On 25 June 1947 – in time for Natur & Kultur’s 25th anniversary – the publishing company’s founder and indisputable leader Johan Hansson established the Foundation Natur & Kultur. Just as his business acumen was governed by a combination of idealism and commercialism, the same guiding stars came to permeate the language of the Foundation’s statutes: the demand for profitability coexisted alongside pronounced objectives to contribute to and advance a number of cultural and public interest projects, and to foster non-profit objectives. Rooted in the popular movements of the early 1900s and an age of intense involvement in the struggle against Nazism and other totalitarian currents, it was natural to advocate liberal education as a foundation and set out in the statutes that the Foundation should “counteract totalitarian ideas and forms of government and foster economic and political freedom”.
In its capacity as a foundation, Natur & Kultur is a unique, independent force in the Swedish book industry. Without private owners and unconstrained by other established spheres of power, the Foundation can be an active and self-determining player. The Foundation perseveres in its efforts to follow the idealistic objectives laid down by our founder. The Boards have historically interpreted the Foundation’s statutes in various ways according to contemporary needs and the organisation’s direction, but its intention has always been to serve in the spirit of Johan Hansson.
Natur & Kultur’s Culture Prize
Natur & Kultur’s largest and most prestigious prize is the Culture Prize, which has been awarded every year since 1974. The prize money is now SEK 300,000 and will be awarded to one or more individuals who have made an important contribution to the field of culture.
Natur & Kultur’s Teacher Award
Natur & Kultur’s Teacher Award was established in 1997 and the prize money is now SEK 150,000. The theme for the Teacher Award 2009 is to counteract “we-and them” attitudes in school, but also to defend democracy, ethics and human values as we near the general elections in 2010. The knowledge that increasingly more foreigner-hostile groups are deliberately targeting students with their propaganda makes it even more imperative to resist these attitudes, and to teach teachers and students how to interpret and assess the intolerance that lies behind much of the “we-and-them” rhetoric.
Johan Hansson Prize
In the autumn of 2008, a brand new award was instigated with the objective of further confirming the Foundation’s ambition to “support and encourage public debate”. The prize of SEK 100,000 will be awarded every year to a writer who has, in the true spirit of Johan Hansson, contributed to the public debate. The prize will be awarded at the International Book and Library Fair in Göteborg.
Res Publica
Res Pulica is a joint project: talks have been arranged over the past years in a number of European countries to discuss issues concerning the realisation of the concept of res publica and the vision of a common good. The Institute for Jewish Policy Research and Foundation Natur & Kultur collaborate in coordinating these talks and the project’s principal sponsor is the Ford Foundation.
Natur & Kultur’s Translator Award
Each year the Swedish Academy presents Natur & Kultur’s Translator Award for SEK 80,000.
Expo
For the past few years, the Foundation has collaborated with Expo, a foundation that not only defends democracy and freedom of speech but actively maps and documents racist and right-wing extremist movements and parties in Sweden.
Scholarship
For some time now, Foundation Natur & Kultur has contributed research grants to Swedish scientists. Every year three grants valued at between SEK 300,000 and 400,000 are awarded to Boarddesignated research areas.
The Johan Hansson Scholarship
Sweden’s most prominent literary award is the Augustpriset, to which six authors are each year nominated in the three categories. In recognition of the publishing company’s authors who have achieved the honourable nomination, the Johan Hansson Scholarship for SEK 20,000 is awarded in connection with the Augustpriset.
