Kultur & Fritid/Ungdomsavdelningen (Culture & Leisure/Youth Department) in the Municipality of Su…

Kultur & Fritid/Ungdomsavdelningen (Culture & Leisure/Youth Department) in the Municipality of Sundsvall, Sweden runs 10 Youth Clubs for young people in the age of 12-18 years, which are placed in different local living areas. The activity in the youth clubs varies from sports-, cultural-, handicraft activities or just to chill and most important, to be a meeting place for youngsters. We also run two venues for an older age group, 16-25 years, that provide activities that are cultural-, music-, film and photo related. In the spring of 2022, these two venues will be incorporated into one - Tornhuset - in the centre of the city. In the house, which has an area of 2700 m2, there will be a Youth Centre (age 16-25), music- and rehearsal studios, Culture Café, dance- and concert hall, and many other opportunities. The aim of our activities and venues is to supply the young people in the Municipality of Sundsvall with a meaningful leisuretime where participation and possibility to influence, are in focus. The venues offer safe and drug-free environments. We use the method “Learning by doing” in the activities that the young people create and it is important for us to meet them at their individual level, based on their needs and skills. In order to evaluate and confirm our participants´ non-formal learning, we use the evaluation method ELD. We collaborate with various actors at local, regional and state level to be at the forefront of knowledge about young people's challenges and everyday life. The staff is continously trained in areas such as LGBTQ - the youth department holds a LGBTQ certificate - leadership, youth work and systematic quality youth work. Our organisation has carried out projects within EUs Youth program for many years, as a sending and receiving organisation in terms of volunteering, youth exchanges and solidarity projects. We have arranged TEDxYouth Talks for the past three years and we are a part of Eurodesk and KEKS Network.