Osaka City Government Official
The lights of the Stockholm Airport illuminated the snow which lay on the ground around me as I took my first step on Swedish soil in the middle of the night on April 22. My breath was white in the frigid night air and my thin sweater not nearly warm enough as I made my way uncertainly through the airport. Pulling my heavy suitcase behind me, I made my way to the hotel as jet lag began to get the best of me.
To be honest, my first thoughts were not, At last, I can finally experience life in Sweden, the worlds most advanced welfare state! All I wanted to do was get some sleep. When I awoke the next day, I had absolutely no idea just how impressive and moving this study tour would be or how intensive the next 40 days would be.
I want to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone in R. I. D-2400 and D-2660 who had a part in this exchange program for the many things you did for me and the other members of our team. In addition to your meticulous preparations and adjustments to accommodate us, you welcomed us warmly, treated us kindly, helped us spend our time in a new and different country without worry and were very concerned that the exchange program be a success.
I had been told by the chairman of the GSE committee, Mr. Ouchi, and by many others that GSE tours provide places to see and people to meet, in addition to research experiences and opportunities for international exchange, which are very different than those of a typical overseas trip. But it wasnt until I actually joined this GSE tour that I understood how true this is. I was able to see public facilities and institutions firsthand, see many picturesque spots, learn about Swedish life and customs from my host family, participate in cultural and religious activities, meet people from all walks of life, exchange opinions and experience many other wonderful things. Through all of these experiences, I came to realize just how wonderful such GSE programs really are and that they really do offer us "The opportunity to learn about different systems and people on a personal, one-on-one level."
Even now, when I look at our itinerary, my mind is flooded afresh with memories of the people I met and the sights I saw. I am keenly aware of all the thought and hard work which were put into the GSE program to make our study as fruitful and meaningful as possible.
During the orientation prior to our departure, I was able to gain an adequate understanding of the significance and purpose of our study and to prepare myself for international exchange.
On the one hand, those in charge of the program had a good understanding of the team members' profiles and their general and vocational interests, and everywhere we looked, it was easy to see that they had put a lot of thought into the program based upon this understanding.
At times, however, as a result of the exchange of opinions and ideas between our hosts, the area coordinator and the members of our team, the places we were to visit were changed and places were added to accommodate the wishes of our team members, and this flexibility on the part of our hosts helped to make our study even more productive.
Our hosts were also careful to see to it that we were taken to places of historical, cultural and industrial significance so that we could see facilities and institutions which are representative of each region. As a result, the impressions we received as we visited each place were made even that much deeper.
More than anything, I realized that this study is indeed a service activity which is built upon the many effective social activities established by Rotary International and the trustworthiness of each individual Rotarian, and the success of these tours is a reflection of this trust and the quality of the Rotary's social activities.
I think the fact that I visited facilities and institutions which were unfamiliar to me and in highly specialized fields contributed to my not understanding everything as well as I should have. I just didn't have enough basic knowledge of what I was seeing. I felt the need for more detailed information beforehand and for more adequate preparation on my part.
From the viewpoint of international exchange, I think the presentations given by our GSE team at the regular rotary meetings played a very important role. We had several standard presentations, but people often asked to see more slides of Osaka so we would end up putting together a different show than planned on the spot. During the second half of our tour, our basic presentation was one which introduced Osaka to the audience. At the District Conference in Helsingborg, we showed slides and explained what things were like in the aftermath of the Great Hanshin Earthquake. When we showed slides of the reopening of the railway, the audience burst into a loud round of applause. We were deeply touched and encouraged by this show of support.
Mr. Ingmar Andersson, chairman of the D-2400 GSE committee said, "I think you will all learn about Sweden and the Swedish people through this program." To be sure, we did learn, think and feel many things. At the same time, we learned many things about what the Rotary is and what Rotarians are through the meticulously prepared program, the detail paid to our individual vocational interests and the hospitality which made it easy for us relax. We were all deeply moved by the sight of everyone giving their all to serve us, and we came to understand just what "social service" truly means.
The advanced condition of Sweden's social welfare system has been reported about many times in Japan, and we were allowed to visit many of these facilities and institutions and see firsthand how they are grappling with a variety of problems. We were able to confirm that Japan is also involved in similar programs. I was impressed by the fact that the welfare programs pay careful attention to the situation of each individual and deals with them in a way which makes them feel like part of one big family. Unlike those in Japan, the rooms in Swedish social welfare facilities do not look like special rooms. This may sound a bit extreme, but the private rooms of those living in nursing home rooms (which are furnished with their personal furniture) and the rooms in the day-care center for children all have a very "at home" feeling to them, the only difference being the type of equipment found in the rooms.
One special characteristic that I noticed in regard to the actual equipment in the facilities was that the facilities came with kitchens. Even on relatively hot days, the humidity was low and it was hard to break a sweat. And even if I did, it was only briefly, so my body didnt feel dirty. Because of this, I never felt strong desire to take a bath in Sweden. I think Swedens dry climate clearly has something to do with methods used and the degree of burden felt by those taking care of the children, elderly and disabled, as well as with the degree of independence these people have. What I mean by this is that compared to Japan with its hot, humid climate, the frequency with which caregivers need to bathe and change these people and wash their clothes is very low. If these programs were carried out in Japan just as they are, I imagine things would be quite different. And because there is not this need to spend so much time washing and changing the patients in Sweden, the staff people are able to devote more of their energy to things like preparing nice meals. It is very important for some people to be independent enough to be able to prepare and eat their own meals.
As well as having cafeterias in the nursing homes in Sweden, each room has its own kitchen, and in the Halmstad Hospital, patients undergoing rehabilitation are placed in rooms with kitchens to help with their rehabilitation and to help them set their sights on living more independent lives. Some of the facilities had kitchens with switches which raised and lowered the sinks and cupboards. Even day-care centers for children have kitchens, which is relatively unheard of in Japan. These kitchens are equipped with stands under the sink which pull out like drawers so that the children can wash the dishes comfortably.
Of course, in order to include such kitchens in ones facilities, there are certain financial and space requirements which need to be met, but I think the premise that people need to have a concept of social independence has had a strong influence on Sweden's decision to equip its facilities with kitchens.
"If you came to Sweden to see our social welfare system, you should have come ten years ago." It may have been nothing more than a coincidence, but I heard these words from two different people during my visit to Sweden. To be sure, things are different now and the Swedish welfare system of today is no longer something to be blindly copied. I recalled the conversations I had before I left with a number of welfare-affiliated people about my upcoming trip to Sweden, and they all said that we need to learn from Swedens welfare system now instead of copy it. With that thought in mind, I began to investigate things differently. When I did, I reconfirmed the fact that a tremendous amount of books and literature has been written about Swedish society and its welfare system. At the same time, I noticed that a large amount of the recent literature was quite critical of the situation in Sweden today. I wondered how the Swedish people were handling the fact that the welfare system was being slimmed down due to an increasing lack of funds. I also wondered what path the people were choosing for the future.
When I talked to various people about this, many of them, including my host family, said that they felt the government needed to cut back on their social welfare expenditures. About 70% of the expenditures in the public sector are related to personnel costs and 30% are related to the social welfare system in some way. Actually, some changes are already visible, among them child-care leave payment cuts from 90% to 75%, suggestions by those involved in welfare work that welfare service recipients bear more of the cost themselves, an increase in the number of infants being cared for per attendant at day-care centers, and the reorganization of elementary and junior high schools (all of these figures were higher than those in Japan to begin with). Also, I could sense that people were upset that they were the ones who had to bear the costs of the increased social welfare expenditures. These increases are the result of the rapid rise in the number of people receiving government assistance due to increased immigration and drug and alcohol addiction. Moreover, the infrastructure will soon become superannuated, and considering the serious financial situation the government is facing now and will continue to face, there will surely be much debate over just how to finance the replacement of this aging infrastructure.
But the government never tries to make things seem better than they are. When asked by visitors from other countries about the various social, political and economic problems Sweden is struggling with, the people always share their frank and sincere opinions. While commenting about the low turnout in the May Day activities on TV, the newsperson spoke frankly about the critical evaluation the current ruling party received in the results of a public opinion survey regarding how many people support the various political parties. Many people want to see the welfare system streamlined, but there are still those who are making it known vociferously that they want not only to see the present level of welfare services maintained but also increased.
I wonder what narrow path they will finally choose as they struggle to find a balance between maintaining what has been achieved and the fiscal crisis. Because they are in such a tight spot, caught between the desire to continue leading the way in social welfare programs and the need to reconsider what they are doing, they must come up with a new welfare system, and as a result, I think we can learn many things from Sweden now and in the future. Two people told me while I was in Sweden, "You should have come to Sweden ten years ago." But for me, the more appropriate phrase is, "We should go and see Sweden ten years from now."
On my first day in Sweden, my host family took me to see a lake which was just ten minutes away by car. It was a huge lake surrounded by a vast forest, and there were campsites and summer houses dotting its shore. I was deeply moved by the beautiful scenery and the fact that it was so easy to get to such a scenic spot.
On my last day in Sweden, my host family took me to see the lake again. As we stood there looking around the lake, my thoughts were racing as I thought about the Sweden's Allemansraet (the right of public access) which preserves Sweden's vast wilderness so that it can be enjoyed and about the industries which benefit from Sweden's rich water reserves --agriculture, chemical manufacturing, medical treatment, food and beverage processing, and canoe manufacturing. Suddenly, the sound of a chain saw echoed through the forest, and with it many other things came to mind -- the lumber, paper and doors that are exported all over the world, the abundant life that many experience during their vacations in their summer homes, the tourists who were visiting the lake from Germany (the country whose currency remains strong in the midst of the EU's unstable currencies), the laughing voices of the disabled people I saw enjoying a walk along the lakeshore, and the Swedish Air Force jets flying in formation in the sky above (one of the reasons Sweden has been able to remain continuously neutral). I remember thinking that I had just seen (as I had also been able to see throughout my 40 days in Sweden) several different Swedens as I stood there and looked around me.
When we arrived in Stockholm to fly home, we were bathed in the light of the early summer sun. I recalled the words I had seen written at the end of the program -- "Welcome Back!" I left Sweden in late May thinking that I would, indeed, return someday.
Of course, it is a bit impetuous of me to generalize about Swedish society and Swedish people with the experiences and data I obtained during such a short trip. There were many different lifestyles and ways of thinking represented within D-2400 alone. But, as a result of this study tour, I was able to gain a deeper and broader knowledge of the present and future Sweden, and I want to be sure to make the most of this wonderful opportunity.
Finally, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to each of my stimulating and individualistic team members. Thank you for your support and for allowing me to share this wonderful experience with you.
I still remember Ms. Kawamoto's moving words at the farewell party in Sweden. "This is in no way the end. It's just the beginning!"
