"Sport is not fun, but the Swedish women's national football team is fantastic"
Memory is a sieve, and a lot of it just slips away. But there are things that don't leave. A scent, a hit or maybe a quote. These are the bright spots that we want to focus on in this series of employee portraits. Next in line is Lill Furudahl, librarian at the library in Sundsvall.
You might think that a librarian would get excited about books, but for Lill Furudahl, her choice of profession is about a completely different passion.
" The books are secondary, I'm not a bookworm. And if I read, it's mainly reportage books about darkness, war and injustice. On the other hand, I like to visit library buildings when I'm in other countries. What fascinates me, in addition to the fact that it is often magnificent architecture, is the very idea of libraries, i.e. the idea of democracy. Everyone can come and read and borrow and learn new things completely free of charge and without anything in return. I think that's beautiful and something we have to cherish.
Planking into the theatre
Then she admits that well, one or two fiction books do slip down sometimes. But the themes she chooses must also have darkness in them, such as "I went down to brother" and the other books in Karin Smirnoff's dark Norrland suite.
"Right now I'm reading Theft by Ann-Helén Laestadius. And I love culture like music and theater. I try to get into the audience rehearsals at the theatre as often as possible," she says.
Apples and old houses
Five years ago, she moved into an old 1920s villa in Sundsvall. Since then, she and her wife have been busy carefully renovating the house, something she enjoys doing. It seems to be a bit like that with Lill – that she is more passionate about the underlying process, what supports and supports than what is visible on the outside. It's not the books, it's the libraries. It's not the sport, it's the team spirit. It's not a house in top condition, it's the way to get there.
When Lill Furudahl chooses things that have shaped and inspired her, it becomes a democratic idea, a struggle, a beloved grandmother, a kind of apple and a living symbol of sisterhood and democracy.
Library
I like to visit the library when I come to a new place. These are usually fantastic buildings and a meeting place for all types of people, this applies to both old and new libraries. For example, there is a newly built cultural center in Skellefteå that houses the city library and is named after Sara Lidman, I would like to go and see that. Libraries are such powerful symbols of democracy and history and that appeals to me, like the New York Public Library, which I last visited last spring. There was also Virginia Woolf's cane and the teddy bear that was the model for Winnie the Pooh. That's fun.
Swedish women's national football team
I don't really like watching sports. Sport is not fun, but the Swedish women's national football team is a fantastic team. Men's football is going bad. The women's national team, on the other hand, inspires me with their sisterhood and their democracy and team spirit. They both play well and stand up for something more. It is clear that they have had to fight and that they take their responsibility as role models for the sport and the country seriously. They also fight for women and justice.
Grandmother
She fled here alone from Estonia during World War II as a teenager, disguised as a male sailor. She came via Finland and the ship sank off Ulvön, so there she made it ashore. It was dramatic. She was very close to me and I have been influenced by her a lot. She was so kind and open-minded. I'm becoming more and more interested in her story and my origins. She was also a librarian. Perhaps she has also influenced my choice of profession unconsciously in some way.
Women's Struggle
It's something that permeates everything for me. I always wear the gender glasses, you can't take them off once you've put them on. There used to be a big wave of women's struggle, when the Feminist Initiative was formed, but now it unfortunately feels like it has come far down on the politicians' agenda. But we must not forget how women have had to struggle, it is so easy to take things for granted. Just 150 years ago, women wouldn't even have been allowed to work at this university. We need to keep talking about the issue and not sweep it under the carpet.
Apple products
It may sound really cheesy, but it's one of my great interests. My father was a journalist and photographer and only worked with mac computers, since then the apple products, with their design, function and perfection have been something of a passion for me. So I'm a computer nerd at heart. If I had been a guy, I would probably have worked with web development or something similar, but I didn't have that self-confidence when I was choosing an education. By the way, my daughter's name is Siri.