Culture and leisure is a large and diverse area. It is about sports, exercise, music, dance, libraries, theater and many other expressions of art and culture. It should be possible for everyone to take part in or practice different forms of activities in our free time. The field of culture and leisure is also a concern for those who work with these issues professionally or voluntarily.

In recent years, Karlstad municipality has made major investments in sports arenas, jogging tracks and outdoor gyms. The need for as many people as possible to be able to play sports and exercise has been seen. Many people appreciate moving, developing in their sport, socializing with others through exercise or relaxing with a run. The value of such preventive health care cannot be overemphasised.

The word culture perhaps most brings to mind traditional, common forms of expression such as music, theatre, dance, literature and visual arts. But there are a plethora of activities, old and new, that can be counted under the term. It can be, for example, horticulture, handicrafts, rehearsal rooms or street art. Art is and should be something for everyone and not a luxury for a few who can afford it. It is important both to have the opportunity to take part in art experiences and to create art professionally or as an amateur. Art must operate freely without the influence of censorship, ideology or commercialism.

Activities for children and young people are often prioritized and rightly so. The cultural school is important as well as that students get to take part in theatrical performances during school hours. The needs of adults and the elderly and different groups for activities also need to be highlighted. Some people can’t afford to pay admissions and annual passes. There may be obstacles in the form of illness, disability, loneliness, old age or feelings of loneliness.

Vänsterpartiet believes that cultural and leisure activities have great potential to contribute to citizens’ well-being and engagement. It can provide valuable individual experiences but also lead into a community. Cultural and leisure activities can capture social needs, provide space for debate, serve as preventive health care and rehabilitation, and attract visitors to the municipality. People from different backgrounds can meet through cultural and leisure activities and share each other’s experiences that can promote integration and international contacts.

Vänsterpartiet wants Skutberget’s outdoor recreation area to be protected and preserved for future generations. Skutberget’s outdoor recreation area is Karlstad’s most popular outdoor recreation area, with its unique natural environment and its opportunities for swimming, sports, relaxation and nature experiences. Therefore, Vänsterpartiet wants to work to preserve and develop Skutberget as a visitor destination and as a center for wellness and health.

We want to:

• work for all residents, regardless of income, to be able to take part in leisure activities
• work to ensure that the range of sports and culture is aimed at both girls and boys, women and men
• ensure that there are public transport links throughout the municipality that make it possible mainly for young people to get to leisure activities
• seize the opportunities of art in preventive health care and rehabilitation
• ensure lonely elderly people’s need for leisure activities to be noticed and seen as an opportunity to break isolation
• have arrangements at libraries during the day with regard to the elderly and other day-leavers
• bring cultural elements to Skutberget such as children’s and youth culture, garden and building care in addition to the sports, exercise and play activities that already exist and are planned
• increase the number of places for postering about leisure activities
• favor free lending of sports equipment and also expand the business with lending of things for other leisure activities
• promote already existing organizations and non-profit forces that organize culture and leisure in the municipality
• develop a long-term plan for how Skutberget’s outdoor recreation area is protected and preserved for future generations

1. Introduction
2. You should be able to rely on welfare
3. Focus on quality for employees and citizens
4. We are all citizens of Karlstad
5. A climate-smart municipality
6. School – the most important thing we have to secure our future
7. Health and social care – a municipality that takes care of everyone
8. A municipality where everyone can fit
9. Public transport for mobility and climate
10. Karlstad city centre – a place to gather
11. Culture and leisure that benefits everyone
12. Conclusion

Uppdaterades: 06 aug 2022