International Day from Dagens Nyheter

Erik Esbjörnsson and Peter Wallensteen discuss Africa

When Dagens Nyheter's Utrikesdag - international day - was held for the seventh year in a row, the line to get into Konserthuset, where the event was held, reached around Hötorget square in Stockholm. People had come to hear the newspaper's foreign correspondents discuss the situation in the Middle East, Africa and Mexico, among other places.

"It was a full house for every part of the program, our only regret was that there weren't more seats to offer," says Susanne Hamne, who has been project manager for international day since its beginnings. "I think we've had about 600 people here at any one time which is great, of course."

The event has evolved in several ways over the years, including more emphasis by Dagens Nyheter on video and social media in conjunction with international day.

"We've produced short documentaries that have been shown together with different parts of the program during the day," says Hamne. "Readers could also follow everything that was happening live at dn.se and ask questions in real-time for the first time. International day was shown on educational channel Kunskapskanalen and we have a cooperation with Swedish universities so the day was broadcast live for teachers throughout the country."

It was the first year that tickets were sold - previously the event was free - but Hamne says this didn't seem to affect attendance.

"There has been a huge interest in international day starting from the first year already," she says. "We noticed that it's good for the foreign correspondents to meet the public, and vice versa. It's also important for us to continue to develop the event, and with more channels we can reach more readers."

Linda Flood, New York correspondent for Dagens Nyheter for the past five months, participated as a speaker for the first time. Her part of the program was about the challenges faced by U.S. President Obama.

"The audience asked many good questions, a lot about the disparities in the U.S. and about immigration from the southern borders," says Flood. "It's fun to meet readers while you're standing out in the lobby, many who've lived in New York themselves and come over to share their experiences."

In conjunction with international day, Dagens Nyheter has a photo exhibit in Gallerian, Stockholm's main central shopping center. The exhibit features photographs from different parts of the world taken by Dagens Nyheter photographers. The exhibit will continue through June 5.