On Saturday, 6 December, the final session of this year’s Stockholm Free World Forum’s (Frivärld) Foreign Policy Academy was held f0r 2025. The session focused on “The Defence of Sweden & Europe’s Future” and took place in Stockholm.
The day began with Ewa Skoog Haslum, Chief of Joint Operations at the Swedish Armed Forces, who spoke about the defence of the Baltic Sea, High North, and the Armed Forces’ role within NATO. Karl von Baumgarten followed to discuss the Monday Movement for Ukraine, demonstrations held every Monday in central Stockholm since the start of the full-scale invasion.
During lunch, Rickard Söderberg presented fTalang, the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise’s professional talent network. The afternoon continued with a lecture by Frivärld Senior Fellow Stefan Fölster, who spoke about financial crises and the potential benefits of adopting the euro in Sweden.
Participants then visited the Swedish Holocaust Museum‘s exhibition “In Black and White” about Swedish media reporting on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Frivärld Resident Senior Fellow Patrik Oksanen and Director Anna Rennéus Guthrie reflected back on 2025 and shared their insights for the year ahead.
This year’s Foreign Policy Academy concluded with a diploma ceremony for all participants. The evening ended with dinner.
Frivärld would like to thank all participants for an inspiring year and looks forward to following this cohort’s promising career development!