A new refugee programme and EUR four million will help ensure that children, young people and families fleeing the war in Ukraine get the best possible start in life in Scandinavia.
Over the past few weeks, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sent millions of people into exile, and the Scandinavian countries are preparing to receive a large number of refugees. To contribute to the best possible start in life in Scandinavia for children, young people and families fleeing Ukraine, the Egmont Foundation grants EUR four million for a refugee program in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Focus will be on initiatives that provide psychosocial support to children, young people and families upon arrival in the Scandinavian countries, as well as initiatives that can ensure the best possible integration in both the short and long term.
Egmont is a commercial foundation with a dual purpose: to develop media and to support children and young people at risk. The Egmont Foundation has many years of experience in supporting children, young people, and families in crisis situations, and it is in the foundation's DNA to take point of departure in the child's perspective.
Henriette Christiansen, Director of the Egmont Foundation's Support and Grant Administration, hopes that the new program will help improve the living situation of Ukrainian children and their families:
“In the Egmont Foundation, we have an obligation to help children and young people at risk in Scandinavia, and here refugee children and young people are an important target group. With the programme, we want to help in the acute situation when the children, young people and families arrive in a Scandinavian country. At the same time, we want to support them in establishing a new everyday life with education, leisure activities and a good social network,” she says and continues:
Several organisations are
ready to help
The Egmont Foundation has decided to support seven organisations in the Scandinavian countries, including Danish Red Cross and Norwegian Red Cross, Swedish Save the Children, Norwegian Save the Children and Danish Save the Children, The Danish Refugee Council, and the Norwegian Women's Public Health Association. All organisations are ready to provide psychosocial support as well as contribute to the best possible integration for the children, young people and their families. The remaining funds will later be distributed to initiatives with focus on more long-term support. There is no time frame for when the funds should be distributed.
Henriette Christiansen explains that the foundation wants to contribute taking responsibility for handling the challenges that the refugee children and families experience. And she encourages to further collaboration on the task:
“We need an extraordinary effort and a broad collaboration across both sectors, professions and levels of government to ensure a good start in life in Scandinavia for the refugee children, young people and their families. In addition, we hope to be able to learn from each other across the three Scandinavian countries.”