Uppsala

Uppsala joined the ICORN in 2010, but Uppsala started out as a Safe Haven for persecuted writers in 2008 in collaboration with Swedish PEN. Since then Uppsala has hosted three Guest Writers: Taslima Nasrin, (Bangladesh), Anisur Rahman (Bangladesh) and Sedigheh Vasmaghi (Iran).

Uppsala was the third city in Sweden to be a Safe Haven for writers at risk and to join ICORN, and provides ICORN writers with a safe place for continued creative and literary activity. The city works along with the Public Library Organization who is an important network partner to provide a platform for guest writers during their stay in Uppsala. The cultural strategy officer and coordinator in Uppsala, Annika Strömberg, was elected as a member of the ICORN board in 2012, during the ICORN assembly in Stockholm. 
 
Uppsala has a population of more than 200 000 inhabitants. The size of the city provides good preconditions for building networks and for introducing the writers in the local cultural life. The city has two theatres, fourteen public libraries, one concert hall and several museums and a lively cultural life. Uppsala also has a long academic tradition as it is host to Scandinavia’s oldest university.

The city also co-operates with the adult educational associations in arranging literary events. Every autumn there is an international spoken word festival in Uppsala, arranged by the Regina theatre.
 
Literary/artistic resources in the city: 
Public library organisation with international literay scene
Uppsala Writers' Society
Literature center in Uppsala city and region
Uppsala University
Uppsala City Theatre
Regina Theatre
English Bookshop
Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation