DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE
Activity / sport / school
will work with the school staff to create positive and inclusive environments in the school playground too, and will also encourage local clubs to work with the schools.
We know that mental and physical health go hand in hand with people feeling good and being able to develop. But health and wellbeing are not evenly distributed across society. Our increasingly screen-dependent lives also seem to be reinforcing the tendency towards a general increase in health problems among young people. The Foundation is involved in various projects aimed at giving c hildren and young people the right conditions for an active, healthy life. H elping young people find meaningful leisure activities and lowering the entry barriers for participation are aims shared by several organisations that the Foundation supports.
Support in a worrying time of crisis
Children and young people with differing abilities struggle with the same issues as other young people, including issues surrounding identity, self-worth and the state of the world. We also know that people with disabilities have a greater than average risk of suffering discrimination. They also generally have poorer mental health than the average population. The ability to ask for help in protecting themselves and safeguarding their rights can vary greatly between individuals. For a child who is very dependent, it can be almost impossible. At the same time, the opportunity to talk to someone from outside about what they are thinking or have experienced can be crucial for their mental wellbeing in the short and long term. For hearing youngsters there are well-established helplines they can contact, but for a long time there was no such option for deaf or hearing-impaired young people.
GENERATION PEP SEK 5 M / 3 YEARS Among many other things, Generation Pep uses nationwide campaigns, local pop-up events and school programmes to encourage people to enjoy being active and increase awareness of what we all need to feel good. Through methodical, longterm work to influence people the organisation works for these matters to be integrated into our daily lives. Every year it publishes the Pep Report (in partnership with the SOM Institute) which reports facts concerning young people’s health habits. To make it easier for people to make healthy life choices, the organisation works with its network of partners to produce such things as activity materials for schools, well-priced sportswear, and appealing healthy alternatives to sweets. The organisation has received support from the Erling-Persson Foundation on two occasions.
SVERIGES DÖVAS UNGDOMSFÖRBUND (SWEDISH ASSOCIATION FOR DEAF YOUTH) SEK 100,000 / 1 YEAR That’s why in 2017 the Swedish Association for Deaf Youth started its sign-language service BOUJT for children and young people. Today it is the only helpline aimed at deaf and hearing- impaired children and young people in Sweden. Specially trained volunteers meet the young people directly and support them via chat or video calls. Questions can also be asked by email or in a d igital question box, where people can also read questions others have asked. BOUJT also offers courses for adults, so that they can provide better support for this target group.
DJURGÅRDENS SKOL IF SPORTS CLUB SEK 3 M / 3 YEARS The sports club Djurgårdens Skol IF started its activities in 2020, realising that sport needed to use outreach activities to engage young people and become aware of what is stopping them from joining in. To really become part of children’s daily lives, they determined that the activities had to take place where the children were and be integrated into the school environment. In 2021 they expect to be able to offer sports activities at around 20 schools following directly on from the school day. The focus will be on making all students feel welcome to take part in activities that are fun to do, guided by fair values. Performance will be secondary. The head of sports at the school
Support when children suffer illness
Being ill and spending long periods in hospital is not something we want to associate with childhood. Nonetheless, children sometimes become seriously ill or have long-term illnesses.
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