The canon will be managed by a new foundation whose capital - SEK 150 million - will be taken from the Swedish Inheritance Fund, according to Lars Trägårdh's committee. None of this is supported by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (ESV).
The Swedish Agency for Cultural Analysis approves the foundation form, but ESV and the State Treasury believe that it would be better to assign the task to an existing authority. The work on the canon could still be protected from political interference, according to the State Treasury.
The most questionable aspect is the financing. Taking money from the Inheritance Fund could have consequences for children, young people, the elderly and people with disabilities, that is, the groups that currently receive support through the fund. Never before "in modern times" has the fund’s money been in greater demand than now, writes Kammarkollegiet, which manages the capital and calls for a proper impact analysis in order to be able to take a position.
“Strongly advises against”
The Inheritance Fund Delegation, in turn, "strongly advises against" and points out the ethically problematic nature of retrospectively making changes to the rules in order to use money that people have donated based on promises of something else.
Among the support over the past five years are 70 cultural projects that have received approximately SEK 358 million, such as "The Stage Is My Life", a full-time artistic course for people with intellectual disabilities.
If the canon inquiry's proposals are implemented, future projects would not come to fruition, writes the Inheritance Fund delegation, which also believes that the Inheritance Fund itself should have been included among the 100 selected works in the canon.
"Nationalistic"
Among the many critics are also the Swedish Museum of Natural History, the Swedish National Heritage Board and the National Theatre.
Uppsala University rejects the entire proposal due to "major problems" with the framing, management and dissemination. The university distances itself from the recurring phrase "failed integration of immigrants", which it describes as a problematic generalization.
It is also emphasized that the canon is being made into "a nationalistic project" that is based on directly incorrect assumptions about the school's history.
"If the government seriously wants to address declining knowledge results and perceived exclusion among certain parts of the population, there are other measures that can yield better results," the university writes.
The marketing company Visit Sweden, on the other hand, sees the canon as a tool for increasing exports and developing tourism.
The committee proposes that a new foundation should manage the Swedish cultural canon and revise and update it, preferably every ten years. The foundation should work with folk high schools and study associations, but also with the general public.
The canon's 100 works and justifications for them will be published digitally.
An illustrated edition will be published in book form.
It will be used when reforming curricula and course syllabuses both within schools and Swedish for Immigrants (SFI).
