Our Sponsorships

Picture Today Inspire Tomorrow

Picture Today Inspire Tomorrow is a unique photography project, getting millions of people around the world to share and reflect on their own lives and learn from the lives of others. On May 15, 2012, people all over the world – amateur and professional photographers, photojournalists, artists, media groups, NGOs, educational institutions, social networks… in fact, anyone interested – will be invited to take photographs to illustrate the energy of one single day. The resulting gigantic photo collection will be given direction, structure and context, making it a relevant portrait of today, for tomorrow.

Picture Today Inspire Tomorrow is the brainchild of Expressions of Humankind, a Sweden-based non-profit foundation. Ericsson is the founding partner for the project. Several boards and councils support the foundation, with members including Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, entrepreneur and adventurer Sir Richard Branson, and Professor Harriet Wallberg-Henriksson, President of Sweden’s medical university, the Karolinska Institute. Ericsson has a representative in the technical advisory council that supervises the technical structure, security, user interface and global accessibility of the platforms.

Made possible by the Networked Society

Technology is allowing us to interact, innovate and share knowledge in completely new ways, and is changing the way we think. People are empowered, business is enhanced and society is more connected than ever. Picture Today Inspire Tomorrow displays the human aspects of the Networked Society that we’re just beginning to explore. Photographs today are less about memories, and more about a universal language for communication and sharing. ADAY.org is a perfect example of how the connected world can bring people together, to share knowledge and experiences in a totally new way. That is why Ericsson is proud to be the founding partner.

Read more about the project at ADAY.org or here on Ericsson.com

Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12

The Volvo Ocean Race is the world’s toughest round-the-world sailing challenge, covering more than 72,000km, with stops in 10 cities on six continents. Competitors in the 2011-2012 race weave across the globe. After starting in Alicante, Spain, they sail via Cape Town in South Africa to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, and then to Sanya, China; Auckland, New Zealand; Itajaí, Brazil; Miami, US; Lisbon, Portugal; and Lorient, France. The event ends with an in-port race in Galway, Ireland, in July 2012.

After participating in the 2005-2006 and 2008-2009 Volvo Ocean Races, and winning the latter event with its International crew on board Ericsson 4, Ericsson has taken on a more specialized role as technology partner and official supplier of next-generation IP networks.The race generates enormous amounts of multimedia content, including photos and videos, which can now be streamed from boats to the race villages using Ericsson’s high-capacity network. The network also allows journalists onsite to deliver their stories more quickly, enables on-shore boat teams to work online more efficiently, and helps fans access their favorite applications online.

In recognition of the importance of innovative technology, Ericsson will present a trophy for the best yacht design. The winner of the prize will be announced at the race finish in Galway, Ireland, in July 2012.

Read more about the race here: www.volvooceanrace.org

Ericsson IP Networking serving regatta stopovers

Ericsson brings action closer to race fans

Paralympics

The Swedish Sports Organization for the Disabled and the Swedish Paralympic Committee organize and help fund sports for people with disabilities. Founded in 1969, the combined organization includes 450 clubs and 40,000 members, of whom about 25,000 are active in sports. The Paralympic Games are disability groups’ equivalent of the Olympic Games, attracting almost 4,000 athletes from around the world. The Swedish organization usually puts together a strong team for the event. At the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, the Swedish team won 21 medals, and at the 2008 event in Beijing, China, they won 12 medals. Swedes will compete in 12 sports at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, UK.

Disabled is just a word

At Ericsson, we believe everyone can contribute to society. And we believe that communication brings people closer together and increases their acceptance of differences. By supporting the Swedish Paralympic team, we can help to break down the walls of prejudice and make the world see that disabled people are more than able. Ericsson is the Swedish Paralympic team’s communications partner, providing mobile-communication solutions that enable the competitors to have their own blogs before, during and after the games.

Follow the team at: www.handikappidrott.se

Nobel Media

Nobel Media develops and manages programs, events, publishing, productions, and digital and broadcast media rights for the Nobel Prizes. The company spreads knowledge about the achievements recognized by the Nobel Prizes, and shares the Nobel Laureates’ inspirational stories with a global audience. The company's media portfolio includes Nobelprize.org, the official website of the Nobel Prize, and production of official television programs covering the Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies in Stockholm and Oslo, the Nobel Banquet, Nobel documentaries and the Nobel Prize Concert. Its activities and website reach millions of people all over the world.

As a partner to Nobel Media, Ericsson supports the organization’s initiatives. Since 2008, Ericsson has been a proud sponsor of the Nobel Prize Winners series of TV programs related to the Nobel Prize, Nobel Laureates and their work. Ericsson’s sponsorship has also included the programs Nobel Laureates 2011, Nobel Laureates 2010, Nobel Highlights (2009) and Nobel Highlights (2008).

In preparation for NEST: The Networked Society Forum, hosted by Ericsson in Hong Kong on November 11-13, 2011, Nobel Media engaged Harry Kroto, 1996 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, as one of the discussion leaders for the forum, which addresses the potential of ICT. At NEST 2011, ICT leaders, world-renowned professors, top politicians and inspirational global leaders gathered to discuss: “How can ICT shape the future of learning?”

The Ericsson Globe

Ericsson is the proud naming partner of the Ericsson Globe, the largest spherical building in the world. The Ericsson Globe, a national arena and outstanding landmark in the Swedish capital of Stockholm, can hold more than 16,000 spectators. Over the years, it has played host to many of the world’s greatest artists and sports stars.

We see our partnership with the Ericsson Globe as a spectacular way of celebrating the heritage of Ericsson and our Swedish origins. Lars Magnus Ericsson opened his workshop in the center of Stockholm in 1876, beginning what would become a global ICT conglomerate. Ericsson still has its headquarters in Stockholm, and is one of the largest employers in the Stockholm region.

Used for entertainment, cultural, sporting and corporate purposes, the Ericsson Globe provides opportunities for the people of Sweden and neighboring countries to take part in a broad and exciting range of events. The Ericsson Globe is also used for employee and customer relations and hospitality, recognizing the value of personal relationships in our business.

It is important for us that every visitor to the Ericsson Globe connects the positive experience from a great event with their perceptions of Ericsson, strengthening our position as an important and reliable partner in society.

Glada Hudik-Teatern

Glada Hudik-Teatern is a theater company featuring actors with developmental disabilities. It was established in 1996 to further opportunities for people with learning disabilities to live independent lives and to play meaningful roles in society. Glada Hudik has produced several crowd-pleasing shows over the years. One of its largest productions and greatest successes is Elvis (pictured), a show that since its premier in 2005 has been performed for more than 170,000 people, on the group’s home stage in Hudiksvall, as well as at several other theaters around Sweden including the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, and in New York. In 2011, the Glada Hudik story was dramatized in a film, Hur Många Lingon Finns Det i Världen? (the English title is The Importance of Tying Your Own Shoes).

Everyone can make a difference

Interpersonal contact, individual adaptation and personal development are key at Glada Hudik-Teatern. The scripts and shows are adapted to the actors’ individual abilities in order to create a dynamic ensemble that communicates successfully, not only within the group but also with its audience. Ericsson wants to enable communication between people from all backgrounds, an ambition that fits perfectly with the spirit of Glada Hudik-Teatern. We sponsored the theater’s Swedish tour, as well as its leader’s lectures on leadership, and also supported the film. We want to help spread the message of Glada Hudik-Teatern, which is that life can be lived to the full by everyone.

LME birthplace

Lars Magnus Ericsson, the founder of our company, was born on May 5, 1846, on a small farm in Värmskog in the middle of Sweden. Ericsson was a frail child and soon discovered that he had neither the disposition nor the strength for farm work. At the age of 21, he traveled to Stockholm, embarking on a career that would establish him as one of Sweden’s industrial giants. He soon found work at an electromechanical company, and in 1876 he opened his own workshop. More than 130 years later, his enterprise has turned into one of the world's leading telecommunication companies.

His birthplace was acquired by the local homestead foundation in Värmskog in 1955. Six years later, the homestead was converted into a museum dedicated to his memory and his great work within telecommunication. The homestead and museum are managed by the Värmskog Homestead Foundation (Värmskogs Hembygdsförening).

Nurturing the legacy of our founder

Ericsson's continuing traditions of imaginative engineering, superior craftsmanship and widespread international operations owe their origins to the company's founder, Lars Magnus Ericsson. It is a great honor for us to support the Värmskog Homestead Foundation in its work of preserving and presenting the legacy of one of Sweden's greatest industrialists. We are specifically involved in making Lars Magnus Ericsson’s birthplace accessible to everyone – for instance, by helping improve access for the disabled.