Parisa Liljestrand

The Swedish Government has adopted a national strategy to strengthen Jewish life and combat antisemitism. This strategy will provide a structure for national efforts in the period 2025–2034. The objective is to lay the foundations for more targeted and coordinated efforts and create better conditions for Jewish life in Sweden.

Iceland’s President Halla Tómasdóttir is paying a State Visit to Sweden at the invitation of His Majesty the King. The President is accompanied by her spouse Björn Skúlason, Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir and Minister for Health Alma Möller, together with a delegation from the business sector.

This year marks the 250th anniversary of Jewish life in Sweden. The National Agency for Education has been tasked with raising awareness of this anniversary and presenting proposals on how it can be highlighted in schools.

This year marks the 250th anniversary of Jewish life in Sweden. The anniversary is an opportunity to highlight the Jewish minority, Jewish culture and Jewish cultural heritage that is found all over the country. The Government has therefore tasked a number of agencies with contributing to the observance of the anniversary.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Minister for Culture Parisa Liljestrand will attend a ceremony on Monday 27 January to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp.

In 2025, the 250th anniversary of established Jewish life in Sweden will be celebrated. This will be an opportunity to highlight the Jewish minority, culture and cultural heritage throughout the country. The Government has therefore, in appropriation directions for 2025, instructed a number of government agencies to help highlight the 250th anniversary. The year 2025 also marks 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

The Government is announcing a new action plan to combat racism and hate crime. Through this concerted action, the Government is taking important steps in the efforts to free Sweden from racism and hate crime. The efforts in this area will be accurate, measurable and long-term. Schools, judiciary, welfare and working life will be in focus.

Culture is one of the foundations that connect the Nordic countries. An inclusive cultural scene in the Nordic region promotes democracy, diversity and quality of life. Nordic cultural cooperation therefore plays an important role in efforts to ensure a well-integrated and sustainable Nordic region – today and in the future.

When the Nordic Council holds its 76th Session in Reykjavik on 28–31 October, the focus will be on peace and security in the Arctic and Nordic regions.

Swedish and Finnish ministers will undertake a number of joint visits on the afternoon of 16 September. Media representatives are welcome to take part in the visits. Contact the relevant press contacts for more information, see below. Note that the list is subject to change.

Earlier this year, the Government submitted a communication entitled Strategy for businesses in the cultural and creative industries to the Riksdag. It applies for the period 2024–2033.

The Government submitted a communication entitled Strategy for businesses in the cultural and creative industries to the Riksdag. It applies for the period 2024–2033.

Over two days at the beginning of May, Minister for Culture Parisa Liljestrand received her Nordic and Baltic colleagues in Stockholm. The meetings were held within the framework of the Swedish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers, which is the official body for intergovernmental cooperation in the Nordic region.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies have organised a conference on Belarus to strengthen dialogue with Belarusian democratic forces in exile.

This year’s Per Anger Prize went to Sithar Chhim, who fights for democracy and respect for human rights in Cambodia. Minister for Culture Parisa Liljestrand presented the award on 25 April during a ceremony at the Living History Forum.

Today, on World Press Freedom Day, the Government announced that it is expanding and deepening our work for press freedom around the world through several key actors. Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Johan Forssell and Minister for Culture Parisa Liljestrand, opinion piece, Expressen, 3 May 2024.

The King and Queen of Denmark will pay a State Visit to Sweden on 6–7 May 2024 at the invitation of His Majesty The King.

The task force for Jewish life in Sweden held its third meeting on Friday 9 February, with its discussions mainly focused on the 2024 theme of education. New representatives of the National Agency for Education and the Swedish National Council of Adult Education joined this meeting. The task force will also continue to address last year’s theme of security in 2024.

Yesterday evening, the Government received the alarming news that two Swedes were killed in a terrorist attack in Brussels. The attack appears to have been aimed at Sweden and Swedish interests. Our thoughts are with the deceased and their relatives.

On 16 October, Minister for Gender Equality Working Life and Deputy Minister for Employment Paulina Brandberg, Minister for Culture Parisa Liljestrand and Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health Jakob Forssmed met with representatives of Jewish civil society. The meeting focused on how events in Israel are affecting Jews in Sweden, current challenges and future efforts to combat antisemitism and support Jewish life.