Radio Rasant and The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award

In Winter 2002 the most well known author of childrens books in Sweden, Astrid Lindgren, died. To honour her and to strenghten childrens rights and children and youth literature in the world the Swedish Government launched the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. They advised the Ministry of Cultural Affairs to create the regulations and to be responsible for the event managemant. An independend jury by Swedish authors and publishers have to view the applications.
Every year in March the new winner or winners are published in Vimmerby where the family house of the Lindgrens are. The Prize is given in May or June each year at Skansen in Stockholm by Her Royal Highness, Princess Viktoria of Sweden.

Since the first year in 2003 Radio Rasant is reporting about this prize and the winners. We read the winners books in advance. We take interviews with the responsibles, with  members of the Swedish Ministry of Cultural Affairs and with the President and chairman of the Astrid Lindgren jury, the principal of the Stockholm International Library, Lerry Lempert. Sometimes we get the opportunity to take an interview with the prize winners as well and try to find out how they will spent the money they have got.

In May 2004 we had the opportunity to be guests of the prize winning ceremony in Stockholm. Together with students from the German School Stockholm we created a two hours radio programme about the prize, the winners and their childrens literature. This broadcast had been relayed several times in Germany, Austria and abroad.

There are often student meetings due to these reports. That means that the students from schools in Sweden or from schools of the prize winners countries will meet us to create a common programme. That causes a new bridgebuilding view of the prize and  new  intercultural learning possibilities for the students.

This crossboarding aspect are of special interest in this year. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs invited members of Radio Rasant to come to Stockholm again. They will be involved in the official winners visit schedule. The students have to present their work with the literature of the winners to the winners. This event will be between the 29th May and 1st June 2006. It is a great  challenge to us.

 You will find further information in Swedish and English language about the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award on the website of ALMA at http://www.alma.se