Lilja Alfreðsdóttir, Iceland’s minister for Education, Science, and Culture, has cosigned a statement with her counterparts in the other Nordic countries, which affirms an ongoing commitment to “to tackle sexual harassment and promote safe workplaces in the Nordic cultural sector” norden.org reports. The joint statement was authored and signed at the ministerial meeting in Malmö, Sweden on May 9.
“The #MeToo movement has turned the Nordic Region on its head, uncovering systematic failures, a lack of leadership, and ignorance in many parts of our society in a somewhat dramatic fashion,” reads the statement. “Several different movements gained traction in the Nordic countries, with the cultural sector often in the spotlight.”
The statement goes on to say that “[g]ender equality is key to the success of the Nordic Model, and so it’s obvious that a gender equality perspective must shape everything we do within the Nordic Council of Ministers for Culture. What is also obvious is that there is much more to be achieved from Nordic co-operation, which is why we are instructing our Secretariat to explore ways in which the discussion can evolve with regard to efforts to prevent sexual harassment and to ensure safe workplaces within our areas of responsibility.”
“And even if momentum wanes, we will see this issue through to the end.”
Read the full statement here.
