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1. New technologies in support of creativity and innovation

2. Facilitating access to culture through new technologies

New technologies in support of creativity and innovation

In 2017, the Government decided on a new IT-strategy for school. The strategy addresses even creative use of new technologies. In the strategy, the aim of school has been broadened to even include developing an understanding of how digitalisation affects the individual and society. All students should be given the opportunity to develop their ability to use digital technology. They should also be given the opportunity to develop a critical and responsible approach to digital technology, in order to see the possibilities and to understand the risks, and to evaluate information.

In March 2017, the Government decided on the following adjustments in curricula and syllabuses:

• programming is introduced as a distinct element in various subjects in compulsory schools, especially in technology and mathematics
• the abilities of students to critically evaluate different sources is to be strengthened
• the abilities of students to solve problems and translate ideas into action in a creative way with the use of digital technology is to be strengthened
• students are to work with digital texts, media and tools
• students are to use and understand digital systems and services
• students are to develop an understanding of the impact of digitalisation on the individual and society.

Crafts

In compulsory school, working with crafts involves creating concrete solutions within the tradition of handicrafts and design, based on needs in different situations. Crafts involve a combination of manual and intellectual work, which together develop creativity, and increases confidence in one's ability to manage tasks in daily life. These abilities are important, both for the individual and the development of society.

The new IT-strategy adds the skill of learning the opportunities of digital technology to be achieved in various subjects, including crafts:

'Competence on different materials, tools and craft techniques in grades 7-9: metal, textile and wood, their combinations with each other and with other materials, such as recycled materials. Learning which materials that can be combined with digital technology.'

The amendments shall apply from 1 July 2018.

Besides that, there are currently no other policies, programmes or initiatives for making new technologies available to empower young people's creativity and capacity for innovation.

Facilitating access to culture through new technologies

There are currently no policies, programmes or initiatives at the national level, aiming at attracting young people's interest in culture, the arts and science through the use of new technologies.

Institutions for cultural heritage, such as museums, libraries and archives, offer rich historical sources that are open for all through their collections of digital and analogue documents, such as books, maps, audiovisual recordings, magazines, etc. The rapid digitalisation in Sweden has contributed to increased opportunities for the public to take part in and for their own purposes reuse this material. Still, more initiatives are needed to attract young people's interest in culture, the arts and science.

The use of digital communication technologies has created significant opportunities for developing new approaches for the cultural heritage institutions. When collections are made available as open data and are accessible free of charge via the Internet, they can also be used by a broad audience for a variety of purposes.

The government has in February 2017 proposed that the Swedish National Archives (Riksarkivet) should be commissioned to study how the national digital archives can be made open for the public, free of charge.

The government has also proposed that Swedish National Heritage Board (Riksantikvarieämbetet) should be given the task to coordinate and support digitalisation, digital preservation and digital agency in the cultural heritage sector. The task should be carried out in collaboration with other cultural heritage institutions and universities.

What more, the government has proposed that the National Library of Sweden (Kungliga biblioteket) and the Swedish Film Institute (Svenska filminstitutet) should be tasked to jointly investigate and submit proposals in order to enhance collaboration on the digitalisation of audio-visual material. The report was published in 2018, that clarified the needs of the institutions to be able to implement digitisation.