This year, the Life-Link Friendship Schools Conference 2025 returned to its roots in Sigtuna, Sweden, held from June 14–18.
With the theme Partnership in Action, the Life-Link board welcomed students and teachers from four continents to engage in dialogue, creativity, and collaboration. The program blended beloved traditions—like the multicultural evening—with exciting new formats such as Dragon’s Den, where participants pitched ideas for our dragons, which in this case was being played by the teachers.
On the first full day, we journeyed together to Stockholm for a visit to the Nobel Prize Museum in the heart of the Old Town. There, we explored the inspiring stories of Nobel laureates like Marie Curie, Nelson Mandela, and Niels Bohr—individuals who dared to challenge norms, push boundaries, and advocate for peace, knowledge, and justice. Their achievements reminded us of the power of caring:
I care for myself – by nurturing curiosity and lifelong learning.
I care for others – by standing up for human rights and equality.
I care for nature – by promoting science and innovation that protect our planet.
After the museum, we continued our journey to Stockholm City Hall, traveling along the scenic waterfront. There, we experienced the grandeur of the Blue and Golden Halls, where the Nobel Banquet is held each year, celebrating the very achievements we had just learned about. We also visited the council chamber—a space where local democracy comes to life—highlighting how decisions made at the community level can ripple outward to shape global change.
On Monday we began with the part of the conference that requires the participants to take some action of their own. The official opening Welcome-speech was held by our very own president, Dr. Lars Johnson where he welcomed all of the participants, students as well as teachers, newcomers and first-comers to the conference. This was followed up by a brief presentation about our Life-Link organization and an introduction to the school where the conference was being held, Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket.
After this it was time for the different delegations to share their culture and history with the rest of the group. We in Life-Link prefer to do this by having each delegation prepare a poster, showcasing their schools and actions that have been made within the Life-Link values. This action helps the students practice oral presentations and to represent not only their school but also their countries. It also makes the experience more interactive for the participants.
After lunch we had an afternoon filled with workshops. The theme for these workshops was to showcase that commercialism and sustainability is possible, the two can go hand-in-hand despite previous misconceptions. We had Martin Johnson as one of the speakers, who talked about his business in the leather industry and how his cooperation with the local monks made his business success possible. We continued this theme in the next presentation that was held by Mikael Demitz-Helin. A man that has worked all over the world, with businesses within a wide variety of industries but we choose to specify it to Mikaels past within the IKEA corporation. Where in order to find cheaper and more sustainable solutions to problems could help both the locals, in otherwise rural areas, and IKEA. We finished the day by having our own Life-Link member and author Alpha Amadu Jalloh talk about his book that covers the social inequality in his home country Sierra Leone.
A Life-Link classic, and a crowd favorite, is the Multicultural-evening held by our board member Peder Palmstierna. Peder is dressed in traditional Swedish clothing and he leads the evening through a journey of cultures. Whether it is a traditional Georgian dance or a Sri Lankan song all of the participants take part and cheer for the rest of the countries and their performances. This year we got to listen to beautiful songs sung in native languages, we got to listen to a poem, watch traditional dances and enjoy tasty treats. This year, like always, the evening was a great success and a top three activity for the participants.
The last full day was aiming on having the students as the main focus for the day. The day started off by getting split into two groups, one with the teachers and one with the students. Then we made a historical walkthrough of Sigtuna. Giving the participants a chance to see the town and to ask questions. The tour led the groups to a local park in Sigtuna where the last two presentations of the conference were being held. We had a local business in Sigtuna talk about bee-keeping and the impact these animals have on our everyday life and community. This was followed up by another local business in Sigtuna, a hotel and conference accommodation and its work for sustainability both at work but also everyday life. The beautiful summer day with the birds chirping in the background and beautiful flowers surrounding us amplified the importance the meaning of both these lectures, how nature and society needs to be working together and not against each other. Before heading back to school for lunch we made a quick stop at Sigtuna Museum where the participants got a chance to learn even more about the history of Sigtuna that was touched upon earlier that morning.
As our last activity of the conference we introduced a new take on the popular show Dragons Den. The students got split into groups and had to roleplay a company that had to come up with the best action to be done within the Life-Link three C´s. This activity forced the students to use what they had learnt from the previous days and how to incorporate these lessons into everyday life. Ideas such as a “Bonding-Bingo" - in order to lower the risk of bullying in schools and competitions to pick up trash to decrease the level of littering in our surroundings were only a couple of ideas that got presented. The students enjoyed the roles they got to play as well as the teachers playing our lovely but constructive dragons.
The closing ceremony was held later this evening and was as normal a bit of the bittersweet feeling to what has been once again a wonderful and rewarding Life-Link conference.
