SAMMEN (Together) – An integration project for young people

5 Jun 2018

The focus for the project is to facilitate meetings between young people who have fled to Norway and Norwegian youths and let them do fun things together. Common interests are therefore an important key in what is also referred to as a "youth to youth" project.

Target group
Unaccompanied minors.

Description
The SAMMEN project is a collaboration between municipalities, SOS Children’s Villages Norway and local youths. The aim is to help young people who have fled to Norway to become acquainted with Norwegian youths – and vice versa.

Based on interests, the participants are divided in groups of six, three Norwegian youths and three young newcomers. The group starts working with a self-chosen project. A supervisor in the municipality assists if it is needed. After the project all participants receive a certificate issued by SOS Children’s Villages and the municipality. The municipality also helps the youth to keep in contact after the project has ended.

Expected result

In the short term: Increased contact between minority and majority youth, friendship and social networking.

In the long run: Inclusion and participation, increased understanding of diversity in society.

Evaluation
The project has been evaluated by NTNU Social Research. The results show that project has established groups of friends in 16 Norwegian municipalities over a period of over a year. It is still too early to pronounce on the long-term effects, but the indication is that the SAMMEN project has contributed to increased interaction between newcomers and Norwegian youths. The project is recommended to be extended in both all municipalities that have received unaccompanied minors, and to include children and youth who have come with their families.