News article
The spark ignites when young people dare to dream
Madeleine Opira is an artist, lawyer, and Executive Director at the think-and-action tank A Million Minds.
In a society where differences in upper secondary school eligibility are significant, she wants to give young people hope for the future – and the tools to influence their own path.
Madeleine Opira, artist, lawyer and Executive Director at A Million Minds. Photo: Amanda Braw
The closure of Rosengård School in Malmö in 2013, after only one-third of the students achieved eligibility for upper secondary school, was a wake-up call for me. How can we level out the large differences in school results and give more young people a chance at a better future? As society has grown harsher, my drive to create equal opportunities for students has become stronger.
I wanted to understand what caused the differences in upper secondary eligibility, and we identified several contributing factors: varying expectations of students, lack of positive role models, absence of meaningfulness in schoolwork, and an unclear connection between school and working life.
Hope for the future can break social exclusion
When A Million Minds started in 2012, our ambition was to help strengthen young people’s chances of becoming eligible for upper secondary school – and to break social exclusion. We initiated a motivational course in the form of a competition for 8th graders: Dream Challenge. For four weeks, students participate in workshops, listen to lectures, and compete with their own dream.
The competition has so far been held in areas such as Järva, Botkyrka, Skärholmen, Farsta, and Sundbyberg. Since students compete with their dream – for which there is no right answer – we reach a broad group of participants.
Why is it so important that students feel hope for the future? Society has changed. It has become harsher, and we have stopped seeing each other as fellow human beings the way we used to. This has happened gradually and escalated in recent years.
The pillars of welfare that everything rests on are no longer as robust. It is more urgent now to find methods that capture drive and potential and break social exclusion.
Gang-related crime has spread, households are going through tough economic years, and the world is holding its breath in the face of societal developments that affect us all. The circumstances that once formed the basis for founding A Million Minds have not only persisted – they have worsened. Back then, it was about inequality. Today, it is even more complex.
It is a powerful experience to witness how young people strengthen their belief in their own ability during the program’s four weeks.
Madeleine Opira
Students dare to plan for their future
One thing has remained constant: the way forward goes through school. When we founded A Million Minds, we saw an opportunity to proactively influence development by strengthening young people’s belief in the future in the suburbs of the Million Programme – and equipping them with concrete tools to shape their own future.
When I see students planning their future, I see a spark ignite within them – the feeling that they can actually reach their goals. It is a powerful experience to witness how young people strengthen their belief in their own ability during the program’s four weeks. Creating that development is only possible thanks to collaboration with role models from business and academia – and with school staff who engage even after school hours.
Students dare to dream freely in a safe space where adults show that they believe in them. A shared sense of ownership emerges, where everyone feels they can contribute and make a difference.
Madeleine Opira
A Million Minds
A Million Minds brings together people from diverse backgrounds — different genders, religions, and ages, from business to the suburbs — to jointly develop solutions for tough societal challenges.
Based on experience, A Million Minds wants to see these initiatives for young people:
- Work with group dynamics and a positive culture in the classroom.
- Allow time to recognize and affirm students’ individual goals.
- Create open spaces and channels for dialogue on issues such as gang crime, climate threats, and the threat of war.
- Address underlying causes of students’ lack of focus, such as child poverty, home conditions, and destructive social circles.
- Support research that follows the “student journey”—how students move between home, school, and leisure—to prevent initiatives from being undermined by destructive circumstances.
