means an exclusive list, but a few people who have had influence in my life and whom I admire for what they have achieved.

1. My mother
My mum and I are very similar in many ways and she has passed on her interest in politics and society to me. Already at a very early age I was invited to join in discussions at the dinner table and to voice my opinions. I was never "forced" to study hard and go on to university but I always had support and was positively reinforced in a way that wanted me to aim higher. By seeing my mum be very active in local politics, work and take care of a family, I had a very good role model at home. It wasn't always that easy for my parents, having another child with a handicap (my brother) who required a bit of extra or special attention, but both of them have managed very well and I have to admire both of them for it.

2. A friend - Åsa
I didn't know Åsa when growing up and only met her six years ago. But she's a person who's done a lot in life and who I get inspiration from. Like me, she doesn't come from an academic home but decided pretty early on that she wanted to get a higher education. Like me, she went abroad for her degree and eventually ended up in Oxford, which is where we met. One thing I really admire her for, and which is probably something I wouldn't have the courage to do, is that she (twice I think) volunteered in refugee camps in Africa. Åsa's main areas of focus is gender equality and women's issues - from a gender perspective on Swedish asylum policy to violence against women in Sweden or abroad. I wish we had more people like her who works to advance women's rights and safety around the world.

3. Anna Lindh
I didn't know her personally of course but I know a lot of persons who did and I also admired her from afar. Anna symbolised a path in life that I would be interested in taking, should I opt to become politically active again. And if I don't go into politics, I still hope to have the opportunity to work for some of the issues she burned for, mainly in the international arena but also at home. I really hoped she would take over the leadership of the Social Democratic party - and the prime minister post - but fate wanted otherwise. However, she can still serve - and she does - as a role model for many young people, especially women, in Sweden and beyond.

4. The Green Movement
To go with my "climate theme" of late, I have to bring attention to all the people out there who devote their lives to saving the environment. Especially organisations like Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, which have been around for a while, but also all individuals who try to change their everyday behaviour to make it a bit less destructive. In a recent survey 8 of 10 Swedes indicated that they are prepared to pay 5 % more for a product or a service if it's manufactured ecologically. 66 % said that they prefer to buy goods from companies that work to prevent the greenhouse effect, while 86 % find it important that companies decrease their greenhouse gas emissions. Individuals can do their bit by purchasing emission rights in the EU's trading system via the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation. Every emission right means that one tonne less of carbon dioxide is released within the EU area. DHL is selling carbon dioxide-neutral package deliveries and oil company Statoil has launched a service for its customers wishing to be more environmentallyfriendly. Some airlines also offer paying a few extra per cent to ofset the damage done to the environment by air travel.