About
About our Trip
Between August 4th and September 16th 2010, Steven Bland and his companion Hacon Bickerton cycled over a thousand miles visiting the fjords and cities of Sweden (and a bit of Norway).
This little movie tells you a bit about how we got to doing this project…
Our motivation…
A new book called the Spirit Level spells out in convincing and shocking detail the statistically proven relationship between a whole range of social ills (for example crime, bad health, teenage pregnancies, and lack of trust) and levels of inequality within developed countries. It is inequality, not GDP, which appears to determine a countries ability to tackle the long-standing and fundamental social problems we face. The most unequal countries: the USA, UK, and Singapore, fare many times worse than the most equal: Sweden, Norway, Finland and Japan.
Two people intrigued and challenged by the book’s findings are setting off on a journey across Sweden to seek answers to the question: What is it like to live in a less unequal country? What is the human side to this story? And are there things we can learn to take back to the UK in a period of new political and economic realities?
The exploration will take the cyclists thousands of miles through the cities and fjords of Sweden; wild camping, staying with strangers, talking with ordinary people and academics alike. They will learn what it is about these countries that mean they record such high levels of what are considered to be social ‘goods’, and uncovering any negative side affects that might ensue.
The adventurers will record their six week journey via video diary, photo-blog, interview and finally, documentary film. The material will tell their story, and that of Sweden, in an interwoven mosaic of visual media. Filming on the bikes, and off them, in town hall, house, and business; the resulting material, created and distributed both during and after the adventure, will chart an exciting adventure of social research, cultural exchange, exploration and determination.
To follow their progress, sign up to the blog to receive updates. They’ll be uploading a written blog, video diary, an interview log and photo diary:
Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/ExploreEquality
On facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=135762059790707
On Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/exploringequality/
On youtube: http://www.youtube.com/ExploringEquality
