Lola Akinmade Åkerström
on Lagom and Slow Travel Photography
“Lagom är bäst!” | “The right amount is best!”
LAGOM. The essence of the Swedish psyche. A way of living that promotes moderation, harmony, balance. Being content with what you have and who you are. Not too much, not too little, just a warm invitation to invite contentment into your life.
Lola Akinmade travels with an open mind and seeks out quiet moments of interaction between people and nature while capturing the world through the eyes of Lagom. Her book, Lagom: The Swedish Secret of Living Well, is the tiny thing that will help you have a more balanced way of living filled with contentment.
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, but based in Sweden, she is the editor-in-chief of Slow Travel Stockholm and a Hasselblad Heroine. An author, keynote speaker, and award-winning travel photographer, Lola has photographed more than 70 countries, her work being featured in National Geographic, BBC, CNN, Lonely Planet, and many more.
Thanks to her family, travel was always in her blood. She considers herself a lover of geography, especially of social and human geography. This served as her calling to explore the world, and her affinity for geosciences and maps validated the inner sensing that she was born to travel:
“When you travel, that’s when you start developing your strengths. Am I a more creative person? Am I an analytical person? What do I like, or don't like? In my journeys, I realized I’m a person that thrives on lots of different things. I know what drives me and I know the need for cultural understanding. Travel helps us understand each other or at least give space and respect even if we disagree.”
Her photos reflect vibrancy and hope. In addition to imagery that captures a sense of place, Lola focuses on “how people live their everyday lives against backdrops of grandeur.” When we look at her photos, she hopes we can look straight into the eyes of her subjects and see them for who they are, see the connection there, and not judge them. Because, remember, “you are allowed to exist without explanation in any room you deserve to be in, even if you feel uninvited, unappreciated, and invisible. Never, ever let the world convince you that your struggles are invalid.”
Invite Lagom into your life and travel your inner world. Create space for diversity and inspiration, as Lola does:
“We should inspire others to exist as individuals and not a monolithic voice of representing different causes; some people always want to define you, so they can put you in a box – that’s when you become excluded!”
Thank you, Lola, for being a Visual Storyteller!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Lola Akinmade Åkerström
Company / Institution: Geotraveler Media
Title: Author + Photographer + Entrepreneur
Website: www.akinmade.com
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lolaakinmade/
Country of origin: Nigeria
Country you currently live in: Sweden
Your personal definition of Sustainability: This is my own definition of sustainability which I also detailed in my book, LAGOM: everyone must have an equal stake in both enjoying and replenishing the ecosystem we share. What we borrow needs to be carefully tended to so we can return it in as near-perfect a condition as when we first laid hands on it.
In addition, the access we have to nature is perceived as a loan that must be paid with equal coin to achieve balance. It consciously governs how much resources we consume and creates mindfulness around that which in turn breeds sustainable attitudes.
This careful maintenance and continuous tending is what sustainability, at its core, is all about.
Main business challenge you face: I work within the travel industry and the main challenge we keep facing is unkept promises when it comes to travelling better, doing better, and being more responsible as an industry. It’s as fit the promises we made during the pandemic were immediately forgotten the second the industry got out of it.
Main driver that keeps you going: Cultural connection and making sure everyone within my sphere as well as strangers I meet feel seen, acknowledged and heard through my work.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: My ability to give grace and hold safe spaces for others.
The trait you most value in others: Empathy.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: Reading, spending time with loved ones, travelling, writing fiction, watching rugby, eating real good food.
The who determined you to take the sustainability path:
The entire Slow Travel movement has inspired me to be more sustainable in my lifestyle. Slow Travel encourages us to slacken our pace, re-consider our motivations (and itineraries) and embrace a “less is more” instead of a “fast is better” ethos. It emboldens us to take pause. To think. To saunter instead of rush and enjoy the details instead of blurring past them.
For me, slow travel is about pace, not duration. It adds to the sustainability mindset of a conscious traveller.
A hint or starting point for companies or professionals that are taking the first steps in the sustainability journey: Avoid greenwashing.
Meet your clients where they are. Instead of drastic changes, show them how small positive daily changes can add up over time.
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: Banning air travel and all meat consumption.
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope:
You are allowed to exist without explanation in any room you deserve to be in, even if you feel uninvited, unappreciated, and invisible. Never, ever let the world convince you that your struggles are invalid.
Books that had a major impact on you:
An African in Greenland by Tete-Michel Kpomassie
The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
The Bible
Movies / Documentaries you would watch all over again:
The Birdcage with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane.
Blogs / Websites / Podcasts etc. you visit frequently:
www.thelocal.se / Sweden in Focus podcast
www.nytimes.com
www.linked.com
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: Anything by U2!
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: So many places, though Croatia, Greenland, Scotland, Mongolia, Fiji, and Uzbekistan have left very special, deeper marks.
Global Sustainability Voices you recommend us to follow:
Lebawit “Lily” Girma, Bloomberg News
Trends in Sustainability we should keep an eye on: The circular economy extending beyond consumer lifestyle goods and services, and into the travel industry in innovative ways. Moving nonessential travel experiences into a more digital space.
Best places for business networking (online or offline): LinkedIn hands-down for me!
Events we should attend:
Women in Tech Sweden
Women in Travel Summit
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030:
People are beginning to fully show up as their authentic selves and living out loud unapologetically. We’re prioritizing self-care and fostering all forms of creativity. The next generation is also more cognizant of responsible living, fighting for equity and inclusion, and encouraging sustainable habits as a whole, so I think we’ll be all right!
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: I’m an idealist to the core, so I don’t feel pessimistic about our future.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today: Navigating with emotional intelligence and empathy by creating safe spaces for your team so they can continue to self-actualize both personally and professionally.
Quote that inspires you:
“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting.”
(E.E. Cummings)
Your own quote that will inspire us:
