Swedish lunch disco goes wide

When it comes to lunch breaks different people in different areas spend it in their own ways. Some workers like to take two hours out of their workday to savor their food in the company of colleagues while other workaholics prefer dining solo in front of their computers.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

When it comes to lunch breaks different people in different areas spend it in their own ways. Some workers like to take two hours out of their workday to savor their food in the company of colleagues while other workaholics prefer dining solo in front of their computers. Well, in Sweden there’s a whole other vibe going on. After a meal, it’s dancing time.It started in the fall of 2010 when 14 friends decided to dance their lunch breaks away in their office garage. They called their gathering "Lunch Beat.” As rumors about this literally underground movement spread, more and more people joined in. Today, Lunch Beat events are being arranged by a core group of organisers at venues around Sweden, attracting up to 600 people each time, and copycat clubs are popping up across Europe. Lunch Beat events can be arranged by any individual, group or company as long as the organisers respect the founders’ Manifesto, a list of 10 rules specifying, for instance, that Lunch Beat discos must be nonprofit events, take place at lunch time, no alcohol is served, have 60-minute long DJ sets, and include a takeaway meal. In 2011, "lunch disco” was officially recognized as a new word by the Swedish Language Council.Margret Brigetta, a Swedish student on tourist visit to Rwanda, says” The basic idea behind Lunch Beat is that workers take an hour out in the middle of the day to let loose in the company of fellow dance-enthusiasts. And they call it the week’s most important business lunch.”After all, the fourth rule of the manifesto is "You don’t talk about your job at Lunch Beat.” Instead, the aim is to embody "playfulness, participation and community,” the founders write. It’s intended almost to be a way of forgetting about your job, so you can feel energised and inspired when you get back to your desk. The party starts promptly at noon and ends at 1 p.m. sharp. I strongly think this lunch time dance would do us very good as it relieves one of the stress and you will go for your afternoon session in another mood unlike the normal one. Rwanda should pick a leaf.