About Anna Charlotta

Feeling part of a larger community has always been important to me. My political involvement started as a teenager and it was obvious to me that we should join what is now the European Union; why should we be outside something that we are already geographically part of? At the age of 15, I wrote an essay in school about NATO with the title "Bla bla is better than bang bang".

In addition, I often saw it as a value in itself not to do what was always expected of me. To break prejudices. I still do that. As a teenager in politically red Blekinge, I became a member of the Moderate Party. As a moderate, I was active in refugee issues, feminism and traveled around Africa. Despite the extra pounds on my body, I trained as an aerobics instructor.

As a sought-after communications consultant after many years in politics, I moved from Sweden to South Africa. And here I am now, with one foot in each country. With clients and assignments in Sweden and abroad. The best of both worlds if you ask me.

With a conviction that conversation and unity are good, it is somewhat strange that I devoted so many years to politics, including as a political expert and press secretary for Carl Bildt and Anders Borg. This is because a basic component of politics is based on conflict; to show that the opponent's description of reality is - if not completely wrong - then at least impossible to do anything about with the opponent's proposed reforms. But the years in politics taught me a lot; about the world, communication, conflicts, crisis management, and the importance of accuracy in documentation and in contact with the media. And then there was my search for excitement and speed in life. I got that through politics.

There is a liberation in challenging the expected. So I like to do that privately, but also professionally with the clients I work with. When they say "we would like to do this project" or "we did this last year", I usually ask "why?". Always with a smile. And then we take it from there, together.

As a freelance writer, a regular contributor to the editorial page of Svenska Dagbladet over the years and author of the book "South Africa: On the other side of the rainbow", my ambition has been - and still is - to portray contrasts in a vivid and thought-provoking way. I like to bring people, emotions and facts together, with the aim of shedding more light or clarity on complex situations. Good communication helps people cope better with different situations and communities in life. It is a success factor for most people, both privately and professionally.