Twenty years have passed since I took the initiative to create the Edberg Foundation. At that time,  Rolf Edberg’s writings had already been a strong influence on me for many years. Rolf had an ability to discuss complicated environmental questions from philosophical and historical perspectives in ways that inspired me to think beyond the obvious. His approach encouraged a sort of humility towards life, a humility that was helpful when fighting on the barricades where the debates often got loud and aggressive. But more than anything, Rolf Edberg’s writing encouraged us to care: to care about the environment, about fellow human beings near and far, and to care about the future we faced together.

Up until his death in 1997, Rolf worked with us on the board for the Foundation. Often, the discussions about who would be given the Edberg Award were loud and lively. Looking back on the past 20 years and on the award recipients that we have helped receive higher educations (many got the chance to study international master’s degrees, some reached doctorate levels), we can see how their continued efforts have helped struggling people in their respective home countries. That alone makes it feel like the Foundation has made an important difference. The award recipients all speak fondly of Karlstad and of the people here who have supported the Foundation all these years. Being able to invite several of these recipients to this year’s Edberg Seminar to hear about their continued work feels important. There is technology today that did not exist in the early 1990’s when many of them were rewarded. It is now completely natural to spread texts, images, and videos over the internet and to communicate on a global level via various social media. Throughout this year’s Edberg Seminar and the Global Week in Karlstad, we will record a number of talks with our award recipients, the so-called Edberg Dialogues, and we will make these talks available online. In a way, it feels like we started a dialogue in 1990 and are simply carrying on the conversation to this day.

Rolf Edberg wrote his first book in 1939. It discussed the situation of Swedish youth in the years after the great depression of the 1930’s, a time when Sweden passed over from an agricultural to an industrial nation. The book was “Give them a chance”, and today, when hundreds of millions of people all over the world stand on that very same threshold, Rolf’s plea seems as relevant now as it did then.

The thoughts and philosophies of Rolf Edberg live on, and they can help new generations feel like it is worth it to fight for your ideas and your ideals. Perhaps the best we can do is echo Rolf’s words: “give them a chance!!”