- It feels incredibly exciting, honorable and fun. From being a Bergsjön child, from the street, to becoming Sweden's reading ambassador - I can hardly find the right words, says Bagir Kwiek in a press release.
In 2013, Bagir Kwiek initiated the exhibition We are Roma! which has been shown all over Sweden. He has also written the fairy tale It was once what was not, and worked on documentation of Roman testimonies from the Holocaust.
It is precisely the Roma perspective that he will take with him into the role of reading ambassador.
- I have with me the Roma thinking, that it is the family and the people that are the most important. I will ask the Romans what they want and what interests them. I also want to be a bridge builder between the Roma and the majority society, he says.
"Audiobooks important"
The Reading Ambassador is appointed by the Culture Council and has the task of disseminating reading and promoting equal opportunities to find literature.
- It is important to be in places where young people are. In recreation centers, schools ... It is important not to underestimate young people, they are interested. I also think audiobooks are important - the spoken word for reaching out is important, especially for a people who have not always gone to school and are not always literate.
The new reading ambassador is appointed for the period 2019 to 2021 and succeeds Johan Anderblad.