CHANGE INITIATIVE
45,000 young people in Denmark are on the edge of society without jobs or education. This has been the case for decades despite numerous reforms. It has significant consequences for both the individual young person and society. "En Vej til Alle" (Paths for Everyone) mobilizes key stakeholders across civil society, businesses, and the public sector. Together, we focus on what works and find new paths for them to thrive in close collaboration with young people themselves.
BACKGROUND
Paths for Everyone partnership emerged from the indignation of the Academy's members over society's failure to include young people in finding solutions and paths for those approximately 45,000 young individuals who are without job and education. In Paths for Everyone, we work to include young people who are excluded from society, education and the labour market by mobilizing stakeholders, decision-makers, and practitioners for collective engagement and ownership of the challenge. Together with young people, we submitted our insights on the field to the Danish Reform Commission in March 2022, providing recommendations on how to include young people through fundamental changes in the youth systems. Our recommendations are based on narratives from young peoples experiences. When young people are on the edge of society, it has significant consequences for both the individual and society as a whole. We know that young people without jobs, education, and community are at a significant disadvantage compared to their peers. As a society, we cannot accept the exclusion of 45,000 individuals. It incurs significant costs and goes against fundamental democratic values. Paths for Everyone is a partnership. We work towards pathways to employment, education, and communities for all young people, regardless of their background.
Spring 2021
Paths for all young people to jobs, education and communities
Danish Social Innovation Academy, Mobilize, Modstrøm, Social Development Center SUS, Bikuben Foundation and cross sector coalition across 28 organizations.
OPPORTUNITY
As a society, we cannot accept that nearly 45,000 young people are consistently left on the sidelines. We have a collective task to create a path for all: pathways to community, education, and employment for all young people, regardless of their background and circumstances. No one can solve this complex problem alone. To contribute to real positive change, Paths for Everyone has initiated a coalition for change, consisting of employer organizations, professional associations, student organizations, municipalities, housing movements, and other relevant stakeholders who share the common ambition of ensuring better conditions for children and young people to succeed in life. We may not have all the answers, but we share the ambition that we must create a path for all young people.
APPROACH
In the Agenda of Change - Paths for Everyone, we believe that we find the solutions of the future by listening to young people and practitioners in the field. We believe in connecting the valuable local experiences and our existing extensive knowledge with new experiments and innovative solutions. We believe that we develop our society at its best when we think holistically across silos and levels, and across the public sector, civil society, and business. This approach is called a portfolio approach. "Paths for Everyone" insists on a close connection between what is being conceived and decided by politicians and leaders and what young people and professionals actually experience as effective in reality. We create spaces for testing and experimenting with ideas and learning about their effects together with the individuals who will implement them in practice.
How does a long life with meaning look like?
- Youth expert
Paths for Everyone has its own website where you can find out more about our work, how you can get involved, reports and information about upcoming events.
NEXT SOCIAL CHANGE INITIATIVE
In an Innovation Group, we are engaged in shaping a fresh narrative on learning and education, we refer to this work as 'A new Narrative of Learning and Education '.
