Cultural Heritage

Kristina Axén Olin (M)

Madam Speaker! Cultural heritage are historical traces that have come to be through human activity in different times. They can be objects or phenomena but also ideas and perspectives. This is the Swedish National Heritage Board's explanation of what cultural heritage means.

Today we will discuss a number of motions and proposals concerning Sweden's cultural heritage. Today also marks three years since Russia's terrible and full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

The war has undeniably awakened us in Sweden regarding issues of our cultural heritage and how important it is, both for the population and for authorities. We understand the value of it and how important it is that we protect our cultural heritage during war and in crisis. Much remains to be done, but the government has made many decisions and started many necessary processes to protect our cultural heritage and our cultural environment. Let me mention a few things that have happened.

The Swedish National Heritage Board was given a mandate a year ago to form a council together with the National Archives, the Royal Library, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, and the National Property Board for Real Estate to scan what protection we need for our cultural heritage.

Cultural Heritage

We have increased the church antiquarian compensation by 30 million annually, so that one now receives 490 million kronor from the state instead of the previous 460 million. It is not as much as the Church of Sweden desired, but better than nothing. The red-green governments had not increased the church antiquarian compensation since 2010.

The Swedish National Heritage Board has also received a reinforcement – 19 million this year, somewhat more next year and even more the year after – to, together with cultural institutions, plan and prepare how to secure access to replacement warehouses and adapted transports in the event of war or crisis.

It is not to be forgotten that our government has finally made a decision regarding the renovation of the Stockholm Opera House. This is a decision that should have been made many years ago. It is an important part of Sweden's cultural heritage.

Madam Speaker! Naturally, a number of questions remain regarding the government's investment in digitalization and archiving. All agencies have received different types of mandates regarding how the archiving should be conducted and how this should be planned so that we can secure our cultural heritage for future generations.

As late as today, the government decided to provide 2 million kronor to the Finland Institute to promote and convey Finnish, Finnish-speaking, and Swedish-Finnish culture. It is also important for the Swedish cultural heritage.

Much has therefore been done, Madam Speaker, and many processes have been initiated. Much remains, however, naturally. Most of the issues and motion proposals being addressed today are being handled in various forms of decisions, processes, and investigations.

I would like to move for approval of the committee's proposal.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Mats Berglund (MP)

Madam Speaker! Cultural heritage is our history, our identity, and our common narrative. We live in cultural heritage. We create and recreate cultural heritage, which is in constant motion and change. Cultural heritage is what we leave behind for future generations and at the same time what connects us with those who came before. In that way, cultural heritage should be the wake-up call we obviously need to understand the importance of living in the midst of a process and thus the importance of living sustainably and creating conditions for sustainable development.

Then we come to this point about not exceeding the planet's boundaries – the planetary boundaries that Johan Rockström talks about – but being careful with the connection to what has been and what we leave behind. The constant movement is not just about preservation, but equally about developing, making accessible, including, and letting more voices be heard in the common narrative.

Cultural heritage belongs to us all and must be relevant and accessible to everyone. We must ensure that our minorities and our indigenous people are included in the cultural heritage – in the story of Sweden. The history of the national minorities has long been marginalized and hidden, and we still see that, for example, the Sámi cultural heritage is threatened by exploitation, mining, and logging of mountain forests. Here, both clearer guidelines and stronger protection are needed. We need to continue the work with the repatriation of Sámi remains and objects. The work with the truth commissions and the reconciliation processes must proceed.

Madam Speaker! Regarding accessibility, we can still do much. A large part of the historical cultural heritage still lies hidden underground and in the cultural layers. Archaeology is making great strides with new methods. An archaeological institution at our universities is today often equipped with laboratories with modern – and quite exciting, I think – equipment. But there are also amounts of old excavation reports that can provide new knowledge with new research methods and new questions.

Here, as a cultural heritage policy maker, one might have wanted to see a greater commitment in the research policy bill that the government submitted a couple of months ago. Humanities in general, and archaeology in particular, is an interesting and exciting field that means a lot for culture and cultural heritage.

Cultural heritage does not only exist in the cultural layers, it also lies hidden in the terrain. The large-scale clear-cutting in our forests is an enormous threat to large parts of the cultural heritage that we have still not discovered.

Sustainable forestry, where one does not produce clear-cuts and thereby erase both recreational environments with mushrooms, berries and outdoor life as well as the forest's possibilities to retain greenhouse gases in the lands, would not only lead to significantly higher biodiversity and more pleasant environments. It would also provide the opportunity to find and preserve old graves, pit traps, hillforts, remains from older times of animal husbandry and forestry, charcoal beds or house foundations from, for example, old croft sites. What I mentioned just now is only some of the many traces of human activity that are still hidden in the landscape and which daily – I must say, given the destructive forestry being practiced in Sweden today – are destroyed and erased forever.

Madam Speaker! Digitization naturally opens up new opportunities for accessibility. This applies, for example, to research, but it also naturally applies to preservation. Not least in times of crisis and war, we need strategies to protect our common cultural heritage.

Earlier today, we had a moment here in the Riksdag in the Second Chamber where we marked the three-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. During these three years, this war has shown what has also been seen in many other wars in the world, namely how the destruction of cultural heritage is used as part of the military and psychological strategies in warfare.

We need to be aware, vigilant and proactive regarding the significance of our cultural heritage. We also need to be well-prepared for the war that one now perhaps suspects will also affect our country. It is good that the government has taken the initiative for a cultural protection council.

What has happened in our world in recent days – not least the statements from the US President and individuals in his closest political circle – is worrying and unpleasant. Without doubt, something that at least resembles a coup d'état is underway on the other side of the Atlantic. It was not long ago that Sweden became a full member of Nato. Today we wonder if Nato even exists. The question of the protection of cultural heritage falls, like many other current political issues, into an entirely new light.

Madam Speaker! Our memorial institutions, museums and archives across the country are central to making cultural heritage accessible, preserving it and telling its story. To protect the museums from improper political governance and influence, Miljöpartiet in government took the initiative for the Museum Act. This law has now been in place for quite a few years but needs to continue to be protected and followed so that the principle of arm's length distance is respected.

Our museums also need public funding to be able to secure the collections, offer visitors a positive experience, produce exhibitions, and contribute expertise to research and public debate. Miljöpartiet has followed up on this need in its budget reservations during the mandate period. In addition, a new model for the rental pricing is needed so that no more ceilings collapse, as happened at the Swedish Museum of Natural History. There is an investigation, and we are waiting for a reaction from the government. But nevertheless, the bills need to be paid, and money must be provided regardless of the rental model.

Let me return to the research. In our neighboring country Denmark, museums are not infrequently used as a home and environment for academic research. I would also like to see such a system alongside our educational institutions in Sweden. We have nothing to do with this in today's report and must return to this issue, which we have pursued in other contexts, at another occasion.

Finally: Museums are important cultural gateways for young, adults, and elderly, and therefore we need to raise the political ambitions. Miljöpartiet wants to see county museums in every region in the country. The modern cultural heritage with industrial and work life museums needs to be protected and cared for just like the mobile cultural heritage on road, in water and air, i.e., the rolling, floating, and flying cultural heritage. Riksantikvarieämbetet has proposed a consideration rule to accommodate this, and I think the government should proceed with that rule. Here we have motions, and I obviously stand behind them. I will, however, settle for moving to approve Miljöpartiets reservation 7 on cultural heritage and crisis preparedness.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Roland Utbult (KD)

Madam Speaker! I vote in favor of the committee's proposal in the report.

I have just read Anders Rydell's book Stulen musik. It is the final part of a trilogy about the Nazis' looting of Europe's cultural heritage during World War II. It concerns the world's largest theft tour. Rydell's three books are about an incredible amount of art stolen from the Jews, the looting of Jewish libraries, and the theft of quantities of instruments and scores from Jewish musicians and composers. The purpose varied, but with the art, the books, and the music, it was about once and for all erasing everything Jewish. It was not enough to physically exterminate the Jews. The traces of them were also to be erased.

My transition will now be somewhat abrupt because we in Sweden, despite the anxiety, have lived in a time of peace for 200 years. But as George Bernard Shaw said, we learn from history that we do not learn from history. Today's consideration is therefore a reminder of our own cultural heritage, including cultural environment conservation, ecclesiastical cultural heritage, the cultural heritage of the cultivated landscape, and the culture of national minorities.

Knowledge of one's own cultural heritage, both the material and the intangible, which includes shared values, dialects, traditions, and folk memories, provides people with security in their identity. It is necessary for us to be able to meet and feel respect for others' cultures and traditions. Cultural heritage is also a strong protective factor by strengthening the sense of coherence. We know how important it is to feel and experience coherence and to have a purpose. It is, like, the meaning of life, from a human perspective.

Madam Speaker! The ecclesiastical cultural heritage is an important part of our common cultural heritage, and the church antiquarian compensation plays an important role in preserving the ecclesiastical cultural values for the future.

The compensation has been increased for 2025, which Kristina Axén Olin also mentioned. In meetings with the Church of Sweden, I have stated that my party wants to see an increase in the compensation, and now it has been done. But it is also a matter of continuing to preserve and maintain all the churches that exist around the country, and the government believes that the state, together with the Church of Sweden, shall continue to take responsibility for ensuring that the ecclesiastical cultural heritage is preserved, used, and developed.

Furthermore, an important part of the cultural heritage concerns crisis preparedness and digitalization. In August 2024, the Archives Ordinance was updated, and state agencies are now required to consult with the National Archives in good time regarding the establishment of handover plans for archives. It is also possible to require an agency to take measures to rectify deficiencies in archive management.

State museums are also required to continuously carry out a risk and vulnerability analysis and consult with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, MSB, in connection with a potential removal of collections. It is noted that the threat is increasing and that anxiety is spreading, which is very sad to observe. The Government has also established a national council for the protection of cultural heritage and allocated special funds to strengthen society's preparedness and protect the cultural heritage.

Work is also underway on the digitalization of cultural heritage, where the Swedish National Heritage Board has developed a national strategy for digital cultural heritage.

Madam Speaker! I think it is not only the Christian Democrats but all parliamentary parties who agree that it is important to strengthen the languages and cultures of national minorities. The history of the minorities must become known and visible.

The Jewish minority is a particularly vulnerable group in these times of Holocaust deniers and general antisemitism, which is spread openly, not least on social media. I am therefore proud that the government is making initiatives to strengthen the security for the Jewish minority, and I am convinced that several, hopefully all, join in this view.

The year 2025 marks 250 years of Jewish life in Sweden. We highlight the Jewish minority, Jewish culture, and the Jewish cultural heritage throughout the country. A number of authorities have also been tasked with paying special attention to this.

Finally, I want to mention the then Prime Minister Göran Persson, who took the initiative for a broad information campaign about the Holocaust and the book Om detta må ni berätta, which since 1998 has been distributed free of charge to schools and exhibitions. Let us never forget, but let us continue to tell about what has happened so that it is not repeated again.

We are human beings who all belong to a context, and we must help each other tell the stories and remind of the heritage on our continent. We have visited the agency Forum för levande historia, and they make great efforts to inform about Nazism, communism, and other crimes against humanity. Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27 is observed, as we all know, here in the Riksdag every year.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Louise Thunström (S)

Madam Speaker! Since the day after the tragic school shooting at Campus Risbergska in Örebro, Örebro County Museum has photodocumented the places where people have gathered to express their sorrow and show their sympathy. Now, the museum has also begun a digital memorial collection, where everyone who wishes can share their thoughts and feelings about this horrific event. This work will become a document of its time, a historical testimony, preserved for future research and future exhibitions.

We truly live in testing times. Here at home, we are still living in the shock after the attack in Örebro. In the world, we see how the rules-based world order that was built up after the Second World War is shaking in its foundations. Polarization and populism are driving wedges between people, and climate change affects us all both existentially and economically.

In the midst of the anxiety, our museums stand as stable pillars of knowledge, of reflection, and of coherence. The Swedish people's trust in the museums is very strong. They top the list among the institutions that the Swedish people state they have the highest trust in. The museums all around our country possess invaluable knowledge of the local perspectives, and they contribute to our ability to understand our history, our present, and our future.

Madam Speaker! Today we are debating cultural heritage, all the historical traces that human activity has left throughout the ages. It can be physical objects and remains, but it can also be ideas, traditions, perspectives and perceptions. Cultural heritage is living, in constant development and in constant dialogue with the present.

In a restless time, the insights into the value of cultural heritage have become even stronger. In the shadow of the ongoing wars in Ukraine and in Gaza, where people suffer unimaginably, there is also a systematic destruction of cultural heritage taking place. War is not just about territory, but it is also about identity. Russia is waging war against a country they consider does not exist. Therefore, the destruction of Ukrainian culture is central to the Russian warfare. Museums are looted, archives are leveled to the ground, and history is being rewritten. In the same way, we see how cultural heritage in Gaza and in other places in the world is threatened by military conflicts and is being deliberately erased. Cultural heritage is a target and a weapon in the war of narratives.

Madam Speaker! Our Swedish cultural heritage is not isolated from other cultural policy measures. It is part of the broad network, the infrastructure that constitutes Swedish cultural life. Cultural heritage is a cornerstone for both education and democracy. An important part of strengthening cultural heritage is therefore to ensure that a diversity of culture and meeting places exists throughout the country. Access to libraries, county museums, theaters, rehearsal rooms, and cultural houses gives people the opportunity to gather, exchange ideas, and strengthen their sense of community. This is important, not least from a preparedness perspective.

What we see now is, however, the exact opposite. Study associations are closing their premises all over Sweden. Museums are forced to take in [new members/visitors] and cut back on staff. Cultural schools are raising their fees, and in the worst cases, they are closing down completely. The world heritage sites have lost their financial support, and most recently, we have been reached by the news that the National Archives in Östersund risk being closed down. Instead, the National Archives shall concentrate its activities to a few locations in the country. This goes completely against the previously stated value that the state shall be present throughout the entire country.

Sometimes it feels like we live in a time where we know the price of everything but the value of nothing. Sweden's entire cultural infrastructure is in turmoil. Yet, we have a Minister for Culture and a government that claims to prioritize preparedness, education, and children. I find it difficult to see that prioritization, and cultural heritage has become less accessible with this government.

An ambitious, coherent and strong cultural policy is what is required. It is a policy based on an understanding of how cultural heritage, contemporary culture, creation and folk education interact and enrich society.

Madam Speaker! We Social Democrats want to make a number of investments to strengthen our cultural heritage. We propose an investment in our Swedish world heritage sites. Sweden currently has 15 world heritage sites selected by the UN organization Unesco. These world heritage sites bear witness to the history of the earth and humanity in a unique way and are a matter of concern for all of humanity.

World Heritage sites must be given the right conditions to be preserved and developed, while at the same time more people should be given the opportunity to experience these unique environments, the value of which Sweden has actually committed to communicating.

The Swedish National Heritage Board allocated grants of 4 million kronor annually between the years 2021 and 2024 for world heritage coordination for those world heritages that are cultural heritage. But now that initiative has ceased. We Social Democrats believe that the initiative should continue, and it should also be increased. In order for the World Heritage Convention, which Sweden has signed, to be complied with, the state needs to take greater responsibility for the world heritages. In the current situation, no resources are being allocated. This can, for example, be compared to the fact that the Norwegian state gives its world heritages, half as many as the Swedish ones, 100 million kronor annually. It is unfortunate that our Swedish world heritages have such different conditions compared to the other Nordic ones.

Madam Speaker! The reform with free admission to state museums enabled more people to take part in our common cultural heritage. The museums are our collective memory, our jointly owned institutions of knowledge, a cultural public good, a public space for cultural heritage. We want the museums to be a place to visit again and again, and we therefore want to reintroduce free admission with the goal that, in the long run, it should include more museums than only the state museums.

Madam Speaker! Ceramics has a strong rooting in Swedish culture and is present in numerous homes as both art and functional objects. Sweden, however, lacks a national center for ceramic art with responsibility for preserving and developing the art form.

Höganäs and Kullahalvön in northwestern Skåne constitute the heart of Swedish ceramics. It is there that the art form has developed since the 1800s. Through KKAM – ceramics, art, studio and museum – a unique center for ceramic art has been established where historical knowledge has been developed and conveyed through museum activities, archives, exhibitions and ceramic education in the studio.

We Social Democrats believe that Sweden needs a national center for ceramic art and that there are good reasons why KKAM is the obvious choice to take on that role.

Madam Speaker! We have a special statement for the consideration, but I move for approval of reservation 15.

(Applause)

In this speech, Kristoffer Lindberg (S) agreed.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Runar Filper (SD)

Madam Speaker! We stand behind all of our reservations but move for the approval of our reservation 5 regarding the ecclesiastical cultural heritage.

Together with the government, we in the Sweden Democrats have introduced a number of initiatives in the budget that strengthen the Swedish cultural heritage, for example regarding the renovation of subsidized properties, and finally increased the church antiquarian compensation.

When the church and the state went their separate ways, it was proposed that the state would gradually add funds to a level of 460 million kronor per year. This gradual introduction was completed in 2009. Since then, no further increase has been made despite inflation and diminished monetary value.

That is why the government's and the Sweden Democrats' increase of 30 million per year is a long-awaited step in the right direction. Converted to today's monetary value, the 460 million that was originally decided upon now corresponds to more than 700 million kronor. We in the Sweden Democrats want to work for continued increases to counter inflation and diminished monetary value.

Also linked to the preparedness for cultural heritage, we have invested together with the government. It concerns an annual investment in preparedness planning, evacuation transports, and secure warehouses to protect cultural heritage in the event of a crisis or conflict or, for example, fire.

In the event of a crisis or conflict, it is essential that there are magazines and spaces that provide adequate protection, for example, spaces that are bomb- and fireproof, to guarantee the safety of cultural heritage objects during an ongoing crisis or conflict.

In the current situation, cultural heritage objects are stored in museums or in warehouses above ground and in locations in densely built-up areas. There are no bomb- or fireproof warehouses designated for collections, with the exception of the National Archives' rock vault in Marieberg, the Royal Library's underground warehouse in Stockholm, and the Stockholm City Archives' rock vault. This means that several state museums do not have warehouses that are suitable for an eventual crisis or conflict. Thus, there is a risk that invaluable collections are without protection if something such were to occur.

At the same time, we see development needs within other cultural heritage areas, such as intangible cultural heritage. More needs to be done to preserve Swedish intangible cultural heritage. It is about the preservation of customs and practices, stories and more that tell a coherent story about the Sweden we live in today but also about what has been. It is traditions and customs and practices that have been passed down between generations, for example different forms of crafts, rituals, music and stories.

As late as December, Unesco decided on the inscription of fäbodbruk on the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Fäbodbruket is a good example of a living tradition with a strong commitment among practitioners that is passed down from generation to generation. It is a cultural heritage that we share with our neighboring country Norway.

UNESCO's Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage aims to ensure respect for and increase knowledge of the importance of intangible cultural heritage.

The convention work in Sweden is coordinated by the Institute for Language and Folklore. The valuable work that actors such as the Institute for Language and Folklore perform constitutes part of the collective effort to safeguard our collective memory together with civil society and other actors.

The Institute's mission is to collect, build up, and disseminate knowledge about language and culture in Sweden. The Institute is the expert authority for dialects, researches and disseminates knowledge about dialects, and works with collecting, examining, conveying, and making dialect material accessible.

The Institute also has one of Sweden's largest folk memory collections. In the archives, there are thousands of stories about people's lives and livelihoods in everyday life and festivities from the 19th century's fishing and farming society until today's society.

The Swedish National Heritage Board is the authority that leads and supports the work of preserving, using, and developing the cultural heritage.

Nordiska museet is also an immensely important actor as an expert authority within the area of oral traditions and expressions as well as social customs, rites and holidays.

Much risks being forgotten forever. No one seems to care about commemorative days today – when we are to start eating semlor, eating crayfish, and eating surströmming. And then the language! We speak more and more English with our neighboring countries. The Nordic linguistic understanding is soon as if blown away. Previously, one would enter a Danish shop, ask in Swedish, and get an answer in Danish. Now, young people enter, ask in English, and get an answer in English. It is tragic, and this is something that must not disappear.

Here in Sweden, it is also becoming increasingly English. In every other sentence, there are a lot of English words and expressions. It won't be long before Swedish is forgotten if nothing is done.

Many emigrants who traveled to America packed four literary works in their America suitcase. They were the Bible, the catechism and the hymnal, and it was the bondepraktikan. It became part of the cultural heritage that they carried over to the new world. In it stands much that our ancestors could count on their five fingers but which today is increasingly gone.

Outside the sphere of public authorities lies the local heritage movement, which constitutes something of a backbone and is an indispensable hub for Sweden's cultural heritage, both material and immaterial.

The level of ambition from the public sector regarding intangible cultural heritage should be raised, especially with regard to the work surrounding UNESCO's Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

We call for a general increase in ambition and extensive work to guarantee the necessary protection and preservation of our intangible cultural heritage for future generations.

We Sweden Democrats have, within the framework of the budget cooperation with the government, made a number of investments, but we are the first to say that more needs to be done for cultural heritage on a broad front. It is about budget investments but also about more assignments and instructions to cultural heritage authorities to accelerate digitalization or other action plans that are necessary to secure the cultural heritage.

(Applause)

In this speech, Jonas Andersson, Rasmus Giertz and Daniel Lönn (all SD) concurred.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Vasiliki Tsouplaki (V)

Madam Speaker! Right now we are making history. We are already a part of the cultural heritage. I do not know if that is joyful news for the assembly here.

What is preserved of our contemporary time will become an important foundation for how future generations understand us. When it comes to the Riksdag's work and this debate, it is self-evident that what we say is documented in minutes. We have film recordings, and our motions and conclusions are collected in reports. It is material for tomorrow's researchers, and future politicians may be able to benefit from what we have done.

For the memory of our everyday life, there is a plan. It can be good to remind oneself that cultural heritage policy is not only about how we preserve and make accessible older objects, environments, and stories, but also about preparedness to take care of the present.

It is about resources for the museums, so that they can both manage collections and collect new ones, but it is also about knowledge in the voluntary sector regarding the possibilities of collaborating with, for example, county archives. I think it was nice with the example that Louise raised earlier about Örebro and the collection of stories.

I like the concept of memory institutions very much. Archives, museums and libraries are examples of institutions for our collective memory. Unfortunately, things have gone in the wrong direction regarding the state's commitment to these important places and functions. The government has indeed made an important contribution for school libraries, but the public libraries are having a hard time. Furthermore, nothing is being done to support the municipalities after the initiative Stärkta bibliotek was discontinued.

The state museums have become less accessible since the free admission for adults was removed, and the archive issues unfortunately do not seem to be prioritized despite the previous government preparing through several inquiries. It is only from a readiness perspective that one takes an interest in the cultural heritage, I experience.

Madam Speaker! Cultural heritage policy cannot be decoupled from other cultural policy measures, as it is linked to the network that is Swedish cultural life. The cultural school teaches folk music and folk dance, and support exists for musicians, artists, and craftspeople who carry forward older traditions. The voluntary cultural life is of great importance for the possibility of showcasing and bringing to life cultural environments.

In this context, I would like to take the opportunity to highlight intangible cultural heritage. It is pleasing that Svenska Hemslöjdsföreningarnas Riksförbund has been appointed to specifically preserve intangible cultural heritage. It is one of the smallest items in the Culture Committee's budget, but it is important that we sometimes highlight the importance of the craft associations' work.

It is not possible to set initiatives on cultural heritage against other cultural policy initiatives, as they are interconnected in a fine-meshed net. Some parties may be tempted to do this, but what is needed is a unified cultural policy, based on an understanding of how Swedish cultural life functions today and what is required for it to become even better in the future.

Madam Speaker! An important part of our cultural heritage is the cultural heritage of the national minorities and the indigenous people, the Sámi.

The oppression of national minorities and a policy of forced assimilation is a regrettable and in many ways still unprocessed part of Sweden's dark history that lives on and has consequences even in our time.

People have been rendered invisible and mapped in discriminatory ways solely because they belonged to a minority. The previous assimilation policy meant that people were forced to deny their origins and stop speaking their language in order not to be excluded from the majority society.

Through international agreements, Sweden has since the ratification in 2000 committed itself to protecting and strengthening the rights of the Sami, Tornevians, Swedish-Finns, Roma, and Jews to identity, language, cultural heritage, and religion.

Much remains to be done, however. Discrimination, racism, and hate crimes against people belonging to the national minorities still occur. For this reason, we must constantly improve and develop the rights for our minorities.

Madam Speaker! Vänsterpartiet has a comprehensive policy to do just this. Many of our proposals will be handled in the Committee on the Constitution, which shares the responsibility with us in the Committee on Culture, and some of our proposals on language will be handled further ahead in ours.

The proposal from us that is in today's report concerns the knowledge of Roman settlements. We believe that it is important to investigate and document more sites. This has been done by some regional museums. The history of Romans and travelers must be highlighted and made visible as part of the Swedish cultural heritage.

Archaeological excavations and the preparation of settlements as monuments is a way to make their history visible. It is an important part of our history that in that way can be shared with the public.

We have proposed that the National Heritage Board (Riksantikvarieämbetet) be tasked with carrying out documentation and mapping of Roman and traveler settlements so that they can be made visible. We have allocated funds for this in the budget, and it is this proposal that is addressed in reservation 18, which I move to approve today.

Madam Speaker! For the Left Party, cultural heritage issues are high on the agenda. We allocate nearly 400 million more than the government in the area. It concerns everything from increasing the church antiquarian compensation and free admission to state museums to funds for cultural environments and foundation museums and a major digitalization initiative.

In a previous debate here in the chamber, the Sverigedemokraterna representative pointed out that the reason the opposition can have such generous shadow budgets is that we have a different tax policy. That is very much correct. In our budget, there is not the large tax cut for high-income earners of 34 billion kronor that the government has made and that Sverigedemokraterna has agreed to. That means we can have much larger investments, among other things in cultural heritage.

The struggle over the writing of history is ongoing, and we need to keep our eyes on it. We now see in our world around us that people are trying to falsify events. Earlier in the debate, we heard how, for example, the war in Ukraine is now being spoken about by representatives of the USA. In many conflicts in our world around us, there are also attempts to steal objects, demolish buildings, and erase entire ethnic groups' identities by destroying the traces of their history. We see it in Ukraine, and we see it in Palestine, for example.

Sweden has an important role in international contexts to prevent this from happening, to draw attention to it and help with the preservation of cultural heritage through cooperation and strong assistance that reaches both cultural institutions and civil society.

Sweden unfortunately has a history of appropriating objects and treasures from other cultures. In our museum collections and at other institutions, there are many objects, images, and even human remains that should be returned, repatriated. Some work has been done, but there is more to be desired.

Action plans are good, but resources for the work are also needed. I therefore hope that the government can return with both political initiatives and increased resources for repatriation in upcoming budgets.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Catarina Deremar (C)

Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by moving for the approval of reservation number 11 in the report.

Cultural heritage is about everything – the place we live in and where we spend our time at work or in our leisure time. A part of the cultural heritage is the ecclesiastical cultural heritage. There are traces from the region's and the country's history. This cultural heritage needs to be made more accessible to everyone, and therefore digitalization is important. The digitalization of the ecclesiastical cultural heritage provides opportunities to further make the ecclesiastical culture accessible.

Digital documentation, that is to say everything from simple photographs with a mobile camera to 3D scanning and other more advanced methods, is significant. The increased digitalization of historical source material, including under the direction of Riksarkivet and various civil society actors, creates new opportunities for documentation of and knowledge development regarding ecclesiastical cultural heritage.

It is important that both the Church of Sweden, the Swedish National Heritage Board and the County Administrative Boards have sufficient competence to see and utilize these opportunities and that there are resources to utilize external expertise. The possibility to both take part in culture and to create it yourself through digital technology must also be taken into account. A digitalization of cultural heritage contributes to preserving it for the future and making it more accessible.

One method for finding what is in the ground is to use metal detectors. The Swedish cultural heritage is a matter of concern for all of us. Protection of cultural heritage, including ancient remains, should not entail more requirements for permits than what is required to achieve this protection. Metal detectors can also be used if, for example, one has lost another metal object, but to enable use without risking the protection of the cultural heritage, a license system for metal detectors should be introduced. That could be a possible way.

In a license, there could, for example, be an obligation to report if any archaeological remains are found. Then, permits would not need to be applied for every occasion and location. The Government should therefore look further into this, so that we can establish a license system for the use of metal detectors.

Previous members have also been to the mountain pastures. I have promised that I will mention this, and I believe I mentioned it in our last debate here in the Riksdag. I have, therefore, done it once this year. I also appreciate that more people see the mountain pastures as an important part of our cultural heritage.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(A decision was to be taken on 26 February.)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)