2009 Press release 14 May 2009 Prime Minister's Office Ministers' engagements weeks 21-22 2009 Subject to change. For further information contact the Minister's press secretary. Related Press contacts Calendar for Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt Prime Minister's Office Calendar for Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt Calendar for Minister for Trade Ewa Björling Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt 18 May Travel in Sweden 20 May Party leader debate ahead of European Parliament election, Riksdag 25 May Travel in Sweden Ministry for Foreign Affairs Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt 18 May Participation in GAERC, Brussels Visit to Göteborg, Sweden 21 May Visit to Warsaw Visegrad Meeting 24-26 May ASEM, Hanoi 27-28 May Visit to Phnom Penh Minister for Trade Ewa Björling 18 May Visit to Göteborg, Sweden 19 May Visit to Almi Företagspartner (Almi Business Partner) 19 May Dialogue meeting on the export ban on Swedish snuff in the EU internal market 20 May Advisory Committee on EU Affairs, Riksdag Meeting with World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick at World Bank meeting, Helsinki 25 May Speech at Africa Day Seminar on Strategic Partnerships for African Development, Stockholm 27 May Main speaker and award presenter at SwedenBIO's Annual General Meeting 27 May Informal meeting with African ambassadors based in Stockholm on EPA negotiations 28 May Competitiveness Council, Brussels 29 May Visit to Tranås, Sweden Press release 25 March 2009 Ministry for Foreign Affairs Ministry of Culture Minister for Culture and Minister for International Development Cooperation on this year's ALMA award winner The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award rewards work in the humanistic spirit of Astrid Lindgren. The 2009 award goes to the Tamer Institute. This organisation carries out reading promotion activities for children and young people in the West Bank and Gaza. Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth and Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson have issued a joint comment: "This year the jury's choice went to an organisation whose reading promotion activities are characterised by a strong belief in literature and children's own creativity as keys to an open society. They spread children's books where they are most needed - to young people living in difficult conditions, where there is a lack of traditional education channels and in an area where not least girls have historically had less access to literature. "The fact that the prize is rewarding reading promotion activities that so tangibly demonstrate how children's literature can be a positive counterweight and a path to democracy is gratifying. The purposes of the organisation and of the Literature Award have clear common links: both are committed to strengthening the status of children's literature and children's rights." Contact Cecilia Jehler Peter Larsson +46 8 405 10 00 2007 Press release 20 September 2007 Ministry of Culture SEK 24 million in increased efforts for ethnic and cultural diversity and international cultural activities Ethnic and cultural diversity To further promote ethnic and cultural diversity, SEK 10 million will be allocated to this area from 2008. In light of the report Diversity is the Future (Mångfald är framtiden (SOU 2007:50), the Government intends to prioritise efforts, through greater multicultural experiences, to develop international networks and artistic exchange using the skills that are to be found in Sweden. The report is now being circulated for comment, after which the proposals will be considered. International activities and international cooperation Cultural cooperation plays an important role for the mutual exchange of knowledge and democratic development of society. A major proportion of central government support to international cultural exchange consists of development assistance funds. The Swedish Arts Council has continued its task of working for internationalisation of its entire area of activities, with policy intelligence, coordination, grant allocation and information. The Government particularly wants to emphasise the importance of the Swedish Arts Council cooperating with actors in development assistance policy and other relevant policy areas. To promote greater international cultural exchange, the Swedish Arts Council will be allocated a further SEK 3 million for international cultural activities. The international exchange programmes of the Arts Grants Committee should be further developed and the Government is therefore allocating SEK 4 million from 2008. Central government funding of international exchanges and cooperation in the field of literature will receive an additional SEK 7 million from 2008. The Swedish Arts Council will be given responsibility for supporting the translation of Swedish literature and developing international literary cooperation Translation support will be extended to include non-fiction and, to a greater extent, literature for children and young people. Funding for international exchange activities for writers, translators and others etc will also be increased. "Promoting continued ethnic and cultural diversity and international collaboration is important in an increasingly globalised world, which is clearly apparent in this year's budget for culture. I am also pleased to be able to present more extensive support to the translation of Swedish literature and the development of international literary cooperation. This means that Sweden will now have translation support that is worth its name. Translating Swedish writers into other languages and enabling their books to be read outside the country's borders is very important for the development of Swedish literature," says Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn-Liljeroth. Contact Maria Dupont Press Secretary to Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth +46 70 358 77 91 Press release 20 September 2007 Ministry of Culture Increased funding for translation of Swedish literature and international literary cooperation Central government funding of international exchanges and cooperation in the field of literature will receive an additional SEK 7 million from 2008. The Swedish Arts Council will be given responsibility for supporting the translation of Swedish literature and developing international literary cooperation Translation support will be extended to include non-fiction and, to a greater extent, literature for children and young people. Funding for international exchange activities for writers, translators and others will also be increased. "I am very pleased to be able to present more extensive support to the translation of Swedish literature and the development of international literary cooperation. Sweden is at last getting translation support that is worthy of its name. Translating Swedish writers into other languages and enabling their books to be read outside the country's borders is very important for the development of Swedish literature," says Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn-Liljeroth. Contact Maria Dupont Press Secretary to Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth +46 70 358 77 91 Press release 30 July 2007 Ministry of Culture The Minister for Culture on the death of Ingmar Bergman "A great man is gone, an international icon for Sweden has left us. It was with great sorrow that I heard today the news of the death of Ingmar Bergman," says Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth. "Without doubt Ingmar Bergman's films are milestones for the whole of art of filmmaking. His importance cannot be exaggerated. From the lightness and seriousness of films like Wild Strawberries to the unforgettable existential conversations in Scenes from a Marriage and his later films, Ingmar Bergman has shared generously his struggle with his inner demons and has affected people all over the world. His films find new audiences all the time." "As a theatre director Ingmar Bergman gave us several unforgettable and highly charged interpretations of the great classics, mainly at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, which he also led." "As an author he has also give us strong reading experiences that are quite extraordinary, and has provided us with keys to many of his works." "Today my thoughts are first and foremost with Ingmar Bergman's large family." Contact Carl Johan Swanson Political Adviser +46 8 405 17 65 +46 70 280 91 38 email to Carl Johan Swanson 2006 Press release 24 October 2006 Prime Minister's Office Ministry for Foreign Affairs Ministry of Education and Research Sten Tolgfors appointed new Minister for Foreign Trade and Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth new Minister for Culture On Tuesday 24 October, Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt held a press conference to announce the appointments of a new Minister for Foreign Trade and a new Minister for Culture. Sten Tolgfors appointed new Minister for Foreign Trade Sten Tolgfors was born in 1966, is a Member of the Riksdag for the Moderate Party from Örebro and Chair of the Riksdag Committee on Foreign Affairs. He has been a Member of the Riksdag since 1994. Sten Tolgfors worked with Minister for Industry and Trade Per Westerberg during the last period of centre-right government. During the period 1994-1998, Sten Tolgfors was a member of the Riksdag Committee on Industry and Trade and in 1998-2002, he was a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. In 2003-2006, he was the Moderate Party spokesman on schools and educational issues. Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth appointed new Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth was born in 1955. She has been a Member of the Riksdag since 2002. During this period she has been a member of the Riksdag Committee on Culture. At the same time Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth has also been a Member of the Boards of Nordiska museet, the University College of Film, Radio, Television and Theatre, and the Swedish Institute. Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth is a journalist who trained at the Stockholm School of Journalism and has worked mainly as a free-lance journalist for twenty years. She has also long been involved in the activities of Fryshuset, a youth centre in Stockholm, and chaired this organisation between 1994 and 2004. Until quite recently, Lena has also been active in women's shelters in Stockholm and she is a Member of the Board of Anorexia/Bulimia Contact.