A/HRC/18/35/Add.2 Encouragingly, the Sami Parliament has stated that it has observed an increased interest in participating in language revitalization programmes, but notes that funds are too limited to accommodate all those wishing to participate. Despite these efforts, further efforts to facilitate and promote the use of the Sami language are needed in order to overcome the lingering effects of the history of harsh assimilation policies in Norway, which banned the use of the Sami language and yoiking, a traditional Sami form of song, for decades. 65. Unlike in Norway and Finland, there is no legislation in Sweden that specifically protects the Sami language. But under the recent Act on National Minorities and National Minority Languages, the Sami language, along with other classified minority languages (such as Finnish) are granted special protections within certain designated “administrative areas.” Under the Act on National Minorities and National Minority Languages, within the 17 municipalities that make up the Sami administrative area, individuals have the right to use Sami in their dealings with State authorities as well as the right to preschool and elderly care either partly or completely in the Sami language. Nevertheless, municipalities have difficulties in complying with their obligations due to a lack of Sami-speaking staff and a reported public negative attitude towards the Sami culture. Outside these municipalities, the ability of Sami people to use their language is guaranteed only in dealings with a few major State institutions, but otherwise depends on the availability of Sami-speaking personnel. 66. The Constitution of Finland guarantees the right of the Sami people to maintain and develop their own language and culture and the Sami Language Act of 2003 affirms that Sami people have the right to use the Sami language before certain State authorities and in relation to certain administrative and legal procedures, especially within the Enontekiö, Inari, Sodankylä and Utsjoki municipalities, the core Sami area.42 However, as a practical matter, these legal protections are not implemented, due in large part to the lack of knowledge of municipal and national State authorities in Sami languages. Even within the core Sami area, access to social and health care services in the Sami language is described as a matter of chance. There have been some language revitalization efforts, the most successful being the language “nest” programmes in Inari, which offer language and cultural immersion at the preschool level and for which the Ministry of Education and Culture has committed renewed funding in 2011. Importantly, according to the Government’s Report to Parliament on the Human Rights Policy of Finland 2009, the Government will prepare a comprehensive programme to revive the Sami language, with focuses on early childhood education, teaching, social welfare and health care, culture, the media and economic policy. D. Culturally appropriate education 67. Education is essential to maintaining and revitalizing Sami history, culture, knowledge and, of course, language. One common feature in all Nordic countries is that Sami students may study in the Sami language within the designated Sami areas, which are defined by law. However, some 50 per cent of Sami people, and 70 per cent of children under 10, live outside of the designated areas. 68. Of the three countries, Norway has made the most advancement in developing a comprehensive Sami educational policy. The Education Act guarantees that all Sami pupils, regardless of where they live, have the right to be taught their native language as part of their compulsory schooling. Outside the Sami area, students have the right to study Sami if at least ten pupils in the municipality request such instruction and the opportunity for distance learning in the absence of a Sami speaking teacher. Despite the increasing number 42 18 Sámi Language Act (1086/2003), chapter 2.