U.S. Embassy Makes Tracks to Umeå

Ambassador Barzun with the Flow Latino Breakdancing group.

On November 18, the U.S. Embassy had a full day of activities in Umeå, the largest city and leading university town in northern Sweden. Bringing representatives from several core sections, the visit was the first stop of the U.S. Embassy's Road Show.

The day included several large sessions. The first, a moderated panel discussion on the link between culture and sustainable growth featuring the Governor, the Rector of the University and the Ambassador, brought together 100 of the "who's who" in Umeå. Later in the day, the Ambassador met with 30 foreign affairs students at a private lunch, which opened into a large group question and answer session with approximately 160 in attendance. During this session, he was joined by Minister of Enterprise Maud Olofsson. Finally, friends both old and new met for a farewell reception.

A very important feature of the Road Show, however, was the so-called "Embassy in a box" This space highlighted services provided by the Embassy and provided a meeting place for individual inquiries and comments.

The main goal was meeting the President's call for engagement, to build and expand on the relationship with Sweden and to offer a positive and personal meeting with the Embassy. While the Road Show itself personally reached hundreds of people, media coverage enabled the majority of people in Umeå to see or read about the Embassy and the events. The four major media outlets, broadcast Swedish Television and TV4, and print Västerbottens Kuriren and Västerbottens Folkblad, covered key events of the day.

See pictures from the day in Umeå at the Embassy's Flicker photostream, or watch a video with the highlights from Umeå on our YouTube page.  

SVT

• SVT reporting: "U.S. Embassy rolling into town"

TV4

• TV4: "U.S. Ambassador serving up pancakes"