Best practice by Hyresbostäder and Norrköping AB, Sweden

Portalen’s objective is to help more people into reach self-sufficiency. In this case, this means getting people into work or self-funded studies.

The activity of Portalen is located in two premises in two different neighbourhoods in the city of Norrköping, in Hageby (opened in 2011) and Ringdansen (opened in 2017).

Portalen’s activities are based on the American development theory, ABCD (Asset-Based Community Development), where focus is shifted from discovering problems and shortcomings to skills and abilities. In the case of Portalen, this means that we’re trying to highlight the individual’s positive assets and how these can be developed for the purpose of creating their own self-sufficiency. Besides the ABCD-theory, operations are based on another four cornerstones: proximity, simplicity, networking and mutual benefit.

Currently Portalen’s activities focus on e.g. professional mentoring, establishment of cooperation and networks with companies and associations in the municipality and especially teaching Swedish language and society. Today’s activities are a lot affected major refugee stream in the fall of 2015, which explains the demand for education in Swedish culture and language.

Find out more

To find out more on this initiative, please do not hesitate to contact the organisation’s Coordinator through the Members Only Zone.