Objectives

To achieve these objectives, cultural policy is to:

• promote opportunities for everyone to experience culture, participate in educational programmes and develop their creative abilities;
• promote quality and artistic renewal;
• promote a dynamic cultural heritage that is preserved, used and developed;
• promote international and intercultural exchange and cooperation; and
• pay particular attention to the rights of children and young people to culture.

More objectives in the area of culture that are subject to Riksdag decisions

The cultural area also contains objectives decided by the Riksdag relating to:

• central government initiatives to support municipal culture schools;
• literature and reading promotion;
• national language policy;
• architecture and design;
• archives;
• the cultural environment; and
• film and video.

Central government initiatives to support municipal culture schools

The Riksdag has adopted the overall objective to promote culture schools’ possibilities to offer children and young people high-quality teaching on cultural and artistic means of expression, and possibilities for both in-depth and broad teaching based on each student’s individual conditions.

Literature and reading promotion

The Riksdag has adopted the following national objectives for the policy for literature and reading promotion: Everyone in Sweden, regardless of background and on the basis of each individual’s particular circumstances, is to be given the opportunity to develop good reading skills and have access to high-quality literature.

National language policy

The Riksdag has adopted the following objectives for a Swedish language policy:

• Swedish is to be the main language in Sweden;
• Swedish is to be a complete language, serving and uniting society;
• public sector Swedish is to be cultivated, simple and comprehensible; and
• everyone has the right to language – to develop and learn Swedish, to develop and use their own mother tongue and national minority languages and to have the opportunity to learn foreign languages.

Architecture and design

The objective of central government work concerning architecture and design is the following.

Architecture and design will contribute to a sustainable, gender-equal and less segregated society with carefully designed living environments, where everyone is given good opportunities to influence the development of our shared environment.

This objective will be achieved by ensuring that:

• sustainability and quality are not subordinate to short-term economic considerations;
• knowledge about architecture and design are developed and disseminated;
• the public sector sets a good example;
• aesthetic, artistic and cultural-historical values are harnessed and developed;
• environments are designed to be accessible for everyone; and
• cooperation and collaboration are developed, within the country and internationally.

Archives

The Riksdag has adopted objectives for central government archive activities. The objective is to preserve the archives of public authorities, keep them in good order and conserve so as to satisfy:

• the right to access official documents;
• the need for information for the administration of justice and public administration; and
• requirements of research.

Cultural environment

In accordance with the objectives for cultural environment activities, central government cultural environment activities are to promote:

• a sustainable society with a diversity of cultural environments that are preserved, used and developed;
• public participation in cultural environment activities and opportunities to understand and take responsibility for the cultural environment;
• an inclusive society with the cultural environment as a shared source of knowledge, education and experiences; and
• a holistic approach to landscape management so that account is taken of the cultural environment in the development of society.

Film and video

The objectives for national film policy will be the following:

• Quality Swedish film is developed and produced continuously in different parts of the country.
• Increasing numbers of people see quality films that are disseminated and screened in various screening formats throughout the country.
• The film heritage is preserved, used and developed.
• Swedish films are disseminated more abroad and there is advanced international exchange and cooperation in the area of film.
• Children and young people have good knowledge about film and moving images and are given opportunities to be creative themselves.
• Gender equality and diversity characterise the area of film.
• Films help to strengthen freedom of expression and the public debate.