{"id":1917,"date":"2025-11-26T10:08:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T09:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smulakademin.com\/about-smul\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:00:00","slug":"about-smul","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/smulakademin.com\/en\/about-smul\/","title":{"rendered":"About SMUL"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

About SMUL <\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Svenska som modersm\u00e5l utomlands (SMUL) is an international organization for those of us living abroad who are interested in the Swedish language. We are based in Canada and are registered under the name Association of Swedish Beyond
Borders- SMUL. <\/p>\n

SMUL provides information, inspiration, and education for a multilingual life with Swedish as a central component. We work to strengthen the Swedish language within the family by supporting our children in developing and using their Swedish, and we create opportunities to express and preserve our Swedish culture. <\/p>\n

Our digital school, the SMUL Academy, offers various distance learning programs in supplementary Swedish and beginner Swedish, and we are constantly working to find new educational alternatives to help you and your family preserve the Swedish language.<\/p>\n

Other tools we utilize in our work include the SMUL blog, available here on the website, and our social media groups. On Facebook, for example, we have a large community where we discuss, exchange experiences, and support one another. <\/p>\n

Our organization is a non-profit led by a board of directors with the assistance of an advisory committee and a school team.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n
\n

SMUL's Purpose and Mission<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

The purpose of SMUL is to be an obvious and welcoming community where Swedes abroad receive support in preserving and developing the Swedish language and culture.<\/p>\n

Through SMUL's activities, advocacy, and educational initiatives, more people shall be able to participate in the Swedish linguistic environment, regardless of where in the world they live.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n
\n

History<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\n

2012<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\uf111<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n
<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

The Facebook group \u201cSvenska som modersm\u00e5l utomlands\u201d (SMUL) was started.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n

2013<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\uf111<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n
<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

The SMUL blog was founded<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n

2014<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\uf111<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n
<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

The first issue of Magasinet SMUL was published <\/p>\n

Magasinet SMUL<\/strong>
Magasinet SMUL was a project run between 2014 and 2017 as an online magazine marketed via social media for Swedes living abroad.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

\n
<\/span><\/div>

No. 1 - 2014 (pdf)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

<\/span><\/div>

No. 2 - 2014 (pdf)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

<\/span><\/div>

No. 3 - 2015 (pdf)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

<\/span><\/div>

No. 4 - 2015 (pdf)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

<\/span><\/div>

No. 5 - 2016 (pdf)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

<\/span><\/div>

No. 6 - 2016 (pdf)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

<\/span><\/div>

<\/span>No. 7 - 2017 (pdf)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\n

2016<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\uf111<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n
<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

SMUL's book club is formed<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Open timeline 2017-2025<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Close timeline 2017-2025<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n
\n

2017<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\uf111<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n
<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

The Facebook groups SMUL:or & kryddor and SMUL's rental and house exchange group were started<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n

2017<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\uf111<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n
<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

The SMUL Academy starts basic distance education for grades 1-4 in supplementary Swedish during the spring semester through a partnership with the company Svenska Distans. In the autumn, the first academic year planned by teacher Maria Diemar begins. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n

2018<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\uf111<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n
<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

The SMUL podcast is launched by journalist Petra Socolovsky.<\/p>\n

Listen on Spotify<\/a>
Listen on SoundCloud<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n

2018<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\uf111<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n
<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

The SMUL Academy expands its curriculum to grades 1-6.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n

2019<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\uf111<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n
<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

SMUL is registered as a non-profit organization both federally and regionally in British Columbia, Canada. A board of directors is organized and included in the application. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n

2020<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\uf111<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n
<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Supplementary Swedish is expanded to grades 1-7 at the SMUL Academy. Intermediate Swedish and Beginner Swedish are launched as new subjects. Louise Sverud begins working as a school administrator. The board also holds its first annual general meeting, and Monica Bravo Granstr\u00f6m becomes the convener of the advisory committee and senior advisor. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n

2021<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\uf111<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n
<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

The SMUL Academy grows with more teachers, supplementary Swedish is expanded to grades 1-8, and Beginner Swedish gains more levels for returning students.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n

2022<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\uf111<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n
<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

The SMUL Academy becomes a registered school association with the Swedish National Agency for Education and receives government grants. Supplementary Swedish is expanded to grade 9. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n

2024<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\uf111<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n
<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

The SMUL Academy appoints its first principal, Karolin Eriksson, who takes over personnel responsibility and operational planning. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n

2025<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\uf111<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n
<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

SMUL founder Lena Norm\u00e9n-Younger steps down as chair, and the organization appoints its second chair, Marinette Sedin. Monica Bravo Granstr\u00f6m steps down as convener of the advisory committee, and Lottis Isaksson takes over. Maria Diemar publishes the new teaching material \u201cDin svenska\u201d with illustrations by Ella Quesnel, aimed at beginner students in primary school abroad. Read more here.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n
\n

Our Board<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>

Marinette Sedin, Chair<\/h4>

Marinette is originally from \u00d6rnsk\u00f6ldsvik and has lived in Vancouver since 2000. She has over 15 years of experience in multilingual education and has previously worked as a teacher at the Swedish School in Vancouver. Today, she teaches English to adults for The Canucks Family Education Centre and Swedish to adults for the Swedish Cultural Society in Vancouver. She is deeply committed to supporting language development in various life situations and contexts. Marinette has been a board member of SWEA Vancouver for several years and, together with her family, founded The Sedin Family Foundation \u2013 an organization that collaborates with schools, community groups, and social services to identify needs and create creative solutions for children and families in Canada. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

Anette Larsson, Vice Chair <\/h4>

Anette is originally from Sm\u00e5land and has lived and worked in several countries. Today, she lives in southern Germany with her husband and three children. <\/p>\n

She has extensive experience from the technology and food industries with a focus on business development and international expansion. On the board, Anette contributes an international perspective, strategic thinking, and a commitment to long-term sustainability and brand development. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

Anna Jackson, Member<\/h4>

Anna is a trained immigration lawyer and works as Vice Consul at the Swedish Consulate in Vancouver, Canada. She has a strong interest in the Swedish language and wants to contribute to ensuring that children born abroad to a Swedish parent have the opportunity to develop their language skills. <\/p>\n

Anna is also passionate about maintaining Swedish traditions and culture for Swedes abroad and wants to help strengthen the Swedish identity in future generations.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

Mikael Lindberg, Member<\/h4>

Mikael has previously worked as a teacher at SMUL and maintains close insight into the operations through his wife, who still teaches there. Mikael is the principal of two independent schools in Sweden and has extensive experience with government grants and educational regulations. His goal is to strengthen and develop the educational side of SMUL and contribute to the organization's continued success. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

Moa Wirde, Secretary<\/h4>

Moa has been a resident of London since 2002 and has followed SMUL's work for several years. She works part-time as Marketing Director at Convosphere, a company specializing in digital market research. With experience in strategic communication, content marketing, and brand development, Moa aims to contribute to SMUL's visibility and growth, particularly within the SMUL Academy. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

Karin Viertel, Treasurer<\/h4>

Karin now lives in Vienna, Austria, and has previously lived for several years in Switzerland and Singapore. She is a trained economist with a Bachelor in Accounting and Finance from London University in Singapore. Karin has worked
as a private banker and accounting economist, and has been involved, primarily with bookkeeping, in Singapore for the Swedish School and the German Club, as well as in SWEA at several locations and levels.
As a mother of two now-adult children who grew up with Swedish, German, and English, Karin knows how valuable support in language teaching is and wishes to contribute to SMUL by managing the role of treasurer on
the board. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

Get to know our school team<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\n
\n

Advisory Committee<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\n

Monica Bravo Granstr\u00f6m - Senior Advisor<\/h4>

Monica Bravo Granstr\u00f6m is a linguist with a PhD in Pedagogy, focusing on multilingual learning environments. She works at a teacher training college in southern Germany where she teaches and conducts research on multilingualism and language learning processes. She is also the author of <\/span>I love svenska<\/span><\/i>, a handbook on multilingualism aimed at adults with Swedish children living abroad. Monica was involved in building the SMUL network, including serving as editor-in-chief for <\/span>Magasinet SMUL<\/span><\/i>, and now contributes her expertise to issues concerning the Swedish language and multilingualism in an international daily life.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

Lottis Isaksson - Convener<\/h4>

Lottis Isaksson is a certified primary school teacher and principal with extensive experience in teaching and school development. She is the convener of the advisory committee and is committed to developing SMUL, as it is a cause close to her heart that Swedish children and families abroad should be given good opportunities to maintain and further develop the Swedish language even when they do not live near a Swedish or supplementary Swedish school. She views language as a vital part of identity and future opportunities. <\/span><\/p>\n

Through her experience teaching in multilingual and international environments in Sweden, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and Spain, Lottis has gained a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities that come with growing up between languages and cultures. <\/span><\/p>\n

She currently lives in Sweden and is training to become a gardener, as she is passionate about helping both children and seeds grow. Together with her husband Tommy, she also runs the Swedish School in Tenerife and plans to start a school garden for special education purposes once she is a qualified gardener. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

Lena Normen Younger<\/h4>

Lena is the founder of SMUL and served as the association's chair from 2020 to 2025. After many years abroad, including in Canada, she now resides in V\u00e4rmland. She has a background in clinical research, administration, and business development. Today, she works as a counselor at the youth clinic in Hagfors and as a therapist in her own company, Mind The Mind. Lena continues to contribute to SMUL's development as a member of the advisory committee, with a particular commitment to multilingualism, cultural identity, and Swedish language instruction abroad. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

Roma Bratt<\/h4>

Roma Bratt is an economist based in Vienna. She is the grandmother of two quadrilingual children and leads the work with SMUL's book club. She is the current chair of SWEA Vienna. Roma has expertise in marketing and business development and has blogged for SMUL about her life as a <\/span>grandmother to quadrilingual children<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

Linda Str\u00f6m<\/h4>

Linda is a former preschool teacher at the Swedish School Association in Seattle, USA, and chair of SWEA Seattle. She also works as a consultant for families moving to Seattle, helping them find their way in their new environment. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

Pernilla Lindberg<\/h4>

Pernilla Lindberg worked as a teacher for the SMUL Academy from 2021 to 2024. She lives in Pite\u00e5 with her husband and their four children. Pernilla is a trained teacher from Lule\u00e5 University of Technology and is certified to teach Swedish, English, and Swedish as a second language, among other subjects. She is also a special education teacher. Pernilla and her family also lived in Tenerife and Gran Canaria for a number of years, where she and her husband worked at the Swedish school. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

Emma Ageberg \u2013 Art Director<\/h4>

Emma is the graphic designer who became a winemaker in Italy. Known for her simple and elegant design, she is the one who creates SMUL's graphics with her keen eye for color and form. Emma is an experienced magazine creator in international contexts; she was previously the editor of the <\/span>e-magazine SVEN<\/span><\/a> which was published between 2009 and 2012, as well as our own <\/span>Magasinet SMUL<\/span><\/a>, published between 2014 and 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1917","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smulakademin.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smulakademin.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smulakademin.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smulakademin.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smulakademin.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1917"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/smulakademin.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1918,"href":"https:\/\/smulakademin.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1917\/revisions\/1918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smulakademin.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}