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The Sigtuna Foundation

The Sigtuna Foundation is a private cultural foundation, whose principle aim is to inspire human thought and reflection, and to stimulate and facilitate dialogue, encounters and bridgebuilding. Founded in 1917, it grew out of a student movement that sought to revitalize both the Church of Sweden and society at large by fostering a creative and fruitful exchange between people of faith and secularists, between religion and science, culture and the arts.

The statutes of the Foundation specify that it shall establish and operate educational institutions and programs, and thus its activities include seminars, conferences, a library and a clippings archive. The Foundation is also involved in running a secondary grammar school, Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket (sshl), in collaboration with the K&AWallenberg Foundation, as well as a folk high school, Sigtuna Folkhögskola, that is run together with the Church of Sweden and the Church of Sweden Youth.

A meeting place

The Foundation offers a safe space where people of different backgrounds, traditions and viewpoints who wish to learn from one another can meet and interact in an atmosphere of mutual respect. The Foundation's emphasis on dialogue is rooted in Christian humanism, which strives to protect each individual's rights and dignity, and which understands human existence as including spiritual values and dimensions.

From the outset, the founders tried to bring together people who would not otherwise meet and dialogue. Initially, they focused particular on ecumenism and the class struggle, two burning concerns of their times. Today there is an emphasis on interfaith and intercultural dialogue, as well as on issues related to the environment and the media.

In order to serve effectively as a neutral meeting point between faith, society and culture, the Sigtuna Foundation has remained an independent selfgoverning Foundation.

Activities and facilities

Conferences, courses, seminars, lectures and dialogues are arranged both under the Foundation's own auspices and in collaboration with others.

Retreats (days of quietness) are held in The Refuge, a meditation and spiritual center that was added to the Foundation in 1977.

The library serves conference activities, visiting authors, researchers and other guests, as well as the folk high school and secondary grammar school.

The clippings archive has since 1920 collected clippings from the press and its unique material is available to researchers.

The Guest House hosts participants in conferences sponsored both by the Foundation and by outside organizations, institutions and companies. It also welcomes researchers and authors, including recipients of the Foundation's stipends for writers, as well as individual guests who come for rest and recreation.

The Foundation has three sanctuaries for religious services and worship: the Olaus Petri Chapel, the Open-air Church and the Crypt. The Foundation employs its own chaplain.