Folkbildning Norden/ Inclusion of refugees through non-formal education.

During 2016 and 2017, Studieförbunden in Sweden (the umbrella organization for the ten study associations in Sweden), together with their Nordic sister organizations – Folkbildning Norden – ran the project People’s education and adult education sector’s role in integration.
The project aimed at giving a picture of the various Nordic models for inclusion of newly arrived immigrants. Twenty-two selected examples of activities were gathered from non-formal educators and civil society groups in the Nordic countries and handed over to a research group. Five good activity examples each from Denmark,Finland, Norway and Sweden and two examples from Iceland are included in the study. The research work was carried out by five researchers or researchers in pairs from the Nordic countries, and led by MIMER, with national responsibility for research on non-formal education in Sweden. The researchers have mainly looked at factors that affect newly arrived immigrants’ possibilities for employment. In addition, parameters such as understanding of the new society and language skills were also included. Non-formal education in this context is related to the concepts of recurrent and lifelong learning which often takes place outside recognized educational institutions.