SPS 2018 - Opening remarks by Laurent Leksell

Thank you very much, Linda, very kind words. You start to understand that you're getting old when you add up the things you're doing. I'm delighted to be here with several friends in the room. I think we will have a great day. Roger and the Ersta Space team asked me to say a few introductory words. First, I'd like to say to Roger, where are you now? Okay. Congratulations on what you've been doing with Ersta Space and the whole team. I remember the first conference. Now, this symposium has not only brought up this increasingly important but also increasingly engaging matter of philanthropy in Sweden. Sweden, as we all agree, has been a little behind, but I'll come back to that. Now the Stockholm Philanthropy Symposium is institutionalized - it's a great place to meet, learn, and share. Thanks to Roger for that initiative. Philanthropy is changing. We see it here today. We welcome our foreign speakers. Stockholm at its best. But we're just afraid that summer is already passing. Most welcome to our distinguished speakers. We will learn new examples of what's happening outside our borders, which is important to stimulate the Swedish nonprofit charitable sector. Thank you for coming. Philanthropy is changing. In the past, it was idle in Europe, an add-on to public sector initiatives. That's not the case anymore. Today, philanthropy is institutionalized, extraordinary, and increasingly professionalized, though more collaboration is needed among philanthropies. There's growing awareness that it is a necessity to meet global challenges. We need to combine technologies, innovation, competences from nonprofits, private sector, and government. The problems are complex. In my area, I'm in a tech company. We are the second largest provider of cancer equipment in the world. The challenges of noncommunicable diseases: in Africa, more people die from cancer than from AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. Twenty-three countries have no cancer care capacity whatsoever. That is changing, and it makes the philanthropic sector increasingly important for societal development. It's recognized by global institutions and governments. It's here to stay at a new, more active, and competent level. This is also true for Sweden. The Swedish philanthropic and charitable sector relative to our GDP is still very small compared to many other countries - I'm not comparing to the United States, but in Europe. If you look at the whole sector, including foundations, it's a very low level. That is largely for historical and political reasons. We are all good Protestants; we have the tradition of tithing 10% to charity in the past. But with the development of the Swedish welfare state, there was active suppression of the philanthropic sector to not compete with the welfare state. As a consequence, Sweden is the only country in Europe that does not allow tax deductions for charitable donations. We were the first to have it and the first to take it away. We have never had tax deductions for corporate philanthropy, making it difficult for public companies to engage systematically. You cannot give away shareholders' money without a corporate purpose, and if it's not tax deductible, it's not really a corporate purpose. That's why we do sponsorships and what we call "coupling" in Sweden. But it's changing. It's already full speed in culture. Ten years ago, when the head of a museum said we needed corporate sponsors, half the board quit. Today, this institution wouldn't survive without philanthropy. Every painting you see is a donation. One sector still lagging is the social sector. That is difficult. I'm going to stop here, but that's what Leksell Social Venture is doing. We started a couple of years ago with family and colleagues. It is the first impact investor in Sweden to provide capital to social innovators, social entrepreneurs, and NGOs. We are deep into social impact bonds in Sweden to finance innovation. More to be said. Have a great day. Linda, over to you. Thank you very much for having me. Roger, thank you.