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Seminars

The annual Engelsberg Seminar is a Swedish institution with international hallmarks. Since 1999, the foundation has brought together world-leading scholars and thinkers to discuss history, the age we live in and the future.

Themes such as the future of religion, media and media power, and the return of geopolitics have generated ideas that have reverberated around the world. For Swedish academics and journalists, the Engelsberg Seminar provides unique opportunities to establish international contacts, while intellectuals from other countries can develop their attachment to and understanding of Sweden.

2025: The History of the Middle East – Empires of Faith

The Engelsberg Seminar 2025 aimed to shed light on the history of the Middle East, highlighting its boundary-transcending importance…

2024: The Market

How have markets evolved throughout history, and what lessons can we glean from their development?

2023: Leadership and Statecraft

The Engelsberg Seminar 2023 revolved around the intricate world of leadership and statecraft. With the rise of China, Russia’s actio…

2022: Liberty

What does the concept mean today and what must we do to preserve the freedoms previous generations fought for?

2021: Man and technology

The word technology is often used to describe tools and practical skills. But technology is present in many different contexts.

The Engelsberg Seminar 1999–2020

Since 1999, the annual Engelsberg Seminar has brought together world-leading scholars and thinkers.

Other seminars

Swedish Defence and Security Policy over 100 Years: 1925–2025

The timing of the seminar was not chosen at random. In late spring 2025, it will be exactly one century since the Defence Act of 192…

THE HISTORY OF ALCHEMY

Since the 19th century, alchemy has been widely misunderstood and misrepresented by scholars, often dismissed as a rigid, quasi-scie…

THE CHILD AND THE BOOK – PERSPECTIVES ON YOUNG PEOPLE’S READING

Reports of a literacy crisis affecting children and young people, from preschool to university level, were coming in almost daily. A…

THE HISTORY OF THE MIND – From Psyche to Psychology

Is the soul a relic of the past, or is it making a return to the human story? What does the view on dreaming in shamanism and Buddhi…

DE PROFUNDIS – On the Transmutations of the Underworld

“De profundis” is the Latin name for Psalm 130, ‘out of the depths’. It captures both the focus and the intent of this seminar – to …

Understanding Delphi – On the Importance of Divination in Ancient Greece

Ancient Greek myths have as strong a hold as ever on the imagination of modern scholars. In archaic and classical Greece, Delphi, th…

Mental Health: Historical, Current, and Future Perspectives

Explore how societal views on mental health have evolved over time and what the future may hold.

Arts and Crafts

The Arts & Crafts movement has had a renaissance. Its influence on our time is becoming more and more apparent considering our renew…

Other seminars

Building on the spirit of the Engelsberg Seminar, the foundation also arranges other seminars and conferences in Sweden and abroad.

Projects

Museums of the World

Since 2014, the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation has organised the international seminar series Museums of the World..

Munich Security Conference

The Ax:son Johnson Institute for Statecraft and Diplomacy is honored to have hosted a side event during the 60th Munich Security Con…

February’s Roundtable on Religion

February’s Roundtable on Religion at Halewell was dedicated to discussing the religious idea and phenomenon of Theurgy.

Hilma af Klint – a series of seminars

The foundation has arranged a series of seminars on the ideas, art and history of religion of the 20th century.

The Ideology Project

Radicalism and populism, authoritarian state capitalism and political Islam are some of the isms that today present a challenge.

Research and education

Applied history is a key theme in the foundation’s research and education projects.

Publishing

In a changing media landscape, the foundation provides content about science, culture, education and tradition.

AJI

The Ax:son Johnson Institute for Statecraft and Diplomacy carries out research and education activities in statecraft.