THE SUMMER ACADEMY | 11–14 of August 2026
THE POWER OF STORYTELLING AND THE WRITTEN WORD
The Summer Academy at Ljungskile Folkhögskola is a meeting place and a forum for dialogue. In times when society is undergoing radical changes, it is necessary that we create good conversations together. The Summer Academy has the character of a symposium, where equal space is given to conversations as well as presentations, and where everyone is given space to contribute.
"Times change, languages change, new words are created, others are lost. Impractical perhaps, and messy. But I believe, like the poet Gunnar Ekelöf, that the impractical is the only practical thing in the long run." – Elisabeth Åsbrink: !Orden som formade Sverige"
”Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.”
– Chimamanda Ngoze Adichie: “The dangers of a single story”, Ted Talk
“They were given the opportunity to read My Dream City by Per Anders Fogelström in an easy-to-read version. Most were unaccompanied young men from Syria and Afghanistan and many recognized themselves in the work and life circumstances of the main character Henning… What arises here thanks to the teacher’s wisdom is an opportunity for the participant to gain insight into their own story and also gain tools to work (play) with it. The example also suggests that we use other people’s stories, fairy tales, myths, images and the like in shaping our own.”
– Ruhi Tyson: Bildning fantasi revolt
Participants
Klas Grinell is a writer and historian of ideas
Peter Gärdenfors is a philosopher and professor emeritus of cognitive science at Lund University
Gunnar D Hansson is a poet, essayist, literary scholar and translator
Faysa Idle is a poet and writer
Lisa Karlsson Blom is a researcher at the Department of Migration, Ethnicity and Society (REMESO), Linköping University
Frida Röhl is artistic director of the Folkteatern in Gothenburg, director and actor
Ruhi Tyson is an associate professor of pedagogy at Stockholm University, lecturer at the Waldorf Teacher Training College, author and bookbinder
Program
Tuesday 11th of August
Checkin from 3pm
5pm – Gathering
5.30pm – Dinner
7pm – Gunnar D Hansson;: Long and short memories – about landscape and literature
Wednesday 12th of August
Morning – Peter Gärdenfors: The power of the written word – homo loquens
Afternoon – Klas Grinell: About logos – The most powerful word in the West
Evening – Faysa Idle: A word for blood
Festive dinner and socializing
Thursday 13th of August
Morning – Lisa Karlsson Blom: Talk about race – how do we talk about race and racism in Swedish?
Afternoon – Free afternoon with the opportunity for conversation, reflection or your own excursion
Evening – Frida Röhl: What is hidden outside the picture? About scenic storytelling
Festive dinner and socializing
Friday 14th of August
Morning — Ruhi Tyson: The power of storytelling – education, imagination, revolt
Lunch and journey home
Program Committee
Catharina Dyrssen is an architect and musicologist
Gunnar Henning is chairman of the board of Ljungskile Folk High School
Klas Grinell is a writer and historian of ideas
Erik Malmhav is a teacher and coordinator at Ljungskile Folk High School
