New talking newspaper activities
On 13 April a ministerial memorandum on New talking newspaper activities (Ds 2012:12) was sent to interested parties for comments. The memorandum contains a proposal on a new system for talking newspapers. The basic idea is to move from the current system of talking newspapers recorded by readers for radio broadcast or postal distribution to a new system based on speech synthesis distributed via internet.
Meeting of the Minister for Culture with the African Swedish National Association
Today Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth met the African Swedish National Association. The meeting follows World Art Day and the 75th anniversary of the Swedish Artists' National Organisation at Moderna Museet on 15 April. The purpose of the event at Moderna Museet was to draw attention to freedom of expression, the struggle against censorship and the freedom of art.
"Makode Linde's art is motivated by anti-racism. However, the work employs a strong and provocative mode of expression that is open to misinterpretation. I deeply regret it if my involvement was interpreted by some as an expression of racism or intolerance. The artistic intent was the very opposite, as was my own participation in World Art Day," says Ms Adelsohn Liljeroth.
"I think it is positive that we have now met to talk more about how to combat intolerance, racism and discrimination. I hope that we can continue the dialogue," Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth says.
Minister for Culture on the opening ceremony for World Art Day
"As Minister for Culture it is my responsibility to safeguard the conditions for and independence of art and culture. At the same time, it is also my job to uphold the democratic values that counter racism, intolerance and xenophobia. I chose to open World Art Day to turn the spotlight on art and freedom of expression. My role as minister differs from that of the artist. Provocation can not and should not be an expression for those who have the trust and responsibility of Government representative. I therefore feel it is my responsibility to clarify that I am sincerely sorry if anyone has misinterpreted my participation and I welcome talks with the African Swedish National Association on how we can counter intolerance, racism and discrimination."
Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn writes in an article today about her participation in the opening ceremony for World Art Day at Moderna Museet on 15 April.
Minister for Culture congratulates Guus Kuijer on the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award
Photo: Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award
It was announced today that the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award has been won by the Dutch writer Guus Kuijer.
"Guus Kuijer's ability to combine the big questions of life with humour and playful narrative zest has led to his work being translated into nearly twenty languages over the years. I am convinced that this year's prize will further strengthen interest in children's literature internationally," says Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth.
Round-table talks on new European culture and media cooperation programme
Photo: Susan Berg
On 17 February the Minister for Culture received representatives of culture and media organisations and agencies to discuss the European Commission's new proposal for a programme of cooperation called Creative Europe. The purpose of this meeting was to enable the various actors to discuss and present their views concerning the new proposal, based on their experience of the current programme and any proposals for improvement.
Grant to the Swedish Sports Organisation for the Disabled
The Government is to allocate SEK 130 000 to the Swedish Sports Organisation for the Disabled. The grant is for the European Athletics Championships for athletes with an intellectual disability
Photo: Susan Berg
Contribution to support anti-doping efforts
On 26 January, the Government decided on a contribution to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
"I hope that Sweden's support to WADA will also mean that we are contributing to cleaner sports and less cheating," says Minister for Culture and Sports Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth.
New film agreement
On 25 January, the Government and the film and television industry agreed a new film agreement for Swedish film. The agreement will be signed in autumn 2012 and is for the period 2013-2015.
The agreement will mean more resources for films, as funds will be increased by some SEK 30 million per year, most of which will go towards new support to drama series and expanded support to films for children and young people, short and documentary films, and development.
The agreement is being modernised through the introduction of new objectives, new support to drama series, the possibility of allocating support for innovative `cross media projects´ and greater technological neutrality as the cinema release requirement will be removed.
Initiative to promote literature and reading in 2012
On 22 December, the Government decided to allocate SEK 3 million in 2012 to strengthen the status of literature, promote reading and highlight Swedish quality literature.
New national strategy for digitisation
On 21 December the Government established a new national strategy for digitisation, Digital Cultural Heritage. The aim is for the 23 government agencies and institutions covered by the strategy to produce plans for digitising and making available their archives, collections and libraries. The strategy is for the period 2012-2015. One of the national cultural policy objectives is to promote a living cultural heritage that is preserved, used and developed. Digital technology is a key tool for achieving the objective and also helps to make cultural heritage visible and enhance its impact throughout the community.
Digisam, the National Archives Coordination Secretariat, will support the institutions in various ways. For example, it will produce general advice on setting priorities for their digitisation projects. It has also been tasked with following up and evaluating the strategy.
A key starting point for the strategy is to meet the commitments Sweden has made concerning the European digital library, Europeana.
