Six people sat down for a fika, we were PhD students, lecturers, research associates and fellows from different departments and faculties. The conversations ranged from whether or not community was a useful word, how to deal with alcohol and drugs in interviews, to the difficulty of creating easy read versions of consent forms. After an hour we had all learnt something new, met new people, heard about people’s plans and worries and, importantly, we had continued to build a stronger community (that word…) around participatory research at the university.
Fika is a Swedish work place institution. Across the country, once or twice a day people stop work and sit down together for a cup of coffee (or tea) and possibly a biscuit. It is a chance to chat with colleagues, to talk about your day (or weekend), have a bit of a rant (if needed), or just an enjoyable conversation with whoever joins you. In my experience fika is often the starting point for new projects and connections, a chance to informally try out ideas with friendly colleagues and get to know one another beyond the everyday work flow. The word itself is probably a back slang of the Swedish word for coffee (Fi-ka/Ka-ffe), and although you might have all matters of biscuits, buns, cakes or drinks, fika without coffee would probably lead to some confusion in Sweden.
The Participatory Research Network (PRN) has been running regular fika meetings in a few different forms for the last year and from this spring we are organising a monthly online fika open to anyone interested in participatory research. It is an informal space and it doesn’t matter if you are a student or a professor, working in the professional service team or as a technician. Bring your own drink, snack, thoughts and curiosities and join us.
For anyone feeling like they want to take their fika skills to new levels, there are many Swedish biscuit, bun and cake recipes to try out! How about trying a failsafe kladdkaka?
Add our fika dates to your calendarDr Esbjörn Wettermark, Research Associate (Access Folk), Department of Music
