FUF's board

FUF's non-profit board is elected during the annual meeting, which is held in March each year. Are you interested in sitting on FUF's board, or do you know someone else who you think would be suitable for it? Then send another email Election Committee. Feel free to tell us:

• How the person could contribute to FUF's development by sitting on the board
• About interests and background connected to FUF's operations
• If you can commit to actively participate in board work for at least one year

FUF welcomes all tips and nominations. We especially encourage people who contribute to the board in various ways diversity.

For the 2026/2027 financial year, FUF's board consists of the following people:

Lotta Sylwander (chairman)

As a young man, very involved in the solidarity movement. Among other things, I was involved in founding the Solidarity Movement House. Education as a social anthropologist. Fieldwork in Zambia in 1989. This was followed by a JPO position in Zimbabwe, a few years as a consultant and then Sida in South Africa 1996-99. Then there was a position at Sida in Stockholm, Head of the Africa Department and part of the Executive Management 2001-2006. During that time, I was also a board member of, among others, the Nordic Africa Institute. Between 2006-2021, I worked for UNICEF as head of the country offices in Zambia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Ukraine. A lot of experience from both development work and humanitarian work in Africa, Asia and Europe. Retired from the UN in 2021 and moved home and is now part-time at UNICEF Sweden as a spokesperson and expert.

Rolf Carlman (vice chairman)

Rolf has studied civil engineering with a specialization in mechanical engineering at KTH. He has also studied economics at Stockholm University. He has worked with development and aid issues since the mid-70s. First at the UN Regional Commission for West Asia, UNESCWA, followed by a research study in Yemen in 1978. In Swedish aid, Rolf has worked, among other things, as program manager and acting head of authority for the Board for Developing Countries Research, SAREC, and as head of department for the research cooperation departments, infrastructure and financial cooperation as well as operational management at Sida. The work has also included postings abroad as industrial officer at the embassy in Hanoi, chargé d'affaires in Laos, head of the Swedish Institute in Alexandria and in Jerusalem as head of aid to the West Bank and Gaza. Rolf has been a board member of the Medical Research Council, Swedfund, and the Swedish UNESCO Council. In addition to the board assignment in FUF, where Rolf was chairman 2013–2018, he is currently also a member of the board of Hand-in-Hand, Sweden.

Amna Handzic

Amna currently works at Sida, within the unit for operational and financial management. Her work has primarily focused on the agency's annual report, but also includes operational management through operational planning and follow-up.

She has previously worked at the Swedish Institute of Foreign Affairs, where her work consisted of projects and analysis linked to current global issues, with a particular focus on developments in Europe's developing countries and their rapprochement with the EU. Amna has a master's degree in European Studies from the University of Gothenburg. During her studies, she completed a Schuman Traineeship at the European Parliament's Liaison Office in Stockholm, as well as an internship and summer position at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs' Unit for International Development Cooperation. In addition to her professional and academic background, Amna has also been involved in voluntary work within FUF.

Axel Selin

Axel has a master's degree in development studies from Lund University. He has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Amsterdam, where he was also involved in projects for green transition. Axel has a strong commitment to human rights, gender equality and climate policy. He joined FUF first as part of the Almedal editorial team, and then as an intern where he primarily contributed to the work on FUF's previous project, The Global Peace Hub. He currently works at the office where he completed FUF's EU project and is now events manager.

Klara Elzvik Nyström

Klara has worked with various types of aid projects in eastern and southern Africa since 2014 and is driven by a strong interest in climate, environment and justice. She studied Politics at Uppsala University in 2015-2018 with a focus on economics and received support from Sida's Minor Field Study to write a thesis in Malawi on how variation in rainfall affects children's health. She has worked for eight years for the Gapminder foundation with educational materials and data tools to visualize global development over time. Klara got involved in FUF during her studies, wrote for the FUF-bladet, was a FUFkorre and wrote on the aid debate website. She has also been on the board of the Red Cross Youth Association and was deputy treasurer and responsible for an activity with homework help for newly arrived people. Today she works as a project manager at Solvatten with water purification projects. She has been on the board of Afrogarden since 2017 and has been its chairman since 2022.

Lena Martens Kalmelid

Lena has worked with aid in the field, for We Effect and Vi-Skogen in southern and eastern Africa, and earlier, in the late nineties, for the Africa groups in Mozambique. She has also sat on the board of the Africa Groups, between 2000 and 2011, and for the last three years she was chairman. Now she is doing a second stay on the same board. She came back to Sweden in 2020, and then started working for the Nature Conservation Association, not within the international program but with local involvement in Sweden.

Lennart Wohlgemuth

Lennart was most recently visiting professor in African Studies with a special focus on Swedish and European aid policy at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg. Lennart has previously worked as director of the Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala from 1993 to 2005 and for 28 years at Sida, seven years as head of the sector department and seven years as head of the education office. Lennart is also chairman of the European movement.

Mona Abdi Adam

Mona currently works with internal and external communications at the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR), with a focus on member issues and ongoing contact with municipalities and regions. She has previously worked as an administrator at the State Service Center. She has also interned at the Swedish Embassy in Nairobi, where she worked with democracy and human rights. She has a primary teacher's degree, a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in human rights and has been a volunteer in FUF, up to and including autumn 2023.

Niusha Khanmohammadi

Niusha Khanmohammadi is a political scientist with extensive international experience in gender equality, culture and sustainable development in Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. She has a master's degree in human rights from Uppsala University and has worked with the UN, EU and Swedish authorities in twelve countries, focusing on women, peace and security and policy development. Niusha has also been involved in the Swedish Women's Organisation and other civil society organisations, where she has worked to strengthen young women's rights globally. In addition to her work in international development, Niusha is active as an artist and writer, where her work often explores themes of identity, migration and cultural encounters. She has been involved in FUF for ten years in various ways, including as a writer and mentor, and looks forward to contributing her experiences and perspectives to the board to promote inclusive and sustainable global development.

Tyra Bergmar

Tyra is passionate about development and democracy issues and has a strong sense of civil society and the commitment and community it entails. She will graduate in 2026 in Global Development. In connection with her studies, she has been a student representative in the management group for Global Development. Through the Stockholm University Student Union, she also has a role as chair of the student council for Social Anthropology and Global Development. For the past two years, she has been part of the FUF editorial team and especially the SoMe group. She has also been a FUF correspondent and reported from Zimbabwe and Mozambique until the end of March. Then she will return home and continue with SoMe.