SWEDEN
THE PRACTICE
In response to this need, in 2016 the Swedish
NGO Reach for Change, collaborated with
private donors including Tele2 and Stenbeck
Stiftelse, to launch Innovation for Change,
a programme aimed at helping local social
entrepreneurs to create and scale up initiatives
to improve the lives of unaccompanied and
separated children.
Reach for Change’s programme focuses on a
selection of projects that can be replicated and
expanded nationwide.
The programme supports the design and de-
velopment of these initiatives through funding,
business advice, research and advocacy.
Projects supported by “Innovation for
Integration” primarily work with newly arrived
unaccompanied and separated children, includ-
ing undocumented children. Some of them also
assist young people until the age of 21 and child
refugees who arrived in the country with their
families.
The programme has identified, based on a situ-
ation analysis and consultation with children,
four focus areas: legal rights, internships and
employment, social networks, and education;
overcoming linguistic barriers is treated as a
cross-cutting issue in all four areas.
The Innovation for Integration programme
supports the following organisations and
projects working in these four areas.
Barnrättsryrån
Barnrättsbyrån is a children’s rights organisa-
tion providing individual legal and social servic-
es. Through its advocacy work, Barnrättsbyrån
educates children and young people on their
rights and the Swedish social and legal system,
advises them on key legal concerns and sup-
ports them in their interactions with govern-
ment authorities. The organisation’s approach
is focused on building personal relationships
with children and offering tailored individual
support. On average, Barnrättsbyrån supports
each individual over six months, providing
between 50 and 150 hours of services per
individual.
Mitt Livs Val
Mitt Livs Val aims to help more young people
who arrived in the country as unaccompanied
and separated children to enrol in higher
education. To achieve this goal, the organisation
provides a mentorship programme which allows
young people to interact with higher education
students who motivate and coach prospective
students and guide them on how to apply to
universities and pursue higher education.
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