Crown Princess Victoria celebrates centenary of student organization

Organized students activities have been important in the Nordic nations and are still culturally important for most universities. In Sweden, the Swedish National Union of Students works as an umbrella organisation of students’ unions at higher education facilities in Sweden. On March 19th 2022, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden spoke at their 100th anniversary.

Representatives from various student unions, student organizations, educational associations and higher education institutions participated in Saturday’s celebration, together with government ministers and politicians. The Crown Princess gave a speech during the evening.

Crown Princess Victoria said: “It is an honour for me to be here tonight to celebrate Sweden’s United Student Unions’ 100th anniversary. Students are not a homogeneous group. They have different opinions, values and experiences. They carry different dreams for the future. And they live and study under very different conditions, depending on where they are in the world”.

Her Royal Highness continued: “You, who are committed to students’ conditions. You, who choose to invest your time and energy in creating change in a democratic way. You, who advocate for your peers, and who nurture the trust that it entails: you are an asset to our country! And when we today celebrate Sweden’s united student unions’ centenary tonight – yes, then we will also celebrate you, and all those who have gone before us, making this possible”.

The celebration took place at the Clarion Hotel in Stockholm. The Crown Princess herself has been a member of the association during her time as a student.

There was also a lot of attention paid to Crown Princess Victoria’s fashion pick for the event, a striking evening gown in black and pink.

As of 2012, the Swedish National Union of Students has around 47 affiliated students’ unions, gathering around 270,000 students. The union was founded in 1921 and celebrated 100 years last year, but could only hold its celebration this year due to the pandemic. The association is financed through membership, but also receives many millions of Swedish crowns annually in state support to be able to maintain its activity.