Response to interpellation 2023/24:565 on museums' crisis plans
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns museums' crisis plans and the protection of cultural heritage. M argues that the government takes the protection of cultural heritage seriously and has commissioned the formation of a council for coordinated and cost-effective preparedness measures 1 2. M emphasizes that the establishment of the council is an important step, but that it is far from sufficient 3 4. M acknowledges that it is difficult to build up the total defense when previous structures have been dismantled, which requires significant efforts and money 5. M argues that every individual within authorities and museums has a great responsibility to plan for the protection of objects and evacuation 5. M emphasizes that the cultural heritage sector has taken large steps in preparedness work 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Madam Speaker! Lawen Redar has asked me what I and the government intend to do so that more museums will establish a crisis plan to protect cultural heritage in the event of a crisis or war.
The great importance of cultural heritage has been shown in a brutal way during Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine. We have witnessed not only thousands of extinguished human lives but also an intentional destruction of historical monuments and of museums with the aim of erasing the Ukrainian identity and culture.
This has powerfully focused on the need for preparedness planning to protect the cultural heritage in Sweden for future generations. To protect the cultural heritage, we need increased knowledge of threat images, the strength to withstand attacks, and effective preparedness planning with coordination of actors.
The Government has therefore tasked the Swedish National Heritage Board, the National Archives, the Royal Library, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, the National Property Board for Sweden, and the County Administrative Boards to form a council for the protection of cultural heritage. Also, the central museums that are agencies and foundations, the county museums, and the Church of Sweden shall be offered a place in the council.
I and the government assess that a council for the protection of cultural heritage provides the conditions for coordinated and cost-effective preparedness measures, but also for strengthened knowledge and experience exchange regarding the museums' plans to protect cultural heritage during high alert or war.
Lawen Redar (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for Culture for the answer.
On Sunday, the sham election in Russia concluded. The Kremlin had placed an order that over 70 percent of the population should go to the polls. To ensure the fulfillment of the order, police and military have bussed the population from homes and workplaces and GPS-monitored the voting. Green liquid has been poured over ballot papers, violent interventions have occurred against those who refused, and the protest has been suppressed by the military. Journalists and international election observers have been denied observation.
To declare oneself a winner under these circumstances actually says everything about the unfree tyranny Russia is under the autocrat Vladimir Putin.
It has now been over two years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began. A free and peaceful country is being shelled with up to 30,000 shells every day. We cultural politicians are particularly monitoring the preservation of Ukrainian culture, because what is happening now can be equated with cultural genocide, a cultural genocide. At the very least, that is how the Ukrainian author Vachtang Kebuladze describes what is going on.
With precision and ideological drive, the autocrat Vladimir Putin is trying not only to win the war but also to exterminate Ukrainian culture in order to erase Ukraine's history, its language, and its identity. The Kremlin claims that Ukraine has no culture of its own, no language of its own, or even constitutes a nation of its own.
Madam Speaker! Throughout history, cultural heritage as a symbol of history, identity, and memory has been destroyed, looted, or misused for political purposes. When cultural heritage is destroyed, a historiography is enabled that favors the authoritarian ideological will. This effective tactic makes it difficult for free research to anchor historiography in empiricism, but primarily, it destroys the possibility for building a future.
In Ukraine, Russia's systematic destruction of cultural heritage has aimed to deliberately eliminate Ukraine's identity and history. Over 600 libraries have been destroyed, and over 90 museums and nearly 30 theaters and concert halls have been laid in ruins. Therefore, our country's cooperation with Ukraine's cultural institutions must be strengthened and kept intact. Furthermore, the new security situation demands insights about ourselves. We too need to strengthen our preparedness in the event of a crisis and potential war.
I am concerned when report after report points out the acute need to take measures to secure the Swedish cultural heritage in the event of crisis and war. I welcome what the Minister for Culture has undertaken in terms of measures, but the Total Defence Research Institute and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency have noted deficiencies regarding organization and action plan for securing objects.
Against this background, I would like to ask the Minister for Culture if she considers the measures to be sufficient and how many museums have established a crisis plan to protect cultural heritage in the event of a crisis or war. The structural measures that have been taken so far are, as mentioned, welcome. But still, quite a few of Sweden's museums lack an action plan and a place where the objects can be kept in the event of a crisis.
How does the Minister for Culture assess the situation at our museums in Sweden?
Emma Ahlström Köster (M)
Madam Speaker! I share the interpellant's burning commitment to these important issues. It is pleasing that it extends across many party colors in our Riksdag. But it is a bit late for the sinner to wake up, I might think.
It is highly remarkable that Lawen Redar, representing the Social Democrats, a large party that has had great influence on politics for a long time and furthermore held government power for eight years, suddenly takes up these issues right now. The question of cultural heritage in the event of war is current, but questions about culture during crises, environmental disasters, or other types of crises have been current for a long time.
I agree with what Minister for Culture Parisa Liljestrand has just explained, namely that the current government takes the issue of protecting our common cultural heritage very seriously. We have already tasked the relevant authorities with establishing a council to monitor the issue of cultural heritage protection. This means, and will mean and enable, good conditions for effective planning of culturally and historically valuable collections and that cultural properties and cultural environments can be preserved in the future.
The government sees the challenge and has already given this important work a head start.
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Madam Speaker! Regarding the member's first question about how many of the museums already have this type of contingency plans, the Swedish National Heritage Board has stated that it is approximately one-third. In that case, we are talking about museums at the central level but also at the municipal and regional level. One-third of the museums have thus made different types of contingency plans. That is, of course, not enough.
Having a plan for how cultural heritage should be protected during a crisis or, in the worst case, during war is naturally of the highest importance. That is also why it is important to work on coordination. More people should be able to learn from one another, exchange experiences, cooperate, and also provide support in the work for those museums that have not started this work or that have come different distances. One lesson we have drawn when we have spoken with different museums at different levels is namely that they are at different stages in this work.
I would like to say that what I have most clearly taken away from our central museums is that they nevertheless have a good preparedness when it comes to crisis management, that is to say that there is a well-developed planning for handling fires, floods and the type of crises that one can face as a society. On the other hand, building up the preparedness and thinking from a total defense perspective in the event of war, we have not had to place particularly much weight on. The large museums have currently reached different stages in their work. We also need to ensure that both the regional and the municipal museums are in sync in this work so that everyone can work together.
The Swedish National Heritage Board has worked on this for many years. However, in the current global and security situation, we have seen Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, which the member raised, and how cultural heritage is selected as a destination for military operations. It is no longer just that cultural heritage ends up in the way, but it is being targeted. This naturally means that we need to further actualize the issue and speed up the work here at home.
When it comes to the establishment of the Council for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, I am very pleased that the council has been welcomed by the actors and that they see the need to work in this way. This is a step, but it is far from sufficient. We will need to do more, and we shall do more. It is also for this reason that this government is making a major investment in defense to build up our military defense, increase our civil preparedness, and build our total defense. This naturally includes the protection of our culture and our cultural heritage and building up a preparedness for this.
This is a task that will need to be carried out promptly, but we must also take it step by step. The establishment of the council is one step, and we know that more steps will follow. The idea behind the council is partly to paint a picture of the current situation and to be able to learn from one another, and partly to look at what the need will look like moving forward so that we can price it and effectuate it in the form of plans.
Lawen Redar (S)
Madam Speaker! I share the view that it is an important initiative that the government has taken by appointing a council specifically to monitor the needs that our cultural heritage institutions have regarding the urgent measures in terms of objects, sites, and building-related parts that must be made to ensure that we have a cultural heritage that survives in the event of a crisis and potential war.
The regulation of the protection and evacuation of cultural heritage objects is set out, among other things, in the Cultural Environment Act, the Archives Act, the Museum Act, and the Civil Preparedness Ordinance. In all these regulations, it is specified which actors are responsible for preparedness preparations and for the care, maintenance, protection, and evacuation of the cultural heritage. Despite this, it appears quite clearly in my conversations with the national museums and the county museums that it is a major challenge to manage the placement of objects when there is a shortage of protection premises, and that this also leads to additional costs.
In order to be able to effectively apply legislation and regulations, the national action plan is needed, so it is welcome. In addition, however, protective premises, warehouses, and other spaces were needed to secure cultural heritage objects. Just any premises cannot be protective premises; they must be able to withstand quite tangible stresses. They cannot be warehouses above ground. They also cannot be located in densely populated areas, as this in itself poses a risk of attack.
The lack of suitable storage facilities for museums and archives must therefore become a high-priority issue for the Minister for Culture and the Ministry of Culture. This also includes the preservation and protection of our national architectural monuments. I therefore ask what the Minister for Culture intends to do to assist the museums in their critical work of meeting the needs for secure premises, storage, and other spaces. Are there budgeted measures for this?
My second question concerns the digitized work, which has primarily received a pot of money in the autumn budget aimed at the national museums. The county museums perceive themselves as being low priority in this regard because there are no specific earmarked amounts for their work with the digitization of the objects.
I also want to say to Member Ahlström Köster that I really do not agree with what she said about readiness. It is precisely the total defense aspect, against the background of the development of the war, that makes the issue alarming. Therefore, we need to work urgently with these issues also across party lines.
I am grateful for the efforts the Minister for Culture has made so far. I perceive, however, that some of the questions are more urgent than the delivery that the Minister for Culture and the Ministry for Culture have just completed. I hope there is an understanding that support for continued measures in this work can be found with us Social Democrats.
Emma Ahlström Köster (M)
Madam Speaker! I want to emphasize once again that these are important issues and that this debate is very topical.
Member of Parliament Lawen Redar pointed out that we do not have suitable magazines today, and that is entirely correct. This is a result of the fact that in Sweden, for a long time, we have dismantled the shelters we had, that is to say, various protection premises and the type of defense premises where there is an opportunity to house both people and belongings in times of war or crisis. We have to pay for that now. Many years of dismantling have a price, and it will take time to build this up. However, it does not mean that we are not going to start this work, and the work has also been started.
The Minister emphasizes that this work is urgent, and I agree with that. However, it is not so urgent that we should rush and make mistakes, but rather we shall do this at a brisk pace together with the authorities who can do it best. We shall also make use of lessons from other countries that have carried out similar upgrades quite recently.
The Minister said that the establishment of the council is a step, and I agree with this. The Minister also said that it is far from enough, and so it is. However, we are on our way. We see the issues, and we see the whole. The defense issues - taken as a whole - must go hand in hand with this. The civil preparedness is also an important part of this, as is the infrastructure.
I look forward to both following and being an active part of this work.
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Madam Speaker! I must say that it feels good that we are broadly in agreement that this must be a priority issue both here and now and moving forward.
The construction of total defense does not happen by itself. We also know that it is always much more difficult to build up something when we have largely dismantled the structures that previously existed. Therefore, it will require major efforts and money to rebuild the total defense. I am aware of this. The Government is also aware of it.
I have a good cooperation with my colleague Carl-Oskar Bohlin, who is the Minister for Civil Defence. We cooperate in these matters and discuss things concerning the concrete issues that the preparedness work entails when it comes to the protection of cultural heritage, that is, the removal of cultural objects, secure storage solutions in fortified spaces, as well as transport and other logistics. All of this is practical, logistical, and concrete issues that need solutions. It is something that we look at and work on on a daily basis. It is a high priority for the government and for me to work with this.
It is also the case, however, that everyone has a very great responsibility when it comes to building up preparedness and being a cog in the civil defense and in the construction of total defense. For our authorities and for our museums in the cultural field, this means that everyone within their area of responsibility shall plan for how they are to handle, for example, archival documents, books, works of art, and cultural-historical objects, and how they are to work with, for example, evacuation.
The authorities have a responsibility to work with this and also to continuously coordinate with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, which they need to have a cooperation with in order for this to be done in a purposeful manner.
When we have spoken with our counterparts in Ukraine and looked at how it has functioned there, including their counterpart to the Nationalmuseum, we have seen things that they had not thought of. Ukraine's preparedness work has been significantly further ahead than what Sweden's preparedness work has done and does, but still they have been faced with problems for which they had not thought of solutions.
How do you handle evacuation when there is no access to vehicles or gasoline and when there is no packing help inside the museum because you have shipped all the men to the front? Who is it that remains then? How do you make priorities? How do you work in a peaceful situation to make the priorities that will be required? It will be tough priorities, and we must ask ourselves uncomfortable questions about what is worth protecting.
We must have answers to this before we find ourselves in – God forbid – a crisis or, even worse, a war. The work has begun, and we will need to carry it out for a long time to come. My hope is that we will never again end up in a situation where we have to start from scratch. My and the government's task is to take us a good way forward, and I intend to take responsibility for that. I am pleased that I can do it together with the Social Democrats.
Lawen Redar (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank you for an important debate. The question is certainly engaging and must rank high on everyone's agenda when it comes to culture-related issues in our contemporary time.
Let me account for the dismantling that the Moderate member and the Minister for Culture described. It is actually partly about a Moderate government abolishing conscription and dismantling shelters, magazines, and war rooms. For eight years, fundamental parts of society's total defense were dismantled. Collectively, we must now make a major effort to rebuild the total defense, and it requires efforts in all parts of society. In the area of culture, it is perhaps specifically cultural heritage and public service that have significant roles in the total defense.
I will continue to debate this with the Minister for Culture, because I believe that our common goal must be that all of Sweden's museums, whether they are central museums or county museums, have an action plan in the event of crisis or war. One third is insufficient, so here we really must fight on and point with the whole hand at what is at stake. Purpose-built warehouses and the protection of national architectural monuments must also be put in place, and the Ministry for Culture and the Minister for Culture can assist the museums in this work. In addition, we need to analyze whether we should, in the autumn budget or possibly in a spring amendment budget, support the county museums in the digitalization of cultural heritage, as this work must occur much faster than it does today. The primary obstacle here is actually the budget.
I thank you for today's debate and for the conclusions the Minister for Culture draws, but I believe we need to take significantly more measures.
Kulturministern Parisa Liljestrand (M)
Madam Speaker! Yes, preparedness for crisis and war is a major challenge for the entire society. Developments in our global environment have also powerfully focused on the need for preparedness planning to protect Sweden and Swedish cultural heritage for future generations. The cultural heritage sector has in a short time taken large steps in preparedness work, and the council for the protection of cultural heritage that the government recently decided on also provides conditions for coordination, cost-effective preparedness efforts, and the museums' work with plans for the protection of cultural heritage.
The Chairman specifically mentioned public service and cultural heritage as important in the preparedness work, and the Council for the Protection of Cultural Heritage is specifically aimed at cultural heritage. Let me however emphasize that the entire cultural sector has an incredibly important role to play in strengthening resilience and the will to defend in the preparedness work. Free cultural life and our institutions with stages and expressions offer context and cohesion as well as space for reflection. They also give people the opportunity to think about something else for a moment and inspire hope and visions for the future, and that is just as important in tough times.
Culture, in the sense of cultural heritage, has a decisive importance for strengthening the will to defend, resilience, well-being, and endurance in turbulent times. We see what culture means for the people in Ukraine. We have a job to do at home, and the cultural sector is naturally part of this work.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.