Eivor Halkjaer, 79 years. Pensioner, formerly adivision manager at Sida and ambassador in Nicaragua, Cuba, Guatemala.
When and how did you get involved in FUF?
I became a member of FUF when I came home from my last posting abroad years 2006. I succeeded Stefan de Vylder as chairman in the spring of 1999 and was then succeeded in 2013 by Rolf Carlman.
Do you want to share a memory from your time at FUF?
When I think of my years with FUF, it is mainly all the happy moments with the lovely young people at the nice office on Karlbergsvägen. I remember how different challenges were discussed and clever solutions to problems emerged.
Right around the chancellery there is a special memory. Stefan de Vylder, who was chairman at the time, called me and asked if I happened to have any idea how the urgent situation regarding the FUF office could be resolved. I took the call outside in the yard of the condominium association where I lived at the time. When I mentioned that conversation to her, who was then chairman of that association, she said that our company is about to leave our office in a farm near here on Karlbergsvägen, that might be something for you. I called Stefan, who picked up on that thread and in a few days it was all resolved. That venue turned out to be absolutely perfect for FUF in the many dynamic years that followed. I think there are many of us who have fond memories of the atmosphere there, inside the venue and out on the farm.
A more specific memory is when Noak Holm Löfgren and I worked to find financiers for the then new and expanding Biståndsdebatten.se. It is probably my first experience of concrete and focused networking! One of the first coffee meetings was with Erik Lysen from the Church of Sweden, his positive response confirmed our belief that this new forum with a focus on development issues would go a long way!
What do you think is FUF's strength?
FUF's strength lies in having followed and developed in step with a changing society for fifty years. Central here is the gradual opening towards the younger generations who today form a core of the business, without losing older actors along the way. This makes FUF a unique phenomenon in an arena that is today well-filled with actors with a focus on broad development issues.
What do you think FUF should focus on going forward?
Today, international development cooperation is more sharply questioned. The defense of the fundamental idea of international solidarity is therefore an absolute priority for the long-standing organization FUF. The challenge is to find new ways and openings for such work. The climate as the central issue can here offer new fruitful aspects!