Center for Research & Security Studies (CRSS) organized a workshop for researchers and professional lecturers from across the Pakistan. It was a great moment for us to know the practices prevailing in Pakistan and get a glimpse of the same institutional practices going on in other country. In the said workshop, Swedish Ambassador Ingrid Johansson was invited to portray a picture of her country. She gave an overview of the history and development process of Sweden. Here, I would like to write about how it led us to think that some important things are missing in our country where the people trust their government.
Sweden has a small population of 10 million which is roughly equal to the population of one of our cities, Lahore. Sweden’s population is quite small compared to its geographic area and resources it holds. People of Sweden have developed a trust in their democratic political system. There are many reasons behind this trust. Swedish government has provided a liberal and secular system where each citizen is identified with his/her constitution. Race, gender and religion is insignificant. The politics is not influenced by religion. In addition, there is Freedom of Speech Law which has been in practice since 1766. That is the longest freedom act in the world, and yet another moment of pride. Furthermore, there is successive peace prevailing for almost 200 years. By contrast, this is something of a rare commodity in Pakistan.
The Swedish Ambassador also talked about Swedish education. The educational system of Sweden is one of the world’s finest ones. It is obligatory at primary level for everyone. It is free. There is an integrated system which means that one can change his/her professional field in later part of life. If someone finds an interest in being a guitarist or an orator, the system will support that individual to follow the interest. Answering a question the Ambassador said the level of education has receded from 99.9% to 99.7%. That reduction mostly happened due to immigration flux into Sweden in recent years. Unlike Pakistan (where more than five educational systems are running at present), there is only one education system in Sweden.
Swedish government recognizes every individual not the family or any other social status. Thus, government supports every individual citizen by giving him/her benefits. It is their Social Security System. After they are entitled to get benefits, they are obligated to be responsible to serve their country with best of their self. It is an ideal and rational perspective where there is only one constitutional identity for all. Here, is a lesson for Pakistan where some social classes hold higher value than others. They have greater access to government privileges.
People of Sweden are served with quality. They take part in every activity where their opinion matters. Participation in election is high. Swedish nationals can cast votes from any part of the world through the embassies. It is yet another bright example of how people trust their government and the system.
One wonders, how people of a country trust their governance system. The matter of trust is (confusing), I got from Swedish Ambassador Ingrid Johansson to whom I pay my best regards and show gratitude to Center for Research & Security Studies (CRSS) for their active role in community advocacy.
Hasnain Falak