Sektor3

About Sektor3

Sektor3 is a think tank whose mission is to raise awareness of and knowledge about civil society and the issues it faces. We believe that civil society is an intrinsic and important part of Swedish society which should be encouraged and supported. We produce reports, run seminars and stimulate debate about what civil society means and what sort of civil society Sweden should have in the future.

Organisation
Sektor3 is a non-profit association whose purpose and activities are governed by statutes. Organisations who support the mission of Sektor3 become members and the annual meeting is the association’s highest decision-making body, where every member organisation has a voice. To ensure independence in the choice of topics with which Sektor3 engages the annual meeting has no influence over such decisions, but simply decides on the overall direction and budget.

Funding
Sektor3’s activities are financed by its members. All members pay an annual fee and can also individually agree with the association on any additional financial support that they will provide towards the activities of the association.

Member organisations
Arbetsgivaralliansen, Arbetsgivarföreningen KFO, Bygdegårdarnas Riksförbund, Coompanion Sverige, Ekobanken, Famna, Folkbildningsförbundet, Folkets Hus och Parker, Folksam, Fonus, Forum för frivilligt socialt arbete, Goodgame, HSB, Ibn Rushd, IOGT-NTO, Kooperativa Förbundet, KFUM Sverige, Kooperation Utan Gränser, Ledarinstitutet, LSU – Sveriges ungdomsorganisationer, NTF, OK Ekonomisk förening, Passalen, Riksbyggen, Riksteatern, Rädda Barnen, Sensus studieförbund, Scouterna, Sveriges Kristna Råd, Sveriges Muslimska Råd, Sveriges Ungdomsråd samt Ungdomens nykterhetsförbund.

Board members elected at the annual meeting on 10th May 2011
Chair: Mats Bernerstedt
Eva Nordström
Linn Matíc
Richard Bengtsson
Per-Åke Lundin

For further information, please contact: info@sektor3.se

Civil Society

Beyond the individual household people speak of three different sectors existing in society. Two of these are quite easy to describe – the state (activities in the public sphere) and business (business activities under private management). Civil society is the third sector, and is different to both of these, although some of its activities may overlap with the public or the private sectors.

The most important characteristics of civil society in Sweden are a high degree of voluntary participation, and activities which are (in most cases) governed by members who share common interests or values. “Civil Society” encompasses such different areas as social enterprise, voluntary organisations, social movements and non-profit organisations. It is difficult to define precisely as it is something which responds to the perceived needs in society using the energy and passion of individuals in creative ways. Foundations, associations and co-operatives are all part of civil society, as are informal networks and meetings, little league football, religious associations and foundation-run independent schools. Civil society not only forms the basis of a functioning society, it also represents a significant part of the national economy and plays an important role in the lives of individuals.

Civil society in Sweden consists of around 200,000 organisations,- voluntary, co-operative and foundations. When the number of members of these organisations is added up it amounts to around 32 million. 48% of Swedes state that they are involved in some kind of voluntary organisation.