     |
Mrs. Britta Armstrong (President of SWEA Western United States), Mrs. Marianne Svedlund (President of SWEA San Diego), Mr. Tomas Rosander (Consul General of Sweden in Los Angeles), Dr. Ulf Brynjestad (Consul of Sweden in San Diego)
The mission of the Swedish Center San Diego is to serve the Swedish-American community in Southern California and to promote contemporary Sweden.
The Swedish Center is a forum for the entire Swedish Community in the San Diego area. The center focuses on academic exchange, cultural and scientific enrichment and evolvement – connecting Sweden with the future generations of the region.
At the end of 2006 a group of Swedish community leaders got together and officially founded the Swedish Center. This idea is something that has been evolving over the past several years.
The center has been initiated to create a forum for the entire Swedish community. The Swedish Center is to function as an organization reaching out to all the Swedish groups in the region.
The possibilities offered through the cooperation between the Swedish Center and San Diego State University, SDSU, are unique. The association is located in the recently built Arts and Letters building at SDSU, and makes this a groundbreaking opportunity for Americans interested in Sweden as well as the Swedish community.
The modern and tasteful facilities at SDSU, such as the fully equipped Ulla Lotta Wiik Auditorium, are perfect venues for events, seminars and gatherings. The Swedish Center will continuously promote Sweden and Swedish interests amongst the present and future generations by bringing together the academic world with the grass root organizations and the community.
The Swedish Embassy in Washington D.C., the Consulate General of Sweden in Los Angeles (which covers all of the Western United States), the Consulate of Sweden in San Diego, SDSU, SWEA, The Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce SD/TJ, The Vasa Order of America and the House of Sweden have expressed their support for the creation of this center.
The founding committee consisted of: Dr. Paul Wong, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters at SDSU; Ms. Nancy Lemkie, Director of Development at the College of Arts and Letters at SDSU; Mr. Tomas Rosander, Consul General of Sweden in Los Angeles; Dr. Ulf Brynjestad, Consul of Sweden in San Diego and past Grand Master of the Vasa Order of America; Dr. Robert Swanson, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Physics at UCSD; Dr. Anne-Charlotte Harvey, Professor Emeritus at the School of Theatre, Television and Film at SDSU; Dr. Carl Englund, President of House of Sweden in San Diego; Ms. Agneta Nilsson, founder of SWEA International; Ms. Britta Armstrong, President of SWEA Western United States; Mrs. Marianne Svedlund, President of SWEA San Diego; Nina Asplund and Anna Bylin, Consular Assistants at the Swedish Consulate in San Diego.
The Committee elected Dr. Ulf Brynjestad as its organizing President.