Skellefteå
- 2013
Member institution: Skellefteå Municiaplity.
Skellefteå joined ICORN in 2013 and expects to be receiving its first writer in April 2015.
Skellefteå is a medium size city located in Swedish Lapland, one hour's flight time from Stockholm. Swedish Lapland represents about a quarter of the total of Sweden, famous for its sub artic climate with northern lights (Aurora Borealis), cold winters and summers with 24 hour daylight. Proximity to nature is the main feature in Skellefteå, but there’s also a modern town lurking underneath its rustic first impression.
Skellefteå provides ICORN writers with a safe place for continued creative and literary activity in a town that has a strong tradition of storytelling. Building on the area’s rich tradition of oral and written narration, such as famous author Sara Lidman, the city council has proudly proclaimed Skellefteå to be "The Storytelling Town". Efforts to launch "The Storytelling Town of Skellefteå" as a concept is thus an effort to highlight and make visible something that already exists and develop it for the future. Skellefteå offers a yearly Storytelling Festival in Skellefteå - a week full of the power of storytelling and delight in watching and listening. Here, we meet storytellers from the Storytelling Town of Skellefteå and from the region of Västerbotten. Together with national and international guests, they offer a host of storytelling experiences for all ages and tastes.
Campus Skellefteå offers a multitude of opportunities for students, enterprises and the public sector. The ground’s very own venue, engine and broker is the Learning Centre. It not only arranges tailored programmes and provides rooms for conferences, studying and meetings, but it is also the spider that weaves and expands Campus Skellefteå’s strong network, Umeå University and Luleå Univeristy
Human rights are of utmost importance in Skellefteå and the town has a strong experience in welcoming immigrants, especially youth, from different parts of the world. The Skellefteå region is known for encouraging new and innovative ideas.