Jeff Larsen and I recently joined a Zoom meeting with The Rotary Club of Stockholm International as a part of District 5400’s Building Goodwill and Better Friendships Tour.Billing themselves as the only Stockholm club offering English-only meetings, it was easy for us to join in. The meeting format was casual and the members were genuinely interested in getting to know us.
Their guest speaker, Anders Eriksson, spoke about District 2350’s Youth Exchange Program and how their district is embracing new ideas within the program. For example, they are embarking upon a virtual exchange with students from District 4420 Brazil. They will have Portuguese/Swedish language lessons twice a week, social media events, and Rotex events for the virtual exchange students.
The club is also continuing with a postcard project that benefits senior citizens affected by the loss of connection during the pandemic.
Along with the Stockholm Rotarians, we met a Rotarian from District 1912 Slovenia, and one from District 5890 Houston.
The following Thursday, I again joined to hear from an iconic member of Stockholm’s social scene, Alexandra Charles, who established and ran Sweden’s first international night club. She’s since turned her attention to women’s health and equality issues.
The Rotary Club of Stockholm International posts their upcoming meetings on Facebook. (https://www.facebook.com/SIRotaryClub) and you should contact them to get the Zoom link. They ask that guests and members pay 50 SEK, and graciously suggested I donate to a local cause rather than try to find several Swedish Kroner in my pocket. So, for the last 2 meetings I’ve donated “Swedish” Happy Dollars to our club’s fund.
The meetings are weekly on Thursday at 6pm Stockholm time (10 am Boise time). They are a fun and extremely friendly group!