top of page
Our Work.
The Global Shapers Community is more than just discussions. Social impact projects – designed, structured, and executed by hub members – are at the very heart of our work.
Malmö is one of the world's most inventive & innovative cities, with the 2nd highest number of start-ups per capita in Europe, with 170+ nationalities & 150+ languages represented in Malmö. We believe in leveraging such diversity to drive positive change for all.
Our purpose is to shape the future of Malmö and drive transformative social impact by facilitating partnerships & acting as a platform for dialogue. All projects and consulting engagements are executed by the young professionals in our hub pro bono. Since our launch, we have worked on various projects. Some were born in the minds of our hub members as original projects, some were carried out as scaling initiatives. Our projects vary in nature and scope, but all aim to leverage diversity as capital in collaboration with other organisations.
WE CONNECT PARTNERS TO DRIVE LOCAL CHANGE WITH GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
See our current & past projects:
Current Projects.
DIVERSITY AS CAPITAL
Challenge:
While being one of the fastest growing cities in the Nordics, Malmö also has growing income inequality. Studies show that youth from socio-economically under-privileged backgrounds have less knowledge of future career possibilities and find it difficult to navigate between available options. Moreover, industry 4.0 and global complex problems are increasing uncertainty about the future of work. All of this can propel fear and difficulties in youth to understand and develop their careers. Our recently conducted interviews with disadvantaged youth groups confirm this and indicate a general disconnect between their dream jobs and their efforts.
Objectives:
Diversity as Capital aims to contribute to the empowerment of marginalised youth in Malmö by helping them acquire skills & insights to better access and thrive in the future of work. Through a series of three targeted workshops, we aim to (1) foster the youth's learning mindset, (2) develop their skillsets vis-à-vis job application processes, (3) deepen their knowledge of available careers, and (4) provide them with supportive mechanisms to engage their own paths of successful career development and community engagement.
Partners:
We aim to share and revise the workshop series materials in collaboration with high-schools and relevant organisations.
RAINBOW ALLY
Challenge:
A considerable number of LGBTQ+ people continue to experience a negative workplace climate where heterosexist and "fitting in" culture prevails and is not systematically addressed. Although many companies have started to adopt and implement LGBTQ+ supportive practices, the key element to making those practices successful and long-lasting is often missing.
Objectives:
Rainbow Ally aims to support LGBTQ+ inclusion and equality in the workplace by helping employees not part of the community to become allies. Rainbow Ally aims to raise knowledge, create understanding, and equip people not part of the LGBTQ+ community to be allies for colleagues who identify as LGBTQ+. This will be achieved by creating a comprehensive toolbox that companies can tap into and use to complement their Diversity & Inclusion training and programmes or to help companies kick-off their LGBTQ+ inclusion and diversity work.
Partners:
The Safe Zone Project
HERIZON
Challenge:
Not enough women and people of colour are represented in tech today. This has severe impacts on, e.g., Artificial Intelligence applications that have shown to have a gender and racial bias. Together we need to change that by showing there's a place for everyone in the tech industry. HERIZON is at the forefront of shaping inclusive employment in tech by offering internship programmes that give women the right tools and mindset to break into the world of growth hacking. Over 2 years, 96 amazing participants have joined HERIZON's internship programme and 93% were successfully hired afterwards. No prior experience required, just an eagerness to learn.
Goals:
The Herizon project aims to scale the initiative of Early Stage Venture Capitalist and Founder of HERIZON, Mari Luukkainen, to provide real-life inclusive opportunities for women in tech through growth-hacking & job matching. By connecting potential interns and companies, we bring this initiative to Skåne to help women gain access to tech knowledge in a world where the field has long been out of their reach. All the while transforming the views on women in tech and showing the world there’s a place for everyone in tech.
Partners:
HERIZON
CHILDREN'S SAVINGS BOOK
Challenge:
OECD reports show low levels of financial knowledge, active savings, and financial well-being across the EUR, with young people representing a particularly vulnerable group. Studies demonstrate that tailored financial knowledge support must start as early as possible in order to embed the knowledge of basic financial concepts comprehensively in a population. However, when diving deeper into data on financial inclusion and literacy, material tackling young children, especially between 5–10 years of age, is lacking.
Goals:
By equipping children with the knowledge to build a more financially secure future for themselves & their families, the Children's Savings Book project aims at advancing financial literacy and reducing inequalities. The project is a scaling initiative of the Global Shapers Lisbon Hub. Our work lies in translating the children's book into Swedish and partnering with relevant stakeholders in order to bring the book to children in Skåne/Sweden.
Partners:
Lisbon Hub
SUSTAINABILITY CHAMPIONS
Challenge:
Malmö, known for its diverse and vibrant population, faces a significant challenge in ensuring that all segments of its community are actively involved in the sustainability movement.
Despite the city's reputation for inclusivity, there exists a notable gap in reaching underserved communities with information and opportunities related to sustainability.
One of the primary obstacles is the lack of access to resources and information. Many youths may not have easy access to workshops or events that promote sustainability awareness and action. This information gap perpetuates a cycle of disengagement, preventing underserved communities from participating fully in efforts to address environmental issues.
Additionally, there may be a lack of representation and inclusivity within existing sustainability organizations and initiatives.
Goals:
Focus on increasing access to information, removing barriers to participation, and fostering a sense of belonging and empowerment within underserved communities.
Hence, we are launching the Sustainability Champions Program. This program will provide support to young people from underserved communities, equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to drive meaningful change in their neighborhoods. The program will include workshops and seminars on topics such as climate change. Participants will also have the opportunity to collaborate with local stakeholders, develop their sustainability projects, and engage in advocacy efforts to address environmental issues in their communities.
We aim to create a new generation of sustainability champions who will play a key role in shaping Malmö's future as a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable city.
Past Projects.
DAVOS LAB DIALOGUES
Challenge:
The Davos Lab Dialogues was an initiative born out of the World Economic Forum’s and the Global Shapers Community’s aim to generate the world’s first grassroots and youth-driven recovery plan In January 2021, the Global Shapers Community launched the Davos Lab Initiative – a multi-stakeholder approach to better understand the changing views and expectations of the next generation on society, government, and business. As part of the initiative, Global Shapers facilitated dialogues and surveys in 150 cities. These dialogues engaged more than 2 million people and resulted in a Youth Recovery Plan featuring 40 policy recommendations to end intergenerational inequity. The recovery plan was showcased at the World Economic Forum Special Annual Meeting 2021. It expressed how young leaders look at the significant recovery efforts that will take place to reset economic, social, and environment systems. It also outlined a new vision for youth activism and collective action for the current decade and beyond.
Goals:
On 10.4.2021, we hosted a dialogue event in Malmö with Roko Kursar, the First Deputy Mayor of the City of Malmö and 12 "game-changers" of Malmö – including CEOs, acclaimed academics, committed civil servants, and change-leaders. The dialogue addressed three high-stake impact areas: Inclusive Jobs, Next Generation Impact & Ethics, and the Future of Politics. The views, ideas, and concerns shared in our digital roundtable sessions have been synthesised into a report, which was presented to the World Economic Forum to feed into the global recovery plan and serve as a roadmap for long-term state and industry development.
Partners:
Global Shapers Community, City of Malmö
COVID ACTION IN EUROPE
Challenge:
Our generation has never seen the likes of the COVID-19 pandemic before and, as Global Shapers, we need to be more united than ever. Global Shapers Hubs across all of Europe collaborated with WHO Europe for information sessions from WHO directly to Global Shapers throughout Europe and Eurasia.
Goals:
As part of this initiative, this project arranged weekly calls throughout April 2020 with a WHO representative for Shapers in Europe and Eurasia to receive a weekly update about COVID-19 across the region and to ask questions about the pandemic. Furthermore, this initiative provided WHO with an opportunity to gather information from Shapers on any rumours or potential misinformation circulating in different cities within the region.
Partners:
WHO Europe, Cambridge Hub, Lviv Hub, Frankfurt Hub, Nice Hub, Marseille Hub, Lyon Hub, Bristol Hub, Copenhagen Hub, London Hub, Munich Hub, Dublin Hub.
bottom of page