Library services for national minorities

The party programme gives Sweden a particular task to strengthen the national minorities' rights to identity, language and cultural heritage, viewed in light of historical injustices. The counter-proposal's requirement for permanent and stable funding of resource libraries for minority languages is a direct expression of that commitment, while temporary investment leaves the activity uncertain. The election manifesto also emphasizes that public libraries should particularly be developed.

• strengthened minority rightsdecisive»Sverige har en särskild uppgift att stärka urfolks och« (party programme ↗)“Sweden has a particular task to strengthen indigenous peoples' and”
• right to language and cultural heritage»de nationella minoriteternas rättigheter till identitet, språk, kulturarv« (party programme ↗)“the national minorities' rights to identity, language, cultural heritage”
• invest in public libraries»Därför är det särskilt viktigt att satsa på och utveckla folkbiblioteken, folkbildningen och public services oberoende ställning.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Therefore it is particularly important to invest in and develop public libraries, folk education and public service's independent position.”
• stable conditions for culture»Kulturpolitiken behöver skapa goda ekonomiska villkor för såväl« (party programme ↗)“Cultural policy needs to create good economic conditions for both”

The party programme establishes that cultural policy includes asserting and supporting national minorities' opportunities to maintain and develop their language and culture, and that libraries shall be free and accessible. Permanent and stable funding of resource libraries for minority languages is a direct expression of that commitment. The election manifesto's investment in libraries and literacy points in the same direction.

• support for national minoritiesdecisive»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”
• free libraries»Biblioteken ska vara avgiftsfria« (party programme ↗)“Libraries shall be free”
• libraries for literacy»Skolbiblioteken har en central roll att spela för ökad läskunnighet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“School libraries have a central role to play in increasing literacy”

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 election manifesto wants to strengthen national minorities' and the Sami people's rights and strengthen libraries in their work for reading and democracy. The party programme requires that the existence and quality of libraries are guaranteed by law and that they are publicly financed. Permanent and stable financing of resource libraries for minority languages follows directly from these commitments, as opposed to a temporary effort.

• strengthened minority rightsdecisive»stärka nationella minoriteters och urfolket samernas rättigheter och att Sverige ska förbinda sig att följa den internationella konventionen om urfolks rättigheter (ILO 169).« (2022 manifesto ↗)“strengthen national minorities' and the Sami people's rights and that Sweden should commit to following the international convention on indigenous people's rights (ILO 169).”
• strengthened libraries»stärka biblioteken i deras viktiga arbete för läsning och demokrati.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“strengthen libraries in their important work for reading and democracy.”
• libraries guaranteed by law»förekomst och kvalitet ska garanteras i lag.« (party programme ↗)“existence and quality should be guaranteed by law.”
• publicly financed libraries»Välförsedda och offentligt finansierade bibliotek« (party programme ↗)“Well-stocked and publicly financed libraries”

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 plan commits to strengthening minority protection and the status of minority languages and that culture shall be provided throughout the country. Permanent and stable funding of resource libraries for national minority languages is a means for exactly that, instead of temporary initiatives. The plan therefore supports the requirement.

• status of minority languagesdecisive»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 in particular property rights, the prohibition of discrimination, 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.”
• distributed cultural activities»Statliga kulturinstitutioner ska sprida sin verksamhet i hela landet.« (party programme ↗)“National cultural institutions shall spread their activities throughout the country.”
• education and adult education»En fristående folkbildning har mycket stor betydelse i tider då demokratiska värden ifrågasätts.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Independent adult education is of great importance in times when democratic values are questioned.”

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 party programme imposes on the public to support a language, culture and media offering with minority language profile and to maintain the position of national minorities. The resource libraries are precisely such an infrastructure, and the plan advocates long-term state grants over temporary appropriations. The counter-proposal's requirement for permanent and stable financing thus lies in line with the plan's commitments, even though the resource libraries are not mentioned explicitly.

• support for minority language culturedecisive»språk-, kultur- och medieutbud med minoritetsspråksprofil« (party programme ↗)“language, culture and media offering with minority language profile”
• position of national minorities»samernas ställning som urfolk ska upprätthållas« (party programme ↗)“the Sami's position as an indigenous people shall be maintained”
• long-term state grants»Vi vill fortsätta förbättra civilsamhällets finansiering genom både bredare skatteavdrag för gåvor och långsiktiga statsbidrag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to continue to improve civil society financing through both broader tax deductions for donations and long-term state grants.”
• central role of libraries»Biblioteken har en central roll för att alla ska ha kostnadsfri tillgång till litteratur och annan kultur« (party programme ↗)“Libraries have a central role so that everyone has free access to literature and other 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 states that minority languages shall be assured a strong position through legislation and that it is a central public task to support minorities' own efforts. The state should also be responsible for a cultural infrastructure throughout the country, and libraries are highlighted as an institution whose unique place for reading should be valued. A permanent and stable financing of resource libraries follows from these commitments.

• strong position for minority languagesdecisive»att göra detta är att tillförsäkra minoritetsspråken en« (party programme ↗)“to do this is to assure minority languages a”
• public support to minorities»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 efforts to maintain and further develop”
• state cultural infrastructure»svara för det som brukar benämnas en kulturell infrastruktur, i hela landet.« (party programme ↗)“be responsible for what is usually called a cultural infrastructure, throughout the country.”
• libraries shall be valued»Biblioteken är en av våra mest anlitade kultur« (party programme ↗)“Libraries are one of our most used 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 says nothing about resource libraries for the national minority languages. The nearest relevant principle is that politics must prioritize and reject, that justice, defense and welfare come first and that all new commitments must fit within the surplus target. A new permanent government financing commitment in this area therefore does not follow from the plan.

• prioritization of government functionsdecisive»Politiken har en viktig uppgift att prioritera och välja bort« (party programme ↗)“Politics has an important task to prioritize and reject”
• core functions first»De stora behoven inom rättsväsendet, försvaret och välfärden ställer stora krav på prioriteringar under åren som kommer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The large needs within the justice system, defense and welfare impose great demands on prioritization in the years to come.”
• financed reforms»Alla nya löften och reformer – som till exempel våra inkomstskattesänkningar – behöver finansieras eller rymmas inom överskottsmålet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“All new commitments and reforms – such as our income tax cuts – need to be financed or fit within the surplus target.”

The plan exempts the national minorities from general assimilation efforts and grants them far-reaching cultural autonomy, and sees the different cultures as a heritage that should be recognized and protected. Stable funding of the resource libraries for minority languages is in line with this. At the same time, the plan wants to scale back unnecessary public expenses, which makes the support less secure.

• cultural autonomy for minoritiesdecisive»assimileringssträvanden och ges långtgående kulturell autonomi.« (party programme ↗)“assimilation efforts and are granted far-reaching cultural autonomy.”
• cultures should be 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.”
• protect indigenous cultures»Urfolkens ställning och kulturella värden ska värnas i den utrikespolitiska inriktningen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The indigenous peoples' status and cultural values should be protected in the foreign policy direction.”
• restrained public expenses»Skala bort onödiga utgifter i det offentliga« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Scale back unnecessary expenses in the public sector”

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.