"OUR NYGÅRD" A SOCIAL FIELD WORK SINCE 2007

2. "OUR NYGÅRD" A SOCIAL FIELD WORK SINCE 2007 Our Nygård has been around since 2007 and our base is a 4 room apartment in Skäggetorp, Linköping. Skäggetorp is a suburb of Linköping and has about 10.000 inhabitants. Nygård is a part of Skäggetorp.Most of the families are immigrants and many of them come from Somalia and former Yugoslavia.Skäggetorp has three schools for children between 6-16 years of age. Besides me, the working group consists two ”family workers” and six coordinators who work to bridge the gap (a kind of ”bridgebuilders”) between the Swedish society and the families. Most of the families with whom we have contact are of Somali, Kosovan, Serbian or Bosnia/Herzegovinian origin. Besides the Somalians most of the families are Arli or Gurbeti Roma and our six ”bridgebuilders” are from these two cultures.As almost 100% of our visitors are immigrants, is information and the discussion of various phenomena in Swedish society an important issue.Our Nygårds´ main mission is to help and support people so that everyday life can be as good as possible. They should feel secure and be helped to participate in Swedish society.In Our Nygård we structure our work to be more of a ”self help” application. People should be allowed to take responsibility for themselves, their families and their life in Sweden and Swedish society should make it easier for them to do so. Integration includes a mutual responsibility between the individual and society to work together for positive progress.

3. Continuing "OUR NYGÅRD" A SOCIAL FIELD WORK SINCE 2007 Many questions we receive concern the Swedish bureaucracy and the difficult nature of the government forms and demands. Many of our visitors are illiterate, especially the women. We are also facing asylum seekers and people who have for ex. husband, wife or children left in their country of origin. They want family to be reunited in Sweden.Our door is always open for spontaneous visits. As we have become a natural part of the residential area, it’s easy to visit us.There is much we can achieve but if additional support is needed we refer people to the relevant contacts, through our well developed social contacts networkWe who work in Our Nygård have an “inside out” perspective. People's needs should guide the design of our efforts. We do not want to work for but with people. We want to create a relationship of confidence and that our work will make people understand and participate in processes that affect them. We want to emphasize that parents are responsible for their children, therefore it is important to reach them for discussion of, for example, children's school time and leisure. It is also important to support parents to be part of Swedish society, in particular by learning the Swedish language.We think it's important to have a clear and respectful communication with people in the sense of strengthening them to take responsibility for their lives here in Sweden. You can use the concept of self empowerment to describe our method.If you do not believe in your own abilities and do not know the language then it’s easy for “small problems to become big problems”. The fact that we often can help people directly, of course depends on the fact that our team can speak many different languages. Without this, without the language skills, our work would be next to impossible or at least move very slowly.

4. Structual level • On the basis of human needs, we help to initiate cooperation and collaboration with other key players. We in Our Nygård cooperate mainly with the preschool, primary school and the Family center. There are also others who are important for example the church or health center. • Other cooperating partners “come and go”, depending on how the needs are changing. An important task is that, together with people living in Skäggetorp, and other “Skäggetorp workers”, build a solid base for cooperation and development in SkäggetorpThe structural work also involves "lifting up" the positive results but also difficulties, obstacles and issues to be resolved at the political level. • Individual level • It´s a free choice and easy to visit us. We does not registrate people and have no journal system. At Our Nygård we have professional secrecy. At the individual level we meet persons that has many questions and needs and we can be a link between the people and the authorities like social services, the Swedish migration board, child care system, medical services etc. In some cases we can help with phone calls or fill in forms. We can also be a partner to talk with and get advices from when people are sad about their situation. OUR WORK IS BASED ON THREE LEVELS

5. Individual level • It´s a free choice and easy to visit us. We does not registrate people and have no journal system. At Our Nygård we have professional secrecy. • At the individual level we meet persons that has many questions and needs and we can be a link between the people and the authorities like social services, the Swedish migration board, child care system, medical services etc. In some cases we can help with phone calls or fill in forms. • We can also be a partner to talk with and get advices from when people are sad about their situation.

6. Group levelThe Roma project • Sweden’s treatment of its Roma population has a dark history that stretches back to their • arrival in Swedish society over 500 years ago. • The Roma have faced discrimination on several levels, including municipal restrictions on durations of stay (limited to three weeks) in any one place at a time. • Even Roma children were not covered under the Swedish mandatory school attendance policies until the beginning of the 1960s. • There exist many witness depictions of how the Roma have faced discrimination and in 2012 the Swedish government voted to lay special focus on the inclusion and integration of this cultural group into the Swedish society • The main goal driving this integration work is that by: • ”2032 shall a 20-year-old person from the Roma community have all the same rights and opportunities as a 20-year-old from the general population” • Several stately institutions were given varying work responsibilities to coordinate and achieve the main goal. • Education, social services and the labours market are three main focus areas for analysis and development. • In 2012 the government chose five municipalities for ”pilot programs” with the intent of, through coordinated planning, developing different methods that could lead to a more inclusive reality for Roma in Swedish society. • The reality on the ground varies in the different municipalities depending on degrees of structural development and which type of Roma group resides in each specific municipality.

7. The largest group of Roma living in Linköping trace their origins from the Balkan region, though there is representation from Finnish Roma and traveling ”gypsie” families. The Balkan Roma face an exclusive challenge different from the standard ones that have existed in Sweden for years. In their case, families (both parents and children) often arrive with psychological trauma from war and persecution in their countries of origin. Since this group generally requires extra help and support during the integration process, this is where Our Nygård has chosen to focus its work, in part by developing “bridgebuilders” who possess the requisite cultural and social knowledge to assist in the transition process. In coordination with the Roma population, the Swedish government has issued a ”White Book” that is meant to act as a steering document, past and present, covering the dark historical experience for the Roma in Sweden. The book will also be made available as an instructional resource in schools. Despite an official apology from the government, there still exists racist treatment of Roma in Sweden, particularly toward those of Finnish origin, who are easy to recognize, especially the women, based on their traditional style of dress.

8. The work as Roma coordinator (Biserka Zenkovic) • My work as a Roma coordinator means that I help Roma people with different kind of problems. I can be the ”bridge” between the Roma families and Swedish society. With my background I can easily explain different kinds of phenomenon, so that the Roma families understand more of the Swedish society and get to know the opportunities they have in Sweden. For example, they have the same right to get education and job, just like any other Swedish citizen. In our country of origin, we did not have the same opportunity as in Sweden. I also introduce and explain my Roma culture and tradition to my Swedish colleagues and others, to increase their knowledge about the Roma people. In Our Nygård we also have different kind of group activities. I have, for example, a group of Roma girls between 11-12 years of age. The goal is to motivate them for school, education and activities after school for ex. football, basket etc. I have regular contact with their parents so that they know about ”every step” that we take. I tell them how important it is to motivate their daughters for school and education as well as healthy activities after school.

9. "Visibility is zero at the long distances.Up close you can see the many nuances".TageDanielsson Integration means reciprocity. The individual refugee has responsibility to learn the new society, and society’s rule is to enable him to do so.

17. Thank you!margareta.johansson2@linkoping.seannelie.hjalmarsson@linkoping.sebiserka.zenkovic@linkoping.se