The action is based on the city’s intercultural strategy focusing on foreign- born women as a special target group in need of structural reforms to become a part of the labour- and/or educational markets. The primary focus is on empowering women. The responsibility for enabling the entrance of potential workers in the labour market lays on the Swedish National Labour Agency. But the latter does not have the capacity to reach out to foreign-born women with a short educational background. The municipality is responsible for enhancing social and economic rights for all its citizens and civil society organisations are grass-root movements that reach the target group through their activities. In order to speed up the process of finding structures that facilitate work and/or educational opportunities all three sectors have signed a partnership agreement that identifies the stakeholders (the municipality, the national labour agency and three different civil society organisations) primary identities. In addition, they have focused on what needs to be done differently and jointly in order to succeed with the mission.
Three things are fundamental for the partnership: 1. Experience based knowledge needs to be a priority when planning activities, courses and building structures to reach the wanted output. The target groups are those who have this knowledge. 2. The partnership is based on co-creation, mutual dialogue and equality between all stakeholders. 3. A researcher will follow the project in order to make sure that what is being done really matches with what needs to be done, and what needs to be done is something that the women primarily define themselves.
The main out-puts for the three year period are:
- To make the labour market available for foreign- born women.
- To make sure that the participants feel that activities that are being done lead to empowerment and increased life space.
- To make sure that the participants feel that they have choices in life and know how to use the possibilities that are offered to them.
Example of activities planned so far:
- Networking
- Language- courses
- Vocational training
- Psycho social support
- Training for staff working with the women about intercultural approach, value based policymaking and equal treatment.
- Basic training in civics for the women.
The activities will change during the three year period based on what the women want and need.
Follow ups will be done every three months. Common indicators and tools for measurement will be created by the joint board. The external researcher will provide assistance in this field so that the right indicators are set focusing on the wanted effects/outputs.
The action will undergo an evaluation process by the joint board and by the individual organisations/authorities.
The partnership was signed and the work has started thanks to cooperation with state, municipal and civil society. The activities will be co-created together with partners and the target group in order to ensure quality.
