How can we create sustainable societies in a time of rapid change? From May 27 to June 9, 2026, community builders from all over Sweden will gather in Skellefteå to exchange knowledge, deepen their understanding, and engage in dialogue about the future of community development. Leading voices such as Johan Rockström, Mattias Klum, Helena Helmersson, Annika Winsth, and Kjell A. Nordström will be present.
How do we create sustainable societies in a time of rapid change? May 27–June 9 How do we build the society of the future together? On February 25, around 50 partners gathered in Skellefteå to take the next step toward Society Expo 2026—an event where people meet, ideas are tested, and new collaborations emerge.
At the intersection of industrial heritage, urban development, and the green transition of the future, Skellefteå Art Gallery presents artist Ingela Ihrman's work Landskapet kom först (The Landscape Came First) at the Scharin area in Ursviken as part of Society Expo 2026. By activating a place marked by human exploitation with a work that speaks of nature's absolute origins, the art gallery invites reflection on time and social responsibility.
On May 28, Society Expo 2026 will be inaugurated in Skellefteå. As part of the inauguration day, Skellefteå Municipality is inviting the public to an open inspiration program at Sara Kulturhus under the theme "Sustainability begins with knowledge."
Working together for climate-neutral cities by 2030
How is Skellefteå doing after Northvolt's fall?
Society Expo 2026 brings together international, national, and local meetings, conferences, and knowledge programs, alongside exhibitions, art, music, theater, and dance. For 14 days, Skellefteå will be transformed into a vibrant platform for dialogue, learning, and collaboration on some of the most complex social issues of our time. The programs differ in content, language, and target audience, but are united by a common focus: knowledge as a driving force in an ongoing social transformation.
Skellefteå Municipality, together with Skellefteå Museum and Skellefteå Kraft, will open SE26 Exhibition on May 27, 2026 . The exhibition highlights Skellefteå's social transformation and will be a central part of Society Expo 2026 (SE26) .
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Business start-ups and expansions are crucial to Sweden's competitiveness and the green transition. At the same time, they place high demands on municipalities, regions, and authorities—not least in terms of reception capacity, coordination, and the ability to scale social development in line with investments.
Planning for the 2026 Rural Parliament in Skellefteå is in full swing. The event will be held in conjunction with Society Expo 2026 and will be an important national meeting place for civil society, authorities, municipalities, regions, business, and politics.
During Society Expo 2026 , PlaceX Nordic ( June 2–3) will be held in Skellefteå—an international forum for learning, dialogue, and exchange of experiences on how places can be developed in times of rapid and complex social change.
A summary from water crisis to industrial revolution. In just over a decade, Skellefteå has gone from depopulation to becoming one of the country's fastest growing cities – and then back into crisis when the industrial giant Northvolt went bankrupt. Fasten your seatbelts for a rollercoaster ride of successes and setbacks against a backdrop of courage, cooperation, and trust.
When Skellefteå grew at record speed, opportunities and challenges arose. Society Expo 2026 will create a knowledge arena where experiences from this transition will be shared with Sweden and the world.
We invited to a creative workshop where around fifty participants gathered to shape Skellefteå’s Future Vision . Representatives from the municipality, local businesses, and the public sector collaborated to create a shared vision of a sustainable and interconnected Skellefteå.
How do we actually talk about the green transition – and why does language matter in terms of whether we succeed or fail?
Ahead of Society Expo, Solkraft is ready to deliver some of the most visible parts of the 2026 venue: the new exhibition boxes. The boxes are built in wood, with a focus on the possibility of reuse - which is fully in line with Society Expo's sustainability focus.
In the run-up to Society Expo 2026, the stage is being set and sustainability is not just a theme, but a principle that will permeate everything SE26 does. One of this year's most creative preparations comes from Solvik Folk High School, where students are currently working on creating large art flowers in recycled steel.
Today, October 22, our partners gathered at The Great Northern for an inspiring day about the future, collaboration and next steps in planning Society Expo 2026. Together, we reviewed where we are now in the implementation planning, and how we can continue to create value and participation for next year's big event. We would like to extend a warm thank you to everyone who participated.
One of the largest investments in the history of Skellefteå municipality is currently underway. With an investment of approximately SEK 1.4 billion, the port is being developed to meet the needs of the future. Larger ships, increased cargo volumes and completely new logistics solutions.
Do you have an idea to make Anderstorp's schoolyard more mobile for girls and non-binary youth ? Now you can apply for support through Mission to Move to test your idea in practice.
Today, stakeholders from schools, associations and businesses gathered to mobilize around Mission to Move - an initiative to make Anderstorp a district full of movement. The focus was on two themes: mental health among young girls and how we can arouse curiosity and commitment to Mission to Move.
Linn Wennberg, 21, who grew up in Moröbacke in Skellefteå, is currently studying architecture at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. After two years in the program, she is enjoying herself, and although she appreciates the capital, she sees herself moving back north in the future.
At Anderstorpsgymnasiet in Skellefteå, teaching is now interwoven with community projects and collaboration across course boundaries. In close collaboration with Society Expo 2026, students in the construction and civil engineering program will have the opportunity to contribute with both their knowledge and their commitment.
It started as an idea on a post-it note during a workshop in 2021. Four years later, Skellefteå Droneport is inaugurated - Sweden's first urban drone airport and one of Europe's most ambitious testbeds for drone technology.
On Sunday, May 25, 2025, the Nordanå area in Skellefteå was filled with life and movement when this year's Inflyttardag took place. The event, which was organized for the eleventh time by Skellefteå municipality and Welcome House, has become something of a tradition where newcomers to Skellefteå are welcomed and given the chance to get to know their new hometown a little better.
What happens when young people take the stage – not as participants, but as leaders? That question came to life when Society Summit Youth was held for the first time in Skellefteå. Fifteen young people from Västerbotten gathered to talk about mental health – and what society can actually do to help young people feel better.
What happens when societal actors come together to shape the future? The partner meeting at Campus Skellefteå was a concrete step in the development of Society Expo 2026 - an occasion where visions took shape and places took direction.
When Society Expo takes shape in Skellefteå in the summer of 2026, it's not just the content that captures visitors' attention - it's the space, the colors, the surfaces and the feeling. We can thank scenographer Åse Persson for much of that experience. With decades of experience and a heart that beats for both sustainability and artistic playfulness, she is the key person behind the atmosphere that will characterize the place during the expo.
During the management day on March 31, management groups within the municipality's administrations and companies gathered to look ahead. Through analyses, dialogues and future predictions, both the complexity of the present and the opportunities that exist when we act together - with knowledge, collaboration and innovation as driving forces.
Municipal Director Kristina Sundin Jonson meets Helena Renström, Project Director of Society Expo 2026, and interviews her about the work with SE26.
Skellefteå is facing its biggest challenge in the ongoing social transformation, following the redundancies at Boliden Rönnskär and the bankruptcy of Northvolt. At the same time, the site has a strong history of industrial innovation and adaptation, which has made it a place that is naturally equipped for social transformation. Through a joint effort between Skellefteå Municipality, Exploratoriet, Skellefteå Kraft, Skellefteå Museum and Tekniska museet, new learning environments are now being created to equip the next generation of engineers, researchers and entrepreneurs - from an early age.
Despite a week characterized by news about Northvolt and Boliden Rönnskär, it was an atmosphere of strong determination, faith in the future and a genuine desire to contribute to the transformation of society that permeated SE26's first partner meeting.
Right now, we in Skellefteå are receiving many questions about what’s happening here. The short answer? A great deal. We are acting swiftly and decisively to harness all the ideas, resources, and investments that this unique location enables. And we are doing so with sustainability as our top priority – from large-scale production of fossil-free aviation fuel and electrification of mining to the development of urban drone transport and much more. Unfortunately, I have also come across those who feel sorry for us in Skellefteå, following everything that has happened around Northvolt. Understandable, but that is not how we see ourselves. This region has a long tradition of both established and emerging industries that have played a major role in building Sweden’s welfare. The conditions for sustainable production in Skellefteå remain very strong.
Every place has a story to tell – and at Campus Skellefteå, the goal is to create a space where the ideas of the future can take shape. An outdoor stage will serve as the starting point for creative young talents from Edelvik Folk High School in collaboration with one of Sweden's most experienced set designers. How exciting does that sound?
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At SE26, innovation, ambition, and a strong desire to create a better future come together. This is why the national innovation program ShiftSweden is a natural fit for SE26. As the name suggests, ShiftSweden focuses on three crucial shifts: circular business models, sustainable transport alternatives, and the integration of the built environment with mobility. ShiftSweden is part of Impact Innovation , Sweden's major innovation initiative. It targets organizations that want to be part of shaping the vision of tomorrow’s attractive and accessible communities.
When Society Expo 2026 takes place in Skellefteå, visitors will have the opportunity to explore various areas of the city where sustainability, innovation, and culture intertwine. Society Expo 2026 is an international platform that brings people and ideas together to create a sustainable future. By highlighting multiple key locations, it offers an experience that appeals to locals, entrepreneurs, researchers, partners, students, and tourists. SE26 shows how we can make sustainable societal development a part of both everyday life and the future.
Not everything that drives our progress is necessarily measurable. Not everything can be quantified or assigned an immediate value. And that’s a good thing! How else could we, as a society, continue to innovate without art, which allows us to imagine what the next step might look like? But first, we must reconcile with the idea that public art is more than just bronze monuments to our past.
A part of the solution to one of aviation’s biggest challenges may soon be found on a peninsula near Skellefteå. This ambitious initiative could provide a major boost to the aviation industry’s journey toward sustainability.
The flying cars of 20th-century sci-fi dreams turned out to be a poor idea. Instead, we got drones. And the potential of these battery-powered steel birds extends far beyond quirky house photos for estate agents. Soon, drones will become airborne colleagues for healthcare workers, logistics companies, and much more.
If we were to distil the very essence of SE26 into a compact and high-tech stock cube, it would take shape at the Arctic Center of Energy (ACE). With its focus on societal transformation and cutting-edge energy solutions, ACE is a physical manifestation of SE26 – a place where stakeholders from various sectors come together to jointly build the electrified society of the future.
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