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Do you want to know more about Sweden's most invisible national minority?

Don't miss the chance to participate digitally in a knowledge-enriching seminar on June 13th.

Children paint on a transparent plastic film set up between trees.
Children participate in Aurinkofesti. Photo: André Larsson

The Swedish Tornedalingars Riksförbund-Tornionlaaksolaiset invites you to a digital knowledge seminar based on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report As if we never existed in collaboration with the Nordic Association Norrbotten. 

Programme

13.00-13.15 You didn't know this about Tornedalingar, Kväner and Lantalaiset

13.15-13.45 Part 1: The right to language, culture and identity. An obligation and rights-bearer perspective

13.45-14.00 Break

14.00-14.15 Part 2: The right to language, culture and identity. An obligation and rights-bearer perspective. 

14.15-14.45 The way forward

Background

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Tornedalingar, Kväner, and Lantalaiset submitted its final report As if we had never existed to the Minister of Culture, Parisa Liljestrand, in Pajala on 15 November 2023. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is the first of its kind in Sweden. In 2020, the government decided to appoint a committee in the form of a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate violations and abuses against Tornedalingar, Kväner, and Lantalaiset. The commission's mission was to investigate the assimilation policy pursued by the Swedish state during the 1800th and 1900th centuries and to work to make the minority's historical experiences visible.

Cast

Representatives from Tornedalsteatern, Region Norrbotten, Luleå University of Technology, Institute for Language and Folklore, Ministry of Culture, Church of Sweden and the Swedish Foundation for Human Rights. Moderator: Mattias Timander.

The event is organized by the Swedish Tornedalingar Riksförbund-Tornionlaaksolaiset in collaboration with the Association Norden Norrbotten with the support of Region Norrbotten.