The government withdraws the position of the Beijing Cultural Council

In recent months, there has been an open question in Swedish embassies abroad whether the new government will cut the number of cultural council positions, which has alarmed diplomatic circles.

When the previous government resigned, work had not begun to extend the regulations for the cultural councils in Berlin, Istanbul and London – their terms of service expire in the joint period between 2022 and 2023 – and the Ministry of Culture had not begun to search for successors to the cultural councils in Berlin, Istanbul and London. Posts in question.

with a reason From an uncertain situation he sent five ambassadors and a general consul i summer letter To those in charge of the Ministry of Culture and Foreign Affairs, where the signatories warned of the dangers of not giving priority to the work of promoting cultural exchange and stimulating cultural dialogue, which is therefore the main task of the cultural councils.

On Monday, the Ministry of Culture announced that it “aims” to extend the work period of the cultural councils in Berlin, Istanbul and London. In such cases, their appointment continues until the summer of 2023.

But the Ministry of Culture announces the withdrawal of the service of the Beijing Cultural Council. As a reason for this, they point to China’s covid-19 restrictions, which make it “difficult to operate in the country at the moment,” as stated on the ministry’s website.

Ministry of Culture They have not yet made any decisions on a long-term solution to the cultural council positions, but they are also writing that in the spring they will review operations and then come back with a plan for the future.

In 2021, the Pretoria Cultural Council position has been withdrawn. With the withdrawal of the Beijing Cultural Council position, the number of Swedish Cultural Councils has reached seven.

Read more:

Parisa Lillistrand: “Culture has helped me understand the world around me”