Children’s eye care

As a result of her powerful commitment to helping people with disabilities, Marianne Bernadotte came into contact with research for children with impaired vision. Recognising the need for excellence in this area of research she founded the Sigvard and Marianne Bernadotte Research Foundation for Child Eye Care in 1989. The first Honorary Chairman of the foundation was the Nobel Prize winner Professor Ragnar Granit and after his death the post was assumed by Professor Torsten Wiesel, also a Nobel Prize winner. The foundation’s initial funds – a sum of over SEK 1 million – were generated at a charity auction at Bukowski’s Auction House in Stockholm in February 1990. Marianne Bernadotte was the driving force behind this project, dedicating enormous effort to the collection of art work and to the financing of supporting activities, including the printing of a catalogue. She also played a leading role in the success of the auction itself.Scholarship funds
The research foundation’s funds have through the years increased through additional contributions and donations. The awarding of scholarships and grants in children’s ophthalmology have taken place annually since 1992. By 2007 some SEK 7 million had been awarded to prominent young researchers from Swedish universities. The recipients have since presented their research in the form of PhD theses, constituting some 50 theses today. During 2006-2007 the foundation received a number of donations that increased the fund to its current value of approximately SEK 70 million. The research foundation has become a very important element in Swedish children’s ophthalmology research. Wider Nordic research has also benefited from contributions to Nordic conferences and honorary lectureships. A prize is awarded in the name of Marianne Bernadotte for clinical child ophthalmology research; it has been awarded seven times, with five of the awards going to prominent researchers.

International co-ordination
In 1994 Marianne Bernadotte established an international foundation for child eye research that is now the Bernadotte Research Foundation for Children’s Eye care Inc., based in New York. Members of the board include a number of Swedish- Americans, such as Professor Torsten Wiesel, the then President of the Rockefeller University in New York. The foundation was established at a charity auction arranged by Marianne Bernadotte at Sotheby’s in New York in December 1994. Since then she has held several charity banquets across the U.S., including events at the Swedish Embassy in Washington, in aid of the foundation. The foundation has also awarded post-doctoral scholarships to foreign researchers undertaking research at Swedish child ophthalmology institutions. And the foundation has awarded travel grants to child ophthalmologists in developing countries to encourage participation in international conferences, thereby increasing international cooperation in this field.