Swedish News:

Government wants to change Education Act. Towns drained on youth. Cheers to fun investments. 

  • The Swedish government wants to make changes in the Education Act, so that it again becomes possible to sing religious hymns during "skolavslutningar" held in churches.
  • Government wants to change Education Act
    The Swedish government wants to make changes in the Education Act, making it possible—again—to sing religious hymns in those school graduation ceremonies that are held in a church. A priest will also be allowed to participate in and "perform certain confessional acts as reading the Christmas Day Gospel,” says Minister for Education Jan Björklund.

  • Sweden’s small towns are drained on their youth. The young people who leave for the bigger cities to study rarely return to their hometowns, according to a new survey.
  • Towns drained on youth
    Young people leave their smaller hometowns in Sweden for the big cities, and it’s just a myth that they return to raise a family and settle down. This trend, according to researchers, is ”deeply problematic.” ”More and more young people choose to remain in the big city once they have children, they want the services the big cities can give them, and they are no longer interested in having a house in the countryside,” says Charlotte Mellander, researcher and professor in economics at Jönköping University. Mellander has conducted a survey, which shows that 86 percent of all Swedish communities lose people in the 18-25 age group. These young people move to bigger cities, often to study, and then choose to remain there after their studies. "It’s deeply problematic that there are so few municipalities that attract young people today,” Mellander says.

  • Cheers to fun investments
    Fund investors in Sweden have reason to cheer. Swedes’ fund assets have never been greater than they are now, after this year’s great stock market gains.