Memorandum from Sofia Ljungman, Information
Department, The Swedish Parliament, on the Riksdag Information
Centre
The Riksdag (Parliament) Information Centre was established
in 1995. The Centre is located in the same building as the Riksdag
library. The Centre is located in the heart of Stockholm, in the
Old Town, just a few meters from the busiest street. The centre
is an estimated 80 square meters and is one big room which is
divided by book shelves.
The main target audience is the general public,
but special evenings are sometimes arranged for special groups,
eg teachers or students. The main aim of the Centre is to provide
prompt, impartial and non-party political information about the
Riksdag. The goal for the Centre, as well as the whole Information
Department, is to increase the knowledge about the Riksdag and
the democratic process.
The Centre is staffed by one person at the time,
but no one works exclusively within the Centre. Three to four
people work at the Centre every week; they are employed by the
Information Department and have other duties as well. One person
works 60% of their time in the Centre. The Centre is open Monday
to Thursday between 10.00 am to 5.00 pm, on Fridays until 3.00
pm. The cost for establishing the Centre is unavailable, but the
annual cost is an estimated €27,000 plus salary for one staff.
The Information Department has undertaken some
surveys of the Centre's visitors, especially during thematic seminars
and special activities, but most of that material is a few years
old and probably not relevant today.
Staff are available in the centre to answer
questions about the Riksdag and its procedures. Visitors can watch
live television broadcasts from debates in the Chamber or search
for information on the Riksdag website and the Internet. Parliamentary
documents, official government reports and books about the Riksdag
are on sale at the Centre, as well as a small selection of souvenirs.
Information from the parties represented in the Riksdag is available,
as are printed matter and study material from the Riksdag and
written information about the EU. There is a small shop, as well
as toilets and a coffee machine.
Meetings with politicians are arranged, focusing
on matters of interest, in order to encourage dialogue between
voters and their elected representatives. Almost every week there
is a parliamentarian in the Information Centre to discuss issues
with voters and to answer questions. The Centre also arranges
exhibitions about different aspects of the Riksdag's activities.
During the summer of 2006 there will be an exhibition about the
coming election in September. Other exhibitions that have taken
place in the Information Centre have been about the EU and the
history of the Riksdag. The political parties sometimes arrange
thematic evenings or seminars in the Centre, and at those occasions
they also help out with marketing and advertising.
The Centre advertises in the biggest newspapers
when it has special meetings or arrangements, or when parliamentarians
are scheduled to visit the Centre, and sometimes the Centre has
advertised at the University to reach students.
The Centre is quite successful, but it would
like to attract more visitors. From 1995 to 2004 the centre was
located in another building which more people passed through,
and that was used more. A change in opening hours has been discussed,
to keep the Centre open longer so people can visit it after work.
The Centre has good experience of cooperation with the political
parties, but it is important to be active and try to think of
new themes and new activities to attract visitors. It is vital
to market the Centre to the public, and teachers and students
are also very important target groups.
It is hard to estimate the number of visitors,
it varies a lot depending on the different activities and exhibitions.
On average, it has 20-30 people a day coming to ask questions,
read newspapers, and to buy official documents and souvenirs.
The Centre also has a service for Members of Parliament and their
employees, and some of them also come everyday, or call the Centre
and ask for help, and to buy souvenirs and presents. The Centre's
different thematic evenings and seminars attract between 10-100
people. A fair estimate would be a total of 5,000-7,000 visitors
to the Centre every year. We do not charge for entry to the Centre.
11 July 2006
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