TeliaSonera Sweden, Fryshuset and Staffan Hildebrand launch campaign against youth violence

The starting shot has been fired for a new Swedish campaign against youth violence called “Just Think for a Moment” (“Tänk ett slag”). TeliaSonera Sweden, Fryshuset(* and film director Staffan Hildebrand will conduct the campaign, which aims to inspire young people and their local surroundings to get involved in finding constructive alternatives to violence.

This autumn marks the 20th anniversary of riots that took place in Kungsträdgården in central Stockholm. The event inspired Anders Carlberg, founder of Fryshuset, and film director Staffan Hildebrand, to produce the movie ”Stockholmsnatt” (Stockholm Night) and start the “Tänk ett slag” campaign, a touring seminar against violence for which the former Swedish Telecommunications Administration – Televerket (TeliaSonera today) – was main sponsor. Since statistics indicate that violence among young people has been increasing in Sweden, positive examples and initiatives are needed to support them. TeliaSonera Sweden has therefore chosen, together with Fryshuset and Staffan Hildebrand, to relaunch the “Just Think for a Moment” campaign. “Our company has had a strong interest and involvement in current social issues for a long time”, says Marie Ehrling, head of TeliaSonera Sweden. “We participated in the first Just Think for a Moment campaign already in the 1980s and the need for similar initiatives to support and help young people is just as big today. That`s why it feels important for us to participate in this new campaign together with Fryshuset and Staffan Hildebrand.” The hub of the campaign will be a documentary film produced by Staffan Hildebrand about the development of youth’s situation in Sweden over the past 20 years and how it looks in 2005. The film will be shown during a series of seminars that will be held in different locations in Sweden during September. At each location, a seminar is being arranged in association with local government officials for everyone working with youth-oriented activities in municipalities, schools and other organizations. A parallel seminar for young people will also be held. Participating in the seminars will be Anders Carlberg, Staffan Hildebrand and representatives from municipalities and adult educational associations. The study material will be produced by ABF (Swedish Workers Educational Association) and NBV (The Educational Activity of the Swedish Sobriety Movement). The campaign will be kicked off at Fryshuset in Stockholm on September 7 this year and go on the road to Norrköping (Sept. 9), Malmö (Sept. 12), Kalmar (Sept. 13), Jönköping (Sept. 14), Göteborg (Sept. 15), Karlstad (Sept.16) and Sundsvall (Sept. 20), among other places. During the autumn the movie “Stockholmsnatt” will be released for the first time on DVD together with the new documentary film. More information about the campaign can be found at www.fryshuset.se. People can also report their interest in attending one of the seminars on the website. - - - - *Fryshuset conducts social projects, educational, sports, culture and entertainment programmes for young people in Sweden. Fryshuset means “cold store” and the name is derived from the building where the centre is located today, in a former cold store for meat products in Stockholm. The centre is run by the Fryshuset foundation, formed by the YMCA.