Minister for Culture and Sports says "best of luck" to Paralympic team
The Swedish Paralympic Committee/Swedish Sports Organisation for the Disabled are sending a team of almost 60 members representing 12 sports to the Paralympic Games in London. The participants include many individual competitors and several teams. They will be competing in sports including goalball, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair rugby, swimming and shooting. The Minister for Culture and Sports will be in London to follow the competition towards the end of the games.
Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth comments:
"The Paralympic Games, like the recently concluded Olympic Games, are a unique sporting experience, both for the competitors and spectators. I wish every member of our team all the very best of luck."
The Paralympic Games are taking place in London between 29 August and 9 September.
Minister for Sport wishes Olympic team every success
Photo: Government Offices
The Swedish Olympic Committee is sending a team of more than 130 members and leaders to the Olympic Games in London. The team includes many individual competitors and several squads, including football and handball squads. Minister for Culture and Sports Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth will be in London to follow the first few days of the Games.
"The Olympic Games are a unique sporting experience, both for the competitors and spectators. I wish every member of our team all the very best of luck," she said in a comment.
The Crown Princess, Dutch author Guus Kuijer and Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth. Photo: Johan Tell
World's largest prize for children's and young people's literature awarded
This year's winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is Dutch writer Guus Kuijer, who has written some thirty books for children and young people.
"Literature can set our minds free. It can be joyful. It can give us strength to carry on in times of sorrow. It can open our hearts to others," said Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth in her speech, which she delivered in English.
Minister for Culture opens exhibition about Raoul Wallenberg in Moscow
Photo: Government Offices of Sweden
On 29 May, Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth opened the travelling exhibition "To me there's no other choice - Raoul Wallenberg 1912-2012" at the Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center in Moscow, as part of the Raoul Wallenberg Week, taking place in the city from 28 May to 1 June.
Focus on elite-level sport and ethnic diversity in report
On 16 May, the annual follow-up of the government's support to sports, prepared by the Swedish National Centre for Research in Sports, was presented to Minister for Culture and Sports Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth.
The follow-up consists of an annual main report and two thematic reports. The main report contains statistics on everything from children's sports to gender equality on boards and medals in championships.
Annual report and focus on ethnic diversity
One of the Centre's thematic reports, Antologi om idrott och etnisk mångfald (Anthology on sports and ethnic diversity), consists of an analysis of the extent to which sports movements contribute to encouraging people with other cultural and ethnic backgrounds to become more active in sports. Increasing participation of this group is one of the aims of government grants. The Centre's report states that researchers in the area of sport consider that focus should be on the right of each person to be part of the sports community.
Analysis of Swedish elite-level sports system
One finding of the Centre's other thematic report is that the Swedish ideal of breadth and popular movements has governed the design of elite-level sports. Most elitelevel and promising young athletes develop their skills by means of local organisations rather than at national elite-level centres. Public funding for sport has prioritised children's and young people's sport rather than the development of elite-level and promising young athletes.
Library services for all in memorandum on new Library Act
Everyone is to have access to library services and all loans of literature are to be free of charges. The Government has included this proposal in a memorandum on a new Library Act that has been circulated for comment. The Government intends to present a proposal on a new Library Act to the Riksdag in spring 2013.
New Nordic literature prize
On 26 April, the five Nordic culture ministers met in Oslo and decided to establish a prize for children's and young people's literature. The prize aims at strengthening culture for children and young people in the Nordic countries and enhancing the visibility of children's and young people's literature.
"I am very pleased that the Nordic Council of Ministers has agreed upon a prize for children's literature," says Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth.
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.
Amendments to Radio and Television Act
On 19 April, the Government decided to refer a proposal to the Council on Legislation on amendments to the Radio and Television Act (2010:696). The proposal suggests that the current provisions in the Act stating that TV companies must, to a certain extent, make TV broadcasts available to people with disabilities should also apply to TV broadcasts by wire, i.e. cable and IP network broadcasts. These broadcasts also include web-based broadcasts. The Government also proposes that commercial breaks that are shorter than one minute should be permitted in connection with live broadcasts of sporting events. As regards other live TV broadcasts, it is proposed that this should only be permitted if there are special reasons for doing so. Finally, certain clarifications and editorial amendments are also proposed. It is proposed that the amendments enter into force on 1 January 2013.
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.
