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1. Policy/legal framework

2. Main inclusive Youth-Work programmes and target groups

3. Youth work providers in the field of social inclusion for young people

4. Training and support for youth workers engaged in social inclusion programmes

5. Financial support

6. Quality assurance

Policy/legal framework

In Sweden, there is no national level policy framework for youth work aimed at fostering social inclusion.

Main inclusive Youth-Work programmes and target groups

The Swedish Government has initiated a number of comprehensive programmes and actions, where the target group consists of young people in a more vulnerable position, such as NEET, young people at risk for violence and radicalisation, young people with a migrant or ethnic minority background, young LBGTI-persons, young people with disabilities, and latterly, newly arrived young migrants. See section 4.4, Inclusive Programmes for Young People, for more information.

These government actions usually target professionals working in health care or in schools, in social work, in the police force and in organised leisure, including both youth centres and sports. Even volunteers active in CSOs and in faith communities are targeted.

The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society (MUCF) has since 2017  a government assignment to function as support for young people's open leisure activities and to offer training for local level actors. The support is to be based on the needs and demands of young people.

Violence prevention

In November 2016, the Government launched a National strategy to prevent and combat men’s violence against women. The strategy has a clear focus on violence prevention and addresses professionals in schools, youth care, institutional care and social and health care, as well as the research community and government agencies responsible for improving the knowledge base.

In 2023 the government has started the process of producing a new action programme to combat men's violence against women and honour-based violence. 

Youth work addressing LGBTI youth

The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society (MUCF) has since 2014 a task of implementing measures for an open and inclusive environment in schools for young LGBTI people in consultation with the National Agency for Education (Skolverket). MUCF offers the training material "Open school!" to professionals who work within the upper primary or secondary education. The material focuses on norms concerning sexuality, gender identity and gender expression. In 2021, MUCF has developed digital training tools for reaching out to schools throughout the country. Previously, MUCF has conducted training on LGBTI issues in a small number of schools. 

In 2019, the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society (MUCF) was tasked with improving the conditions for safe meeting places for young LGBTI people. The interim report (2021) discusses the significant role of safe spaces, both in form of physical meeting places and digital channels, for LGBTI youth. 
The report presents results from a survey that has identified 66 meeting places for young LGBTI people in 2020. The meeting places were situated in 16 of Sweden's 21 counties and in 43 of Sweden's 290 municipalities. The number has slightly increased compared to the 2019 year's survey that identified 50 meeting places. The survey has shown continued shortcomings in geographical accessibility, as a large part of Sweden's municipalities and counties still lack meeting places for LGBTI youth. A majority of the identified meeting places are in the metropolitan areas. In this survey, MUCF has not succeeded in identifying any meeting place in a rural municipality. Therefore, the government renewed the assignment to MUCF in 2023.

Youth work providers in the field of social inclusion for young people

Youth work is a municipal responsibility in Sweden, both when it comes to outreach and to youth centres and youth clubs. The work may however be carried out and/or governed by different entities, such as municipalities, CSOs, faith communities or schools, and take place in different localities, such as youth centres and clubs, sport facilities, schools, churches, etc.

Training and support for youth workers engaged in social inclusion programmes

Training for youth work is mainly provided by Swedish folk high schools (folkhögskolor). The folk high schools provide a two-year study programme (fritidsledarutbildning), leading to a diploma in youth work. There is a common training plan/curriculum that all folk high schools follow. Information on the study programme is made available at the youth work website.

Youth work network KEKS

Quality and expertise in cooperation, KEKS (Kvalitet och kompetens i samverkan, KEKS) is a network for youth work. The network exists since 2005 and is built on common goals and a common system of quality assurance. The network has about forty members, municipal administrations in charge of youth centres, youth houses, and youth projects.

Financial support

Swedish Inheritance Fund

If a deceased person has no spouse or close relatives and has not left a will, their property goes to the Swedish Inheritance Fund (Arvsfonden). The Fund supports non-profit organisations and other voluntary associations wishing to test new ideas for developing activities for children, young people and people with disabilities.

Applications that may be supported come in most cases from non-profit organisations engaged in voluntary work, but even municipalities may be granted the right to implement a project. In such case, the project should be innovative and conducted in close cooperation with a non-profit organisation. A project can be granted funding from the Inheritance Fund for three years.

In 2022, 741 million Swedish kronor (70 million euros) were distributed in project grants. About 155 million Swedish kronor (15 million euros) for projects with target group children and about 379 million Swedish kronor (36 million euros) for projects targeting youth (Annual Report 2022).

Government grants

The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society (MUCF) is the government agency for matters relating to youth policy and civil society. The agency shall, according to its ordinance, work to ensure that the objectives of youth policy and of civil society policy will be achieved by:

• presenting, gathering and disseminating knowledge;
• contributing to the coordination of government efforts concerning youth policy;
• cooperating with government authorities, municipalities, county councils and civil society organisations;
• distributing state grants to civil society organisations.

In 2022, 330 million Swedish kronor (31 million euros) were deposited as a state grant to youth organisations. See section 1.7 Funding youth policy for more information.