After a long process, it became clear last winter that Skellefteå finally became a Sami administrative municipality.
Now the municipality has been given the task of inaugurating the Sami language week on October 18 at Sara cultural center.
– It is a nice honorary assignment that is particularly gratifying because since January 1 this year we have been part of a Sami administrative area. Our ambition is to manage the mission in the best way through a memorable inauguration that puts the Sami language at the center followed by a week of good and relevant program items, says Andreas Löwenhöök (M), convenor of Skellefteå municipality’s minority council in a press release.
Organized since 2019
Language Week has been organized since 2019 in collaboration between the Sámi Parliament in Norway, Sweden and Finland, and this is the first time that the inauguration takes place on the Swedish side.
The purpose of the language week is to draw attention to and raise the status of the Sami languages and increase knowledge about them.
– The Sami language week is important precisely because the Sami languages are at risk of disappearing at the same time that more and more and above all younger people today have it as an obvious choice of language. During the week, we will draw attention to the Sami languages so that more people will gain more knowledge and see it as part of our municipality, says Ulla-Maija Pesola, coordinator for national minorities at Skellefteå municipality.