The Swedish Assembly of Finland

The Swedish Assembly of Finland, or Folktinget,  was founded in 1919 to safeguard the position of Swedish when the Constitution of Finland as an independent nation was being written. The Swedish Assembly of Finland protects the interests of the Swedish-speaking Finns and is a forum for political discussion and co-operation. The Assembly participates in the law drafting process and issues statements on topics involving the Swedish-speaking population. Folktinget is a cross-political body, of which all political parties with activities in Swedish are members.

Folktinget publishes results from inquiries, distributes brochures on linguistic rights, and disseminates information on Swedish culture in Finland. In addition, the Swedish Assembly regularly compiles statistical reports on the Swedish-speaking Finns, and works actively to promote positive attitudes towards bilingualism through campaigns and other events.

The Swedish Assembly co-operates vividly with linguistic minority communities in other countries. The Assembly actively supports the National Association of Finns in Sweden and enjoys good relations with the Organisation of Swedish Finns in Sweden. In addition, the Swedish Assembly participates in the Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity, a pan-European network which encompasses constitutional, regional and smaller-state languages to promote linguistic diversity in the context of a multilingual Europe.