In a world defined by diversity and interconnectedness, fostering a sense of community that embraces every individual is a goal worth pursuing. And a small neighborhood in the Swedish municipality of Nacka, just east of Stockholm, offers a remarkable example of how to do this — one that speaks to the power of unity, cultural diversity and collective empowerment.
A large majority of Boo’s 35.000 residents participating in a diversity of activities for all ages and have proven that inclusivity is not just an ideal but a living reality. At the heart of the neighborhoodis Boo Folkets Hus (literally Boo People’s House), a non-profit community project that provides meaningful opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to meet, interact and collaborate.
With Boo Folkets Hus celebrating its 40th anniversary this year (see the replay summery), I satdown with two of the people responsible for its enduring success: The organization’s current head Johan Rådmark, whose interview you can listen to at kajembren.org and its co-founder Bosse Ståldal(below).
Both of their journeys underscore the profound impact of collective action, inclusivity and the transformative power of the arts. From the community’s youngest members to its seasoned seniors, everyone in Boo has a role to play — and a voice to be heard.
Kaj Embren: What do you attribute Boo FolketsHus’ success to?
Bosse Ståldal: This success story is down to the dynamism of the 88 organizations that make up the pillars [of Boo Folkets Hus], each representing a facet of the vibrant tapestry that is multiculturalism.
These organizations don’t merely exist on paper; they are active members of the community thatchannel their expertise, dedication and volunteer spirit into a shared cause. At the heart of this inspiring initiative is the Community Leisure Center, a hub in which age knows no boundaries and where dance, theater, music, art and sport converge to create an atmosphere of pure celebration.
It‘s also about social development and entrepreneurship. As an entrepreneur, you can act in a way that puts you ahead of everyone else — a “first mover”. As such, one must be adept at combining resources, living with a degree of uncertainty and being creative. If you succeed, the result is often that you have created value and significant change within the context you’re acting in.
To succeed, it is also important to find the right people — those who can lead the change and coach others in the process. We became very good at recruiting these types of people: good salespeople and marketers, who create compelling flyers and posters, magazine articles, financing solutions, self-produced TV shows and more, as well as people with good social and organizational skills and the ability to move between different social networks.
Together, with these people, we were able to attractthose who could help us develop our vision and drive change.
KE: You often use the term “Community entrepreneur”. What does it mean to you?
BS: One of the most important parts of community entrepreneurship is understanding the needs in your neighborhood. You need to recognize the problems [whether that’s] social exclusion, drug use orunemployment.
But you also need to identify human resources available to you from different organizations such as schools, local authorities, businesses, churches, charities, real estate developers and so on. As a result, we have 88 associations from across our neighborhood that serve as our members. From this network of members, we recruit experts and volunteers that strengthen our social leadership and entrepreneurship.
There was a huge need in our neighborhood for a meeting place and cultural center. That’s how it all started. In the early years it was about needing a meeting place for young people.
But let’s not forget the older generation. Today we have more than 350 pensioners coming to Boo Folkets Hus every week. They engage in about 25 different activities created by the elderly themselves, not by the staff or the board. “Bottom Up” instead of “Top Down” is an important principle for us. We operate an idea that every person who comes to our house should be seen as a subject and not as an object. This means that we see each individual as a person filled with ideas, dreams and ambitions. Our role in the house is to be an “enabler” with the house’s resources in the form of premises, staff and equipment.
Throughout our journey we have maintained clear goals and vision. We wanted to be an open house for all people; a green house for education, creativity and entrepreneurship; a cultural house for dance, theater, music and images; and a passionate house that creates inspiration, excitement and joy, meetings and fellowship.
KE: You’ve stressed how important your staff and volunteers are. Can you explain how this works?
The staff is fantastically committed, sharing our goals. Our volunteers, who come from member organizations and local institutions, meanwhile bring other experiences, new ideas and creativity.
The interaction between our staff and the volunteers helps us to continuously transform and stay up to date. It makes us challenge old solutions and question whether they address our current and future problems.
KE: What problems and challenges have you faced in recent years?
BS: I believe you’re referring to the two arsons we’ve been hit with. Evidently, the fires that destroyed the premises on two separate occasionsaffected us financially and morally. Seeing our house burn to the ground like it did in 2020 was distressing,to say the least.
We know that we live in a world of destructive socialmovements and drug problems that entice young people — even if we’re able to reach out to most ofthem. With these two acts of arson, we saw that individuals connected to drugs could also destroy our plans. These are challenges that Boo Folkets Hus takes on, and we continue to offer alternative paths toyoung people in the area. Close cooperation with the municipality’s social services, police, church and other good forces has given us very good tools to deal with the young people who have embarked on destructive paths
Growing out of crises like these is not possible without strong credibility and commitment from the local community. Today, we can see the newly rebuilt Boo Folkets Hus open once again.
KE: I often think about the role of music, and how local rock musicians have inspired young people in Boo Folkets Hus.
BS: We have our area’s own “Bruce Springsteen” — and one of Sweden’s most famous rockstars — Ulf Lundell, who grew up in our area. He has long been a role model and one of our financial backers. He alsocontributed to the development of our music association, The Snake, which is an important member of Boo Folkets Hus. Over the years, the association has produced 5 to 10 rock bands for every 1,000 inhabitants.
We have also seen young musicians emerge from our organization to become well-known figures inSweden. [The singer] Marko Lehtosalo, who’s known as Markoolio, grew up here and took the first steps of his career at Boo Folkets Hus. The area is also home to internationally renowned jazz musician Jonas Kullhammar, who has been an important source of support for us.
KE: What role have local politicians played in the development of Boo Folkets Hus?
BS: I should start by providing some background to our political history. Forty years ago, the Swedish labor movement’s “social engineers” were well on their way to creating the “good society” with the help of the state, county councils and municipalities. But members of the labor movement increasingly became administrators rather than progressive, ideas-driven society-builders. But seeds were planted that would eventually give birth to living alternatives and new movements.
Until 2007, almost all state funding for culture in Nacka [where Boo Folkets Hus is located] was spent on publicly run activities in the central part of the municipality, even though non-profits and actors in the local social economy were serious producers of culture. We strongly criticized this, and in the end,we won that battle.
Today, 80% of our income comes via commissions from the municipality, not grants. It’s a sustainable economic model that now has broad support in the wider municipality.
In our early years, the (conservative) Moderate Partyand the Liberals were both opponents of Boo FolketsHus. But after the “Save the People’s House”campaign in 1985, the Liberal Party and the occasional Moderate began to respectfully extend ahand to us. So all parties in the local municipality, from the left to the conservatives, “sign” a peace treaty.
The main reason was, probably, that all along our organization has never been tied to party politics — and our work has been successful, innovative and valuable, especially for children and young people.
This is why Boo Folkets Hus has become a shining example of what can be achieved when a community unites as one, leaving no one behind.
Interview by Kaj Embren. Find more information about at Boo Folkets Hus at www.boofolketshus.se(Swedish only).