A Sámi national stage

The plan states that Sámi rights and self-determination shall be strengthened and that the national minorities' culture and cultural heritage shall be expanded. A state culture policy shall also guarantee all residents' access to cultural activities throughout the country. A clear mandate as a national venue for Sámi performing arts follows from these commitments. The plan therefore supports the demand.

• strengthen Sámi self-determinationdecisive»Samer är Sveriges ursprungsbefolkning och har historiskt utsatts av oförrätter av den svenska staten. Sametingets självbestämmande bör förstärkas.« (party programme ↗)“Sámi are Sweden's indigenous people and have historically been subjected to injustices by the Swedish state. The Sámi Parliament's self-determination should be strengthened.”
• expand minorities' culture»Utbildningen i, på och om de nationella minoritetsspråken samt de nationella minoriteternas kultur och kulturarv bör utvidgas« (party programme ↗)“Education in, on and about the national minority languages and the national minorities' culture and cultural heritage should be expanded”
• equitable access to culture»En statlig kulturpolitik ska garantera en demokratiskt likvärdig fördelning av resurser över landet och alla invånares tillgång till kulturverksamhet.« (party programme ↗)“A state culture policy shall guarantee a democratically equitable distribution of resources across the country and all residents' access to cultural activities.”
• culture throughout the country»Det är viktigt att kulturen står fri från såväl kommersiell som politisk styrning och finns i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is important that culture is free from both commercial and political control and exists throughout the country.”

The programme places it as society's responsibility to assert and support national minorities' opportunities to maintain and develop their language and culture, and for professional cultural institutions to exist throughout the country. A clear mandate for the theatre to become a national stage for Sami scenic art is a direct application of this. The election manifesto's promise of a living and free cultural life points in the same direction.

• support for minorities' culturedecisive»I detta ska också ingå att hävda och stödja nationella minoriteters möjligheter att« (party programme ↗)“This shall also include asserting and supporting national minorities' opportunities to”
• cultural institutions throughout the country»Institutioner för det professionella kulturlivet ska därför finnas över hela landet.« (party programme ↗)“Institutions for professional cultural life shall therefore exist throughout the country.”
• living and free cultural life»Sverige ska ha ett levande, fritt och obundet kulturliv som både stärker samhörigheten och utmanar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall have a living, free and independent cultural life that both strengthens cohesion and challenges.”
• cultural diversity in institutions»Kulturinstitutionerna och kulturlivet måste spegla den kulturella mångfalden i dagens« (party programme ↗)“Cultural institutions and cultural life must reflect the cultural diversity of today's”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The election manifesto promises to strengthen the Sámi people's rights, and the party programme that national minorities' special status with their own culture and language shall be respected and strengthened. State cultural institutions shall moreover have a clear mandate to make their activities accessible throughout the country. An explicit mandate as a national stage for Sámi performing arts follows from these commitments.

• the Sámi people's rights are strengtheneddecisive»stärka nationella minoriteters och urfolket samernas rättigheter« (2022 manifesto ↗)“strengthen national minorities' and the Sámi people's rights”
• minorities' culture shall be strengthened»Deras särskilda ställning, med egen kultur och eget« (party programme ↗)“Their special status, with their own culture and their own”
• clear mandate for cultural institutions»ha ett tydligt uppdrag att tillgängliggöra sin« (party programme ↗)“have a clear mandate to make accessible their”
• support for various cultural expressions»att definiera och utöva sin egen identitet och kultur. Därför är stöd till olika sorters kulturyttringar« (party programme ↗)“to define and exercise their own identity and culture. Therefore support for various forms of cultural expression”

The plan wants to strengthen minority protection and the status of minority languages and states that culture shall be provided throughout the country, with state cultural institutions spreading their activities. A clear mandate to develop into a national stage for Sámi performing arts is in line with these commitments. The plan does not address individual institutions' mandates, which is why the assessment is derived and uncertain.

• strengthened minority protectiondecisive»Vi vill stärka bland annat äganderätten, diskrimineringsförbudet, minoritetsskyddet och minoritetsspråkens ställning, och grundlagsskydda rätten till abort och reproduktiv hälsa.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to strengthen, among others, property rights, the anti-discrimination provision, minority protection and the status of minority languages, and constitutionally protect the right to abortion and reproductive health.”
• culture throughout the country»Att tillhandahålla kultur i hela landet är en viktig utgångspunkt för Centerpartiet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Providing culture throughout the country is an important starting point for the Centre Party.”
• dispersed state cultural activities»Statliga kulturinstitutioner ska sprida sin verksamhet i hela landet.« (party programme ↗)“State cultural institutions shall spread their activities throughout the country.”

The party programme wants explicitly that a scene lacking ordinary national assignment shall be able to get a special assignment and state support to develop the activity, with the aim of increasing accessibility to high-quality culture across the country. At the same time the Sámi's status as indigenous people shall be maintained and the public support a culture and media offering with minority language profile. The counter-proposal's assignment to a Sámi national scene is precisely this.

• special national scene assignmentdecisive»scen som inte har ett ordinarie nationellt uppdrag får ett särskilt uppdrag och statligt stöd för att« (party programme ↗)“scene that does not have an ordinary national assignment gets a special assignment and state support to”
• support for minority culture»språk-, kultur- och medieutbud med minoritetsspråksprofil.« (party programme ↗)“language, culture and media offering with minority language profile.”
• the Sámi as indigenous people»Samernas, sverigefinnarnas, tornedalingarnas, judarnas och romernas ställning som nationella« (party programme ↗)“The Sámi's, Swedish Finns', Tornedalians', Jews' and Roma's status as national”
• culture across the country»utveckla verksamheten under en viss period. Syftet bör vara att långsiktigt öka tillgängligheten till« (party programme ↗)“develop the activity during a certain period. The aim should be to in the long term increase accessibility to”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The party programme makes it a central public task to support minorities' own initiatives to maintain and further develop their cultural expressions, and places on the state the responsibility for cultural infrastructure across the country. Sámi culture is particularly highlighted as worthy of protection. A clear mission as a national venue for Sámi stage art is an application of this.

• support for minorities' culturedecisive»Det är en central offentlig uppgift att stödja minoriteters egna insatser för att behålla och vidareutveckla« (party programme ↗)“It is a central public task to support minorities' own initiatives to maintain and further develop”
• state responsibility for cultural infrastructure»en kulturell infrastruktur, i hela landet« (party programme ↗)“a cultural infrastructure, across the country”
• value Sámi culture»Rennäringen ska värnas eftersom den är en betydelsefull del av samisk kultur« (party programme ↗)“Reindeer herding should be valued because it is a significant part of Sámi culture”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan's cultural policy principle is that public funding and political ambitions constitute a risk and that the goal should be institutions that stand free from state and politics. The Riksdag pointing out a new mission for an individual theatre goes in the opposite direction. The plan also says nothing about Sámi performing arts, and its prioritization line speaks for restraint. Therefore, the plan does not support the counter-proposal's demand.

• cultural independencedecisive»Målet ska vara självständiga institutioner som i sin verksamhet står fria från stat och politik.« (party programme ↗)“The goal should be independent institutions that in their operations stand free from state and politics.”
• core mission before new missions»Värna och stärka public services kärnuppdrag och kravet på saklighet och opartiskhet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Protect and strengthen public service's core mission and the requirement for objectivity and impartiality”
• hard prioritizations»Vi vet vad som måste göras – och vad som får vänta.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We know what must be done – and what can wait.”

The party programme exempts the national minorities from general assimilation efforts and grants them far-reaching cultural autonomy, and the election manifesto establishes that the indigenous peoples' position and cultural values shall be protected. A clear mandate to develop a national stage for Sami theater is an application of precisely that principle. The plan at the same time wants to protect cultural institutions' freedom from political interference, which qualifies but does not cancel the support.

• cultural autonomy for minoritiesdecisive»assimileringssträvanden och ges långtgående kulturell autonomi.« (party programme ↗)“assimilation efforts and are granted far-reaching cultural autonomy.”
• protect indigenous peoples' cultural values»Urfolkens ställning och kulturella värden ska värnas i den utrikespolitiska inriktningen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Indigenous peoples' position and cultural values shall be protected in the foreign policy direction.”
• cultures shall be recognized and protected»mänsklighetens gemensamma arv och bör erkännas och skyddas till allas gagn.« (party programme ↗)“humanity's common heritage and should be recognized and protected for everyone's benefit.”
• freedom from political control»Samtidigt ska oberoende kulturinstitutioners frihet från politiska pekpinnar värnas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“At the same time, independent cultural institutions' freedom from political interference shall be protected.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.