The agreement between the Swedish Arts Council and Sida, including the results assessment framework, is the formal guiding document for the Programme from which the criteria and priorities for the Programme have been derived and further interpreted.
The objectives for Sweden’s cultural policy are that culture is to be a dynamic, challenging and independent force based on freedom of expression, that everyone is to be able to participate in cultural life, and that creativity, diversity and artistic quality are to be integral parts of society’s development.
The programme also contributes to the following missions of the Swedish Arts Council:
- In international contexts contribute to the promotion of the role of culture for freedom of expression and democratisation
- Promote synergies between cultural policy and development cooperation
- Promote the expansion of safe havens for persecuted artists and the development of the safe haven system in Sweden.
The Swedish Arts Council is the national focal point for the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions as well as the EU programme Creative Europe.
Swedish development cooperation is currently guided by five cross-cutting perspectives; the poor people’s perspective and the rights perspective as well as the conflict perspective, gender equality and perspective on environment and climate. The poor people’s perspective and the rights perspective apply to all Swedish government agencies.
For more information on these perspectives including tools and materials, please consult Sida
The poor people’s perspective implies that the situation, needs, preconditions and priorities of poor women, girls, men and boys constitute the starting point for Sweden’s work on poverty reduction.
The rights perspective implies that human rights and democracy are seen as fundamental for development. It includes four principles based on the normative framework of human rights: non-discrimination, participation, transparency and accountability.
As a Government agency the Swedish Arts Council contributes to the implementation of Agenda 2030.