Nordic youth voices – the right to be heard during crises, Olle (Sweden)

”Basketball was heavily affected”
Olle is 14 years old and lives outside Stockholm in a suburb. He started high school during the pandemic. The schools in Sweden were mainly open for students between 13-16, with some milder regulations. Leisure times activities was closed or very restricted though which significantly affected the social life.

In contrast to the younger children, there were two periods of full online teaching for the students at upper secondary schools except for students in vulnerable situations. The first period took place from March until June 2020, the second two weeks in December 2020 and at that time, online teaching was extended to grades 7-9 as well. An exemption was made for students who benefitted strongly from onsite learning, such as for individuals who faced social challenges at home or did not have a place to study.

Sports activities were affected both by the recommendations on free time and leisure, as well as the general advice regarding events and social gatherings. During the first wave in spring 2020, sports had to be organised outdoors, and events such as competitions and cups were restricted or prohibited. This limited especially the sports which are usually played in teams or indoors. In May 2020, competitions could be organised without audiences as long as the number of persons onsite did not exceed 50 persons.

Public services such as libraries, swimming halls and gyms and such were not affected by the crowd restrictions, even though safety measures were applied.

Status of school closures in Sweden during the pandemic:
Early childhood education: open
Primary education: open
Secondary education: closed March 20 – June 20.
Adjusted operations during November 20, yet again closed December 20 - May 21
Higher education: closed March 20 – June 21

Read more about our project:
https://nordicwelfare.org/en/projekt/...

Description source:
State of the Nordic Region (https://pub.nordregio.org/snr22/) and Research in progress for The Nordic Welfare Centre, by a Consortium of The Finnish Youth Research Network (https://www.youthresearch.fi/) and The Danish Center for Social Science Research (https://www.vive.dk/en/welcome/).

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