Salam Family started 2020 as a project in Umeå Municipality for parents who have migrated to Sweden and will be finalized December 31st 2022.

Salam’s family was a project that supported third-country nationals who have children of different ages. The project has worked in two ways:

First, group activities in residential areas for parental leave to break isolation and enable continued language development when regular studies were paused. The activities were available at family centers’ open pre-schools in Umeå in the neighborhoods where the target group mainly lives. In addition to teaching Swedish, the group received support in health issues, society and future choices after parental leave. Special focus was on parents with little or no schooling background, mainly women.

Second, activities with parent support groups especially adapted for those born abroad with no/short schooling background. The project team created the material, which has a focus on both younger children and teenagers based on current research and the needs of the group. The material was tested and adjusted in several groups during the project period to be released freely after the end of the project.

I was contracted as an external evaluator, following the project from start to finish assigned to participate in monitoring, follow-up and evaluation, also with opportunities to deliver recommendations in the process, and for the future.

I participated at the dissemination conference December 7th 2022, presenting the results of the evaluation, and concluded that the project was carried out in a very professional way and reaching all goals that was set out in the application for the project. I also concluded that the project has worked in a challenging time; adapting to the realities that the Coronavirus pandemic has caused, as well as to other challenges in Sweden and the world. The conference was well attended by professionals from Umeå and otherwise.

The project is good example of professional respons for the purpose of supporting parents who have migrated to Sweden, and who has worked from the basis of rights-based approach in all activities.

It was my recommendation that this project will be integrated by Umeå Municipality in their day-to-day routines since this project has delivered a koncept that has proved itself to work very well.

The project was funded by AMIF (Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund).