Original challenge: How might we proactively support young people, in preventing social exclusion, from school and society in Södertälje? How might we create an inclusive learning environment that promotes emotional well-being?
Challenge from: Region Stockholm, Agenda 2030 “Let’s start with the kids!”
Redefined challenge: We met youth who feel there is nothing interesting offered in Södertälje. We were amazed to realize that there is a gap between existing activities and the youth’s interests and participation, and a lack of public spaces that appeal to them.  It would be game-changing to inspire youth to explore and engage with their interests and feel a sense of community through co-creation.
Solution: Skapa Tillsammans
Concept: Skapa Tillsamman is a series of workshops where young people work with local professionals in different fields to redesign a public space in their local environment. It is about giving youth power and influence over their environment, the opportunity to express themselves, and real-life skills and useful experience, with co-creation as the central aspect.
Team: Team Phoenix
Fridah Mutabari, Sarah Nagel, Sandra Mekidiche, Tobias Sundin, Jama Abdifatah

Report abstract

During the spring of 2023, Team Phoenix was introduced to the problem of social exclusion among youth inSödertälje, which was a probable contributor to their participation in criminal activities and a decrease in their well-being. Our challenge givers from the region of Stockholm were working for Agenda 2030, searching for methods of creating inclusive learning environments that promote emotional well-being and ways of proactively supporting youth in preventing social exclusion from school and society in Södertälje. The following report details the challenge, process, and results of our implementation of the design thinking approach in search of a solution. We began by engaging with the youth, and we learned about the various factors that led to their feeling of social exclusion from the community and other challenges that they face. Through numerous interviews with youth from Södertälje and other stakeholders, we gathered information that led to a selection of key insights. During the project, we created several concepts based on these insights. After a thorough concept selection process, we settled onSkapa Tillsammans, which is a co-creation hub consisting of a series of co-creation workshops that seeks to empower the youth and provide them with necessary skills and experience while ensuring they create public spaces tailored to their needs. We believe that Skapa Tillsammanswill be an appropriate means to promote the social inclusion of the youth in Södertälje and to create safe spaces that will allow them to express themselves and build meaningful relationships.