For more youth and less illness
Young people living with an illness are at risk of their illness taking over their teenage years. The vision of Egmont’s new signature programme, SygtStærk (in English StayStrong), is that everyone should be able to complete upper secondary education and live a good teenage life despite illness.
Nights on the town, school excursions, spontaneity and freedom. For many young people, this is a natural part of teenage life. But not all young people have that opportunity.
SygtStærk works for and with young people living with a chronic or serious somatic illness or disability. In particular, they focus on four issues that challenge young people’s well-being and ability to complete a youth education: Learning gaps, social isolation, risk of mental illness and holes in the support system for young people.
Young people as key co-creators
SygtStærk offers three free activities: a mentoring scheme, group programmes and events that bring young people together and create communities. The initiatives are developed in close collaboration with professionals and the young people. With their experience from everyday life, young people are the organisation’s most important experts. Therefore, the young people are co-creators of activities and actively participate in their development and qualification.
Although SygtStærk has only existed since May 2023, they have already come a long way. Six public faces who all live with an illness themselves – including author Caspar Eric and debater Emma Holten – are ambassadors and will help spread the word about SygtStærk even more.
The Egmont Foundation has granted DKK 8.14 million to SygtStærk for a two-year period to test and develop a model to support chronically and seriously ill young people in mastering life skills and educational attachment. After the project period, the ambition is for the initiative to be rolled out nationally.