Citizens against mandatory Swedish in Finland
A citizen’s initiative opposing mandatory Swedish-language classes in the Finnish school system has gathered 50,000 signatures within 6 months and will proceed to Parliament for consideration.
By Finnish law, if a public initiative gathers 50,000 supporters within 6 months, it will be considered by Parliament. A citizen’s initiative opposing mandatory Swedish-language classes in the Finnish school system has gathered 50,000 signatures since it was launched in early March.
The move was launched by Vapaa Kielivalinta (a group that supports freedom of language choice), the Finnish Alliance, the Finns Party Youth and the National Coalition Party Youth. Their goal is to make Swedish optional, not mandatory as it is now in the school system. Finland is a bilingual country where the other official language is Swedish.
“I believe that this initiative will be taken seriously by Parliament, and it has the potential to succeed,” says Sampo Terho, President of the Finnish Alliance and a Member of European Pariliament.
