Ministry of Education and Research

Minister for Upper Secondary School and Adult Education and Training Anna Ekström will be in Canada from 4 to 7 February.

Summary of the report of the Inquiry on increased internationalisation of higher education institutions.

Vocational education and training, ministerial meetings and panel discussions on women’s leadership – these are some of the programme points when Minister for Upper Secondary School and Adult Education and Training Anna Ekström visits Latvia and Lithuania on 15–17 January.

Sexuality education and reproductive health on the agenda when Minister for Education participates in launch of UNESCO’s new handbook for sexuality education during visit to South Africa and Zambia on 12–16 January.

One of the Swedish Government’s gender equality policy sub-goals is that men’s violence against women must stop. With reference to #metoo, the following lists some examples of implemented and forthcoming measures to counteract sexual violence, harassment and assault.

The #metoo movement in Sweden strongly demonstrates that more needs to be done to combat sexual harassment and sexual violence in workplaces and society at large. The Swedish Government requires all employers to take responsibility for a secure work environment. In the area of work environment and discrimination there are already many tools and relevant legislation, but the power and size of the petitions show that there are deficiencies in compliance with the regulations. For this reason, Minister for Employment Ylva Johansson and Minister for Gender Equality Åsa Regnér have met with the labour market and union partners, and several ministers have in recent weeks convened meetings with heads of government agencies and business leaders in order to focus on the responsibility of employers to counteract sexual violence and harassment.

The focus will be on the Swedish space industry as State Secretary Karin Röding and a Swedish business delegation visit the European Space Agency (ESA) in the Netherlands on Thursday 7 December.

Urban planning, life sciences, top-class higher education institutions and a meeting with a Nobel laureate – several interesting topics will be on the agenda when Helene Hellmark Knutsson, Minister for Higher Education and Research, travels to the United States on 27–29 November.

The Prime Minister, together with the EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has invited to a social summit focusing on the promotion of Fair Jobs and growth, in Gothenburg on Friday 17 November. Heads of State and heads of Governments together with other EU-member ministers will be in place.

Media representatives are welcome to take part when EU ministers meet in Södertälje to discuss the role of education and training in challenges facing the labour market. Minister for Upper Secondary School and Adult Education and Training Anna Ekström will host the meeting.

High-level international meetings, education projects for Indian school children, women’s education and skills supply – these are part of the programme for Minister for Upper Secondary School and Adult Education and Training Anna Ekström when she visits India on 1–3 November.

On 14–19 October, the WorldSkills Competition will be held in in the United Arab Emirates. Minister for Upper Secondary School and Adult Education and Training Anna Ekström will accompany the Swedish vocational team to Abu Dhabi and take part in a ministerial meeting on vocational training being held at the same time.

International cooperation between higher education institutions and world-class teacher training programmes are the focus as Minister for Higher Education and Research Helene Hellmark Knutsson travels to Indonesia and Singapore on 3–6 October.

On Thursday 31 August, Minister for Higher Education and Research, Helene Hellmark Knutsson, is hosting a meeting with Wan Gang, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology. A cooperation agreement on research will be signed during the meeting.

On Thursday 6 April 2017, Minister for Children, the Elderly and Gender Equality Åsa Regnér inaugurated the multilingual Youmo.se website that provides information about health, gender equality, and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Beijing, 13 June 2017. Check against delivery.

Brussels 29 may 2017. Check against delivery.

In Sweden, there are 31 public-sector universities and university colleges, and some fifteen private education providers at which 400 000 people are studying. In 2015, these higher education institutions had a turnover of SEK 67 billion and employed 75 000 people. An activity that is so extensive and vital to society needs active and forceful gender equality efforts to ensure that everyone is given equal opportunities to conduct research and get an education, regardless of gender.

Minister for Higher Education and Research Helene Hellmark Knutsson will visit Beijing and Shanghai in China on 11–16 June. The aim of the visit is to highlight Sweden as a nation of education and research, and to promote the internationalisation of higher education and research.