Increasing Multicultural Youth’s Self-esteem

Children & youth

Jan 18

Who: Catalysts

What: 6-month strength-based mentoring program

Where: Bergen

Project period: 2016

Catalysts works to increase the self-esteem of multicultural youth (15-30 years) through a 6-month strength-based mentoring program, rooted in positive psychology. The strength-based approach helps young people identify their own strengths and resources, set goals and to achieve their dreams, as well as learn how to establish and build good social relationships - key factors for coping in today's society and becoming well-integrated. The mentoring relationship is mutual, where volunteer adults learn from the youth and Catalyst's mentoring method.

Vision: Cultivating inclusion and sense of belonging, one relationship at a time.

Main target:

Increase youth self-esteem through strength-based mentoring programs
Preventing high school dropout among multicultural youth
Contribute to the integration and social inclusion of multicultural youth
Increase the diversity and cross-cultural competence of mentors

The success and development in Bergen

We established in Bergen in 2018. With the help from Grieg foundation, we now have two full time employees and a permanent office in Bergen. This gives us the opportunity to grow, establish cooperation with other important key players in the same field and make a bigger impact for the youth. In 2018 we had two volunteer mentor programs with 40 participants. By the start of 2019 we were contacted by youth from different schools who would like to join our programs, as they had heard of them from their friends. In 2019 we have been able to expand to 4 mentor programs with 80 participants.

Now we have the programs in collaboration with Nygåd School, Fyllingsdalen School and the child welfare agency for single minors in Bergen. We also have established good cooperation with local parties such as the Literature House, the minority counselors from IMDI, Child protection services, the “Fagforbundet” for cross-cultural cooperation, NORCE and Bergens Næringsråd.

Catalysts measure program impact through research-based tools, such as the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Survey. In 2019 we have also had collaboration with NORCE in Bergen to measure the social capital of the youth with. The Rosenberg survey has shown an increase in youth self-esteem in all the programs we have had in Bergen.

With the support of the Grieg Foundation, we have been able to create a foothold in Bergen that otherwise would not have been possible for us, and for that we are very grateful.