Royal Colloquium, day 4

Motiv: Participants in the 11th Royal Colloquium. Photo:
On Thursday 23 May, the Royal Colloquium came to a conclusion with a collective discussion and a visit to the Kiruna mine.
The King began the day by thanking all the participants and then handing over to Peter Sylwan. He summarised the previous day's discussions and a final discussion began. The King ended the session in Abisko by thanking all the participants for their contributions and for the talks that were given.

After this, the group travelled to Kiruna to visit the Kiruna mine. The Kiruna mine, Kiirunavaara, or in north Sami Gironvárri, is the largest underground mine in the world. The first known ore test from the mountain was taken as long ago as 1660, but it was not until the end of the 19th century that mining took off. In 1890, the company Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB) was founded and the mine has been in operation ever since.

During lunch, in the mine 540 metres down, representatives from LKAB spoke about the mine and its history, and about moving the city of Kiruna.

There is a mining museum 540 metres underground, which the group visited:

The bus journey up from the mine:
The King and Elisabeth Kessler at Abisko Scientific Research Station. Photo:


Elisabeth Kessler and Anders Karlqvist are jointly responsible for organising the Royal Colloquium. How long has it taken to plan the event?
"Planning has essentially been going on since the Royal Colloquium at Gripsholm Castle in May 2011. The King is, together with Anders and myself, actively involved in the preparatory work. Anders and I discuss the content and focus and we present a proposal to The King, which we then discuss. The King offers suggestions in relation to the content and the participants."

How do you decide on the participants?
"Some participants come every time, others are invited depending on the current theme. We receive suggestions for participants through our contacts, but also by reading current literature. It's quite a long process, as we aim to achieve a mix of participants so they can exchange experiences with one another. Researchers are easiest for us to bring on board; representatives from industry can be harder. We're really pleased that we got Leif Johansson to participate last year, for example."
What happens now that the Royal Colloquium has finished for another year?
"The participants will send their manuscripts to me. They are based on what was discussed over the four days and new ideas that came up during the exchanges with other participants. The manuscripts are edited and compiled into one document, with an introduction by The King. This is then distributed as widely as possible through the participants and their networks, via scientific libraries and research journals."
Are you satisfied with the days?
"I'm extremely satisfied! Both with the discussions and that we achieved what we planned to. Furthermore, the days ended with a positive message about how the future might look."