Culture

Amanda Lind, Minister for Culture and Democracy, with responsibility for sport, talks about her areas of responsibility and her role as minister.

Admission to a number of state-owned museums will remain free of charge under a proposal in the Government’s Spring Amending Budget for 2019. The Spring Amending Budget is based on an agreement between the Green Party, the Swedish Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party and the Liberals.

The Government intends to reintroduce government grants to municipal culture schools. The grants, which encompass SEK 50 million, will be used to broaden the offering within culture schools and reach new groups. The proposal is made in the Government’s Spring Amending Budget, which is based on an agreement between the Green Party, the Swedish Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party and the Liberals.

Umeå, 6 March 2019. Check against delivery.

The Government’s Music Export Prize is awarded every year to an artist who has been internationally successful during the preceding year and has contributed to Swedish musical export success and to a positive image of Sweden. The winner will be announced by Minister for Foreign Trade, with responsibility for Nordic affairs, Ann Linde at a ceremony at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on Wednesday 6 March at 14.30.

Gothenburg, 25 January 2019 Check against delivery.

This publication is an abridged version and contains the Government Bill “Policy for Designed Living Environment” (Bill 2017/18:110).

Minister for Culture and Democracy Alice Bah Kuhnke will chair the meeting of the Nordic Council of Ministers for Culture in Oslo on 31 October. The meeting is being held in connection with the annual session of the Nordic Council, where the Nordic Council prizes are also awarded. Sweden holds the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2018.

The Barents cooperation has laid the foundation for far-reaching people-to-people cooperation and high-level political dialogue in the European Arctic. The 25th anniversary of cooperation was marked by a seminar at the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the European Union on 5 June to highlight cooperation in an EU perspective and to look ahead.

Stockholm, 29 May 2017. Check against delivery.

On 24 May, Minister for EU Affairs and Trade Ann Linde presented the Government's 2017 Cultural and Creative Industries Export Prize. The newly established prize was awarded to the Swedish fashion company Acne Studios.

Berlin, 16 May 2018. Check against delivery.

In the spring amending budget for 2018, the Government is proposing that the Swedish Arts Council receive SEK 10 million to go to culture for children and young people as a temporary initiative during 2018. The funding supplements the comprehensive grants towards culture for children and young people already provided by the Swedish Arts Council. The initiative is based on an agreement between the Government and the Left Party.

Building our society – a secure and sustainable Sweden

In the spring amending budget for 2018, the Government is investing an additional SEK 15 million in 2018 to provide temporary enhanced support to smaller cinemas and film festivals. This is a boost in addition to the investment of SEK 25 million being made annually in 2016–2019. The investment is based on an agreement between the Government and the Left Party.

One of the Swedish Government’s gender equality policy sub-goals is that men’s violence against women must stop. With reference to #metoo, the following lists some examples of implemented and forthcoming measures to counteract sexual violence, harassment and assault.

The #metoo movement in Sweden strongly demonstrates that more needs to be done to combat sexual harassment and sexual violence in workplaces and society at large. The Swedish Government requires all employers to take responsibility for a secure work environment. In the area of work environment and discrimination there are already many tools and relevant legislation, but the power and size of the petitions show that there are deficiencies in compliance with the regulations. For this reason, Minister for Employment Ylva Johansson and Minister for Gender Equality Åsa Regnér have met with the labour market and union partners, and several ministers have in recent weeks convened meetings with heads of government agencies and business leaders in order to focus on the responsibility of employers to counteract sexual violence and harassment.

In the Budget Bill for 2018, the Government is increasing the budget for culture by SEK 745 million. This includes SEK 275 million to be invested in libraries and SEK 115 million in freedom of the arts. In addition, further investments will be made on democracy policy and anti-discrimination policy. The Budget Bill for 2018 is based on an agreement between the government parties and the Left Party.

On 14 July 2018, Ingmar Bergman would have celebrated his 100th birthday. He was one of Sweden’s internationally most renowned and important artists ever. The Budget Bill for 2018 proposes allocating grants to the Royal Dramatic Theatre, the Ingmar Bergman Foundation, the Fårö Bergman Centre Foundation and the Swedish Film Institute for initiatives to highlight the centenary nationally and internationally.

The Government proposes in the Budget Bill for 2018 to give the National Library of Sweden an extra SEK 25 million per year for three years. The aim is to improve people’s digital skills and ability to critically appraise sources.