Samdok - Nordiska museet

Opening and welcome addresses
contexts. How can they use these collections to discuss issues
of relevance for people today, and how should new acquisitions
correspond with already existing collections?---
We believe that an intensified and extended dialogue and
collaboration across borders would be beneficial for the
development of museum practices, and we therefore invite
museum professionals and scholars to the conference in
November 2007 and to initial discussions on the formation
of a Collecting Network for museums of cultural and social
history.”
And here we are together looking forward to two days of
intense dialogue and, hopefully, future cooperation!
Many of our old museums, like Nordiska Museet,
were founded under the impression of the flourishing
patriotic movements of the nineteenth century. Many
old and new nation states wanted to establish and express
their cultural identity after centuries of wars, occupation,
maybe disruption. There was a strong wish to
preserve the cultural heritage for future generations.
Many times, as here in Sweden, this was achieved
at the last minute in the period of industrialization, urbanization
and emigration – 20 per cent of our population
emigrated because of poverty and lack of freedom.
Strong actors in this struggle for our national culture
were popular movements, the homestead movement and
the handicraft movement – along with our schools and
universities.
Today we see a similar movement in the nations that
have achieved independence during the last 50–60 years.
When the United Nations was founded in 1945 it had 51
members – today nearly 200. Many of these ‘new’ nations
have experienced colonialism, oppression, exploitation,
poverty, maybe also civil war and cruel dictators.
It is evident for many reasons that they want to manifest
their cultural heritage and identity. Many of these countries
are also in the process of radical economic and social
changes creating economic development and threats
to their cultural traditions.
Today we live in a new world where cultures meet
in countries and across boarders. Many nation states
include many peoples with different languages, traditions,
religions. Some peoples live in different states, as
the Sami people here in Norway, Sweden, Finland and
Russia or the Kurds in the Middle East. Most of us live in
a multicultural environment.
This has not always been the case. When I was a
schoolgirl and a young woman, Sweden was still an extremely
homogeneous society. The outside world was
unknown and foreigners very rare. Less than 10 per cent
could speak any other language than Swedish. We had
a Lutheran State Church and its faith was taught in our
schools. Other religions were detested. There was nothing
like rights for minorities.
This has all changed. Today all children learn English
in school – most of them two or more languages. Twenty
per cent of our inhabitants are immigrants from all parts
of the world. More than 100 nationalities live in Sweden.
Their children have the right to learn their mother tongue
in school – together with Swedish and English. The rights
of the minorities – the Sami people, the Swedish Finns,
the Tornedalers, the Roma and the Jews – have been protected
by law since 1999 when we became partners of the
European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages
and The Framework Convention for the Protection of
National Minorities. It was one of my most rewarding
experiences as Speaker of the Swedish Parliament to preside
over the session where these decisions were taken
with representatives of all these groups in their traditional
dresses present in the galleries of the plenary. Just now
our main exhibition SÁPMI tells the story of the Sami
people. We do not have a state church. Religions live side
by side. The Catholic Church is our second biggest denomination,
Islam the third. Three of my grandchildren
live in a suburb of Stockholm, Rinkeby, where 90 per
cent of the inhabitants are immigrants and the Muslim
children an absolute majority in the schools.
This is a new reality, a major change that has taken
place during two generations. We cannot ignore that we
do have some problems with relations and integration.
But none the less, there is no doubt that our ‘new Swedes’
and our new contacts with the rest of the world, with
other cultures and religions, have greatly enriched our
life – in daily details as well as in the perception of the
world. This has given us new chances, new experiences,
and new challenges to form our identity.
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