About Jenny Eklund

Title: Communications consultant, journalist, web editor, folk scholar, lecturer, project leader, author, mother of 3... I have 15 years of experience as a journalist and editor within most media (web, paper, TV, books). I have also worked with several different communicational and educational projects over the years.

Work: I divide my time between my own company (Concrete Idea and Communication) and being the main editor at Minabibliotek.se.

Incentives: Development, creativity and a naive wish to contribute to a better world.

Love: Communication; in both personal and virtual meetings.

Fascinated by: People and their stories, and the things that happen in meetings between people.

Organizations: Co-founder of Social Media Club Umeå, active member of Magma and BRIS.

Trivia: I have moved house and for the past eight years helped to renovate a gigantic old timber house, with my husband. I dream of sometime owning a beautiful, residential study centre or cosy guest house.

Most proud of: that I have inspired so many people in Sweden to document their lives. And, of course, my children.

Family: Three kids, born -96, -01 and -04. Married to Thomas Fritz.

Likes: discussions, social media, Pepsi max and beautiful old tins and boxes.

Awards:

Adult Educator of the Year 2005, (Awarded by the magazine "Fönstret")
”Jenny Eklund’s work as an adult educator shows in on a hands-on way that every person is unique.”

Pedal Cycle Prize, 2007 ( Liv i Sverige – Life in Sweden)
”For her creative ideas to inspire older citizens to document their lives, for her work as a radio journalist where she brings to the surface people’s life stories and for her work to popularize the libraries through the web, bringing reading and writing to new groups."

Minabibliotek.se: (during JE:s leadership)
Nominated for Library of the year 2008 . "The web site is attractive and easy to navigate. The visitor is offered a rich smorgasbord of reading- music- and film tips, knowledge and interactivity". (DIK)

Work (summary)

Entrepreneur: consultant, lecturer, course leader, freelance journalist etc (2000 - present).
Co-ordinator for Stories of the north, in preparation for Umeå’s application to be European Capital of Cultural 2014 (spring 2009). Project leader for My Europe (2009 - present).
Main editor for Minabibliotek.se (2007 - present).
EU-Project leader: Write your life and author of a book by the same name (2005-2006)
Author of Umeåmodellen: Kultur för seniorer - kultur och hälsa. (The Umeå model: Culture for senior citizens – culture and health) Book commissioned by Umeå municipality.
Editor for the philosophical magazine Spira (2002-2006)
University lecturer at Umeå University (several periods).
Swedish Broadcasting Corporation (SVT): Plus, Nattöppet, Nordnytt (1997-1999).
Swedish Radio: P1, P4, P3 (1994-1997 and different periods later).
A mixture of different journalistic assignments.