Mission
Improved wellbeing among children and youth
Mission
Improved wellbeing among children and youth
We know that there is a correlation between whether children and young people are thriving and what their later health will be
A good life begins with a good children's life. It is in our first years of life that we form the foundation of how we manage further in life. How we evolve and shape our own lives. How we influence others.
Therefore, it is important that all children and young people thrive. And therefore, it is worrying that an increasing number of Danish children and young people currently are not thriving in their everyday lives and life course.
The joy of going to school is waning, and too many children feel alone and left out. Multiple children and youth are affected by poor mental health and illness. For some children and young people, the challenges are significant. Despite several efforts, 47,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 24 are still neither in employment nor in education.
It requires action from our entire society – from politicians, authorities, civil society and businesses – if we are to reverse the trend.
We need new holistic approaches and solutions that cut across sectors and that draw on new knowledge about what promotes wellbeing in children and young people. Therefore, it is important to consult and involve children and youths when finding these solutions.
Mission objectives
To improve the physical, mental and social wellbeing of children and youth in Denmark by 2040.
We can distinguish between two different sources of poor wellbeing. The one we are familiar with linked to poverty, certain social classes, deprivation, neglect, etc. And then there is a new type of vulnerability, and that is the one we currently see increasing, because it is produced in interaction with the education system, our labor market and with the digital transformation impacting young people’s lives
Mission success criteria
Improved physical wellbeing, e.g.
- That more children and young people are in general good health
- That more children and young people are physically active and feel good about their own bodies
- That more children and young people have good sleep and screen habits
- That fewer children and young people are in pain and develop diseases
Improved psychological wellbeing, e.g.
- That fewer children and young people have worrying school absence or interrupted educational programmes
- That fewer suffer from mental health problems, are in contact with or hospitalised in psychiatry
- That fewer children experience bullying or an unsafe everyday life
- That fewer children and young people feel lonely or left out
Improved social wellbeing, e.g.
- That more children and young people experience professional and social wellbeing
- That more children and young people participate in leisure communities
- That more children and young people are in education or work
- That more children and young people are part of supportive social networks
The ambition is that we initiate some mission projects where we collaborate; Researchers and actors in society
The overall objective of the mission will be continuously supplemented by milestones for several mission projects. The milestones must be concrete, measurable and time limited. They will be established in dialogue/collaboration with a series of external actors and collaborative partners.