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Published: September 29th 2015
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It was an earlier start than yesterday but we all reported for duty on time as agreed and headed to our main base for a chat with Mikael Applqvist the International and Protocol Officer for the External Relations team, we actually met up with Mikael on route and he recognised us from our presentation yesterday (don't think we are too difficult to spot) we probably still look like visitors.
Mikael proceeded to inform us of his role which involves providing support to the consuls from all over the world who may visit the city and the internal support to the Swedish representatives. It was clear he had a very busy role which can sometimes take him all over the world an impressive example of escorting the Gothenburg orchestra to Beijing in China for a promotional tour highlighted a benefit of all his hard work.
Following this we met with Robin who had organised a trip to Vanersborg north of the city and the regional assembly base for Vastra Götaland. We headed to the train station and just caught our allocated train which set off exactly at the time planned no delays or disruptions something we are not used to.
The train journey took about an hour giving us time to take in the scenery which as we followed the river north was a beautiful sight. On arrival at Vanersborg the attraction of the area was obvious we had travelled out of the hustle and bustle of the city centre to something more reminiscent of 50's America straight out of the 'stand by me' movie.
We headed to the Residenset government building for a meeting with Frida Hagstrom, political secretary for the Green Party who have significant political power in the area. I must admit my preconceptions of Frida could not have been further from reality as she greeted us in an American accent due to her background but is Swedish by birth.
Frida delivered a presentation on the 3 levels of governance in Sweden and explained how at a regional level due to an equally spread election the Green Party work with 4 other political parties in a coalition type arrangement.
It was great to see how Frida engaged with the group and made everyone feel at ease especially connecting with the apprentices and I could see how enthusiastic the group were to find out
more about her work, a perfect example of how to convey politics to the younger generation something we could certainly improve on.
We were then given a tour of the town hall a short walk from Frida's base which resembled our County Hall building especially the assembly room very similar to our council chambers (albeit slightly newer) with a similar setup for the decision making process.
As we had 10 minutes to spare Frida took us for a walk along the riverbank while effortlessly chatting to our apprentices and I must admit I nearly felt guilty posting the pictures as it may look like we are having too much fun (well we are so deal with it).
After our first experience of Fika, a Swedish tradition of afternoon coffee and cake (when in Rome and all that) we were given a tour of Frida's workbase by 2 of her colleagues who explained the original building was built in 1690 and renovated in the 18th century with some of the furniture hundreds of years old.
The building has also been used for royal visits and is where the King and Queen would be based if they had
any official business in the area - Alex didn't need to be asked twice to try out the seats used by royalty and certainly looked at home with a perfect photo opportunity.
It was a fascinating afternoon made all the more relatable by Frida who will certainly not by forgotten by the group and actually made politics fun for the apprentices again making the experience much more beneficial.
Another great day as we continue to learn about the region while taking in all the area has to offer.
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Ray Brewis
non-member comment
Do you think you will ever come back?
Hi all it looks like you are all joining in with a well arranged programme of activity (at least during work hours!). Don't forget to have some fun