The Government proposes that an additional SEK 120 million in total be allocated over four years to the cultural cooperation model, a model that gives the county councils greater responsibility to allocate certain central government grants to local and regional cultural activities. The purpose of this investment is to create a more equitable cultural offering throughout the country and to give more people access to culture.
This investment is part of the Budget Bill for 2017, which is based on an agreement between the government parties and the Left Party.
Access to a free and vibrant cultural life is a prerequisite for an open society that promotes participation and democracy. One of the fundamental ideas of the Government's efforts to build our society is that cultural life needs to be accessible for more people and throughout the country.
The Government considers that reinforcing culture locally and regionally – both within the framework of the regional institutions' activities and within the non-institutional cultural sphere – is also important in light of the growing gap between urban and rural areas.
The Government therefore proposes allocating an extra SEK 30 million per year to the cultural cooperation model in 2017–2020. The extra resources will go to more regional and local culture and provide greater opportunities for regional priorities and a diverse cultural offering.
Information about the cultural cooperation model
The cultural cooperation model was introduced in 2011 and gives the county councils greater responsibility to allocate certain central government grants to local and regional cultural activities. The purpose of the model is to help achieve the national culture policy objectives and to provide greater opportunities for regional priorities and diversity. The Government contributes a total of approximately SEK 1.2 billion per year to local and regional culture within the framework of the cultural cooperation model.