Summary of the initiative
The Bergen Inclusion Centre opened in April 2024 and marks a significant milestone in the city of Bergen’s achievements in the field of inclusion. The centre, located in a former teacher training college, hosts most of the city's services for newly arrived refugees and immigrants. This centre plays a vital role in supporting refugees and helping them integrate into the community.
Bergen Inclusion Centre is a multi-purpose building, where the largest municipal organisations are:
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The Introduction Center for Refugees in Bergen
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Bergen Learning Center for Norwegian and Social Studies
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Primary education for adults in Bergen.
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The municipal agency for Sports
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Center for Migration Health
The Center aims to foster openness and collaboration across municipal services. It has flexible solutions and facilitates a diversity of users.
Context
The process of transforming a former teacher-training college into an Inclusion Centre started in 2019. The city of Bergen invested more than 90 million Euros in the redevelopment of this facility of more than 17 000 square meters. The project has been developed within the Building Dignity Framework. Building Dignity is an international program run by the Rafto Foundation, together with three international human rights organizations and research institutions. The program uses The Dignity by Design Framework to guide decision-making throughout the built environment lifecycle in order to manage risks to human rights and to maximise social outcomes.
Implementation of the framework involves active participation by local communities, respecting the rights of workers, expanding access to adequate housing and services for all, and ensuring that all decisions are free from corruption. The framework includes targeted questions for different stakeholders, clear references to existing standards and the Sustainable Development Goals. Reusing materials, sustainability, universal design and user participation are key words that were central in the reconstruction of the center to promote inclusion and dignity at all levels. This is visible in several parts of the center, like how the signs are designed, in the diversity of art and artists from different backgrounds, the solar panels on the roof and the extensive collaboration with the local community.
Results achieved
Bergen Inclusion Center is a multi-purpose building also after working hours. The centre aims to be open to everyone, and is used by local youth sports associations, neighbours, and volunteer organisations in different fields. The aim is to foster inclusion and interaction between the newly arrived immigrants and local residents. Using the premises is free for voluntary organizations and municipal agencies.
Some examples of activities and collaborations with the local community:
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Multicultural men's meeting
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Choir practice
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Norwegian training
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Sports and training for adult refugees and immigrants
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Swimming training for immigrants
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Monthly dinner and sustainable living meet-ups
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Sale of second-hand clothing
Cross-cutting aspects
People with an immigrant background who challenge traditional forms of gender and sexuality may have complex needs. Many experience challenges such as language barriers, lack of knowledge about their rights, and fear of discrimination. At the Inclusion Centre, there is a resource group for LGBTI+ topics who share relevant information concerning LGBTI+ issues. The resource group may be contacted directly by employees and students at the centre for questions and conversations.
The Inclusion Centre also employs a diversity advisor, who works preventively against negative social control and honor-related violence. The diversity advisor contributes with guidance and follow-up of individual students and informs about relevant services regarding gender and sexual diversity, racism and discrimination. As part of the diversity advisor’s work, employees at the Bergen Inclusion Centre receive training on how to seek help if they discover that someone is being subjected, or is subjecting others, to negative social control or honor-related violence.
An essential part of inclusion is to be integrated into the labor market. The centre has several rooms that are adapted to different forms of work training.
In addition to the traditional classrooms, there is a room for designed for training in working with elderly and disabled in institutions, a kitchen for training for the restaurant industry, and one for hairdressing training, among others. Job fairs are regularly held at the centre.
The centre also has its own canteen where participants receive training in cooking, cleaning and customer service combined with language groups where they learn to communicate in Norwegian. The program, called “Food and talk”, is led by a trained chef, and the canteen sells food to employees and neighbors who live in the area, or others who want to visit the center. A greenhouse made by recycled materials from the renovation process provides vegetables grown by participants in the programme.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Goal 4 (Quality Education), Goal 5 (Gender Equality), Goal 10 (Reduced Inequalities), Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), Goal 12 (Responsible consumption and production) and Goal 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).
