About the friendship of Tord Magnuson, Ahmed Abdirahman and princess Christina.
One is legendary in Swedish business, married to a princess and has a network of contacts within Sweden's elite that most people can only dream about.
The other came from Tensta and from a furious civil war in Somalia - and founded Järvaveckan.
On Thursday, at Järvaveckan, it is just over ten years since Tord Magnuson and Ahmed Abdirahman met for the first time.
At a lunch restaurant in New York, the two men accidentally ended up in the same company. Even Tord's wife, Princess Christina, attended lunch.
- I began to talk to him, and he said he was from Tensta, Tord remembers.
- It was very exciting. There were two completely different worlds that met. I'm from Tensta, Tord and Christina are from the inner city, Ahmed says.
Ahmed told that he had lived in Tensta for eight years before moving to New York - but never having been home with a Swedish family.
- It was very difficult to get into Swedish society. I had lived for eight years in Sweden without ever being invited to a Swedish dinner. I didn't know what Swedish Christmas was for anything. They wanted to change that, Ahmed says.
Tord immediately invited Ahmed to dinner in his home in Stockholm.
How was dinner in Stockholm?
- It was nice and cozy, we had good conversation. It was great too, actually. Only we three. It was very beautiful, Ahmed says.
- We began to peek into each other's worlds, Tord says.
The two men soon started do plans for integration projects in Sweden - and one of the first became a dinner at Ross Tensta Gymnasium, where more than one hundred people from the suburb and inner city were to meet.
- Should you go into an environment you aren't so used to, then you wonder how to dress, says Tord.
As a result, all participants from the center came to Tensta with jeans and jackets - while the participants from the suburb had dark blue suit, shirt and tie.
- It was a very fun gathering of expectations about how to look. But humor always helps, Tord says.
For Ahmed it was uncomfortable to go to Stockholm's inner city, and Tord felt the same thing about visiting Tensta - something that has now changed.
- You get a completely different security in yourself, and become part of society. This applies in both directions. I don't need to show Tord around in Tensta anymore, he comes by himself. He knows many of my friends, and I know many of Christina and Tord's friends.
Both of them emphasize the importance of feeling at home in both suburbs and cities.
- It's great fun, that's what it's supposed to be. It's a replacement. That is why we need each other. It's only possible to do together. That is why we make Järvaveckan, so that more people get such opportunities from both sides.
In 2018, Järvaveckan is bigger than ever before.
Tord and Ahmed's friendship shows no signs of cooling.
- We have had contact every week, sometimes every day. I have learned a lot from him, he has probably learned some from me. In particular, we've learned to break through something that's unknown, and that's what many of us in Sweden need to do. Dare to take a step into something different. It is very satisfying, says Tord.
Tord Magnuson och Ahmed Abdirahman om sin vänskap
