The Swedish town of Lulea, home to some 80,000 inhabitants, has launched a campaign encouraging residents, who are reputed to be introverts, to stark talking to each other.
In a video posted on social networks, residents of Lulea, located 150 kilometres (93miles) south of the Arctic Circle, with stern faces suddenly light up when they meet a passer-by who greets them.
The video is accompanied by a message: “Saying hi to your neighbours is a small thing but research shows that it can contribute to social bonds and has a positive impact on health, safety and well-being.”
Asa Koski, a social strategist with the municipality who is behind the campaign, told AFP that the message has been displayed on buses and buildings in the city since October 31, and the campaign will run for four weeks.
“Swedish people can be a bit inward … We need to connect with each other and this is a way to create relationships
“Here it’s the opposite of Spain, where you are outside a lot, you talk to people, you sit on benches, you have a collective life outside,” she said.
Local schools are also organising screenings of the video, and Koski explains surveys have showed, that people aged…
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