Focus on crisis preparedness and reading promotion during Swedish Presidency of Nordic Council of Ministers

In 2024, Sweden has highlighted two particular Presidency initiatives that are especially important for the Nordic region in the future and Nordic citizens of generations to come: crisis preparedness in the cultural sector and reading promotion.

“The developments in our neighbourhood in recent years have increased the importance of Nordic and Baltic cooperation on protection of cultural heritage and preservation of cultural activities in the event of heightened alert or war. That’s why this has been one of our focus areas during our Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The other has been a Nordic region that reads. The importance of promoting reading cannot be overstated. Children’s and young people’s reading skills are crucial to the Nordic region’s prosperity and competitiveness – today and in the future,” says Minister for Culture Parisa Liljestrand.

Preparedness in the cultural sector

The serious security situation in Europe in recent years has brought new common challenges for the Nordic countries and Nordic cultural cooperation. It has therefore been important for the Swedish Presidency to promote exchange of experience on matters of preparedness in the cultural and media sectors, including the possibilities to strengthen the protection of cultural heritage in the event of a crisis or war.

An informal meeting of Nordic culture ministers was held in May 2024. The Baltic culture ministers also took part to share their experience of working on preparedness in relation to cultural heritage and maintaining cultural activities in the event of a crisis, heightened alert or war. In addition, a conference was held in June 2024 on the theme of civil preparedness in the cultural sector, organised by the Swedish National Heritage Board in cooperation with the Finnish Heritage Agency, the Directorate for Cultural Heritage in Norway and the Swedish Arts Council. 

“Finland will take over the Presidency next year, and I’m proud that Finnish Minister of Science and Culture Sari Multala has chosen to continue our initiative of also inviting the Baltic culture ministers to exchange experiences on how we can best strengthen preparedness in our cultural and cultural heritage sectors,” says Ms Liljestrand.

A Nordic region that reads

During its Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Sweden has also chosen to focus on reading promotion, reading comprehension and children’s and young people’s desire to read, under the banner ‘A Nordic region that reads’. This means reading skills as a prerequisite for democracy and equality. It involves both access to education and culture, and the possibility for citizens to take part in the democratic conversation and engage with society.

At the Gothenburg Book Fair in September 2024, a seminar on the Nordic governments’ national reading initiatives was held. The Swedish Arts Council and the National Agency for Education organised the conversation, which was funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. In addition to Ms Liljestrand and Minister for Education Lotta Edholm, Ms Multala from Finland and Norwegian Minister of Culture and Equality Libna Jaffery also took part. Sweden emphasised the importance of long-term initiatives and collaboration between schools and other parts of society, such as academia, the business sector and civil society actors.

As follow-up from the Gothenburg Book Fair, this dialogue continued at the formal meeting of culture ministers in Reykjavik at the end of October, where reading promotion with a particular focus on young people in areas with socio-economic challenges was discussed.