Azadeh Alian Söderqvist is the Head of the Political Section at the Embassy of Sweden in Uganda. Her experience of the alumni network is that they have proved to be efficient and results-oriented over a long period of time, and at the same time their members have displayed a great dose of enthusiasm and humour.
Collaboration with the Swedish Embassy
The alumni network is renowned for its work with the Sustainable Development Goals and is contributing to an inclusive and sustainable society through their many actions.
Azadeh Alian Söderqvist has very fond memories of when the alumni network used the SI toolkit ReDress and Guy Talk for their events. During Guy Talk, the all male participants were invited to an a discussion and challenged to engage in conversations about the male role in society.
– Guy Talk was a collaboration between the Embassy and the Alumni Association, we jointly agreed on a list of panellists for example. And It was a success.
Best memory of Embassy-Alumni cooperation
-The ReDress event last year was a fun! The role of the alumni network was to organise the entire event. The Embassy’s contribution was only to hold a speech, says Azadeh Alian Söderqvist.
The purpose of ReDress is to encourage people to shop less and throw fewer clothes. The basic setup is for people to bring in clothes they no longer want and leave with clothes that are new and exciting to them.
– The ReDress-event was prepared and implemented very professionally, which impressed not only me but also the participants. I especially think of that nano-second when the ‘store’ opened, and all the participants started running to the clothing items, says Azadeh Alian Söderqvist.
Read more about the Sweden Alumni Network.