Stockholm Philanthropy Symposium (SPS) was founded in 2012 by O. Roger Svensson, a Swedish-American businessman, with the objective of enhancing philanthropic engagement in Sweden. In 2015, the organization became an independent foundation and was named Stiftelsen Stockholm Philanthropy Symposium.
Entering its twelfth year in 2024, the Stockholm Philanthropy Symposium aims to provide a unique space for “Engaged Philanthropy,” a forum for dialogue, new ideas, networking and to encourage cross-border collaboration in the philanthropic field. Past symposia have brought together several hundred participants, including leaders of business, NGOs, government, academia, philanthropy, the arts, next-generation philanthropists, family foundation managers, individual donors, and professional partners.
To map and discuss philanthropy’s role in the development of Sweden, the Symposium has featured speakers such as Melinda Gates; Gunhild Stordalen; Jane Goodall; Dame Stephanie Shirley, The British Government’s Founding Ambassador for Philanthropy; Matthew Bishop, author and NY Chief Business Writer, The Economist; Alex Buffett Rozek, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Learning by Giving Foundation (great-nephew of Warren Buffett); and Hans Rosling, co-founder, Gapminder Foundation, among others.
The SPS is working with a number of global institutions to develop close partnerships. The purpose of these partnerships is to build a comprehensive knowledge base and also to help spread the solutions and recommendations as widely as possible in the years to come.
Our advisory board is made up of a cross-section of well-known Swedish philanthropists, European foundation heads, and businessmen. The members serve as a sounding board, a source of ideas and expertise providing advice and recommendations. They all have one common goal, to educate and engage the new generation of philanthropists.