Djurgården – a place for important conversations

Since 2012, Nätverket Hållbar Besöksnäring (the Sustainable Tourism Network) has arranged a so-called BarCamp and gathered representatives from the tourism industry who are committed to sustainability issues and who are passionate about sustainable tourism.

What is a BarCamp?

It is not a regular conference; all participants are the main actors and neither speakers nor issues are decided in advance. Everything is decided on site and together. It is the participant’s events and challenges that shape the content. For two days you sit down and discuss selected topics, without technology or prepared lectures. Everyone participates and contributes generously on the same terms.

Back at Djurgården with new perspectives?

For the third year the BarCamp was arranged at Djurgården in collaboration with the Royal Djurgården Society (Kungliga Djurgårdens Intressenter). This is no coincidence. The commitment to sustainability issues is high here and we welcome talks about both urgent matters and future issues here at Djurgården. During the two days of discussion, several of the stakeholders contributed with inspiration and new perspectives through exhibitions, ways of working and communicating with their guests and not least through the food. The restaurants Tekniska by Pontus, Cirkus, Matmekka and Rosendals Garden all showed in their own way that the food of the future does not have to be bland and boring, but good and incredibly exciting.

From Earth and into space

On site, we received input from Rosendals Garden, the Ethnographic Museum and the National Museum of Science and Technology. All three actors are active in sustainability issues and work to inspire.

It is fitting that the country’s first gardener education was situated where Rosendal Garden is today. They work to create an educational environment where both children and young people can inspire a contemporary sustainable lifestyle. By following seasons, reducing food waste and harvesting from their own cultivations, they work towards a sustainable and good food culture.

The Ethnographic Museum opens for discussion about our consumer society with their new exhibition “Human Nature”. Based on objects from the museum’s collections, as well as several ongoing research projects, they address the most burning issue of our time.

If we leave the earth and take a step into space, we end up at the National Museum of Science and Technology. Here you’ll find the exhibition “Moving to Mars” which is one of the first international stops on a world tour from the Design Museum in London. With sustainability in focus, it asks us the question of whether we should really move to Mars, or whether the insights we have gained can instead be used to make better use of the planet we already live on.

Djurgården an obvious place for important conversations

During the two days, everything from how the Swedish hospitality industry is perceived internationally to the start-up after Covid-19 was discussed. During each conversation, notes were taken, and everything is now up on the Nätverket Hållbara Besöksnärings’ website for further reading. We want the Royal Djurgården to continue to be an obvious destination where we talk and open up for discussions about sustainability in all its forms.

As early as 1897 at the General Art and Industry Fair held in Stockholm, future solutions were discussed here at Djurgården. It is a dialogue that continues to this day.

The Rules of BarCamp

• 1st Rule: You do talk about BarCamp.
• 2nd Rule: You do blog about BarCamp.
• 3rd Rule: If you want to present, you must write your topic and name in a presentation slot.
• 4th Rule: Only three-word intros.
• 5th Rule: As many presentations at a time as facilities allow for.
• 6th Rule: No pre-scheduled presentations, no tourists.
• 7th Rule: Presentations will go on as long as they have to or until they run into another presentation slot.
• 8th Rule: If this is your first time at BarCamp, you HAVE to present. (Ok, you do not really HAVE to, but try to find someone to present with, or at least ask questions and be an interactive participant.)