DC BERGSJÖN
www.bergsjon.goteborg.se
An active dialogue with citizens is one of the most important tools for safeguarding the future for residents of Bergsjön. The diverse activities of associations and network building in the district create a good foundation for the Metropolitan Areas Initiative. Measures taken under the initiative include investments in preventive health care and encouraging people to keep fit, which have led to a reduction in sick leave.
| BERGSJÖN | ||
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| The first figure is for the district and the second for Göteborg in total during 2002, unless otherwise stated. | ||
| No. of inhabitants | 14,596 | (474,877) |
| Percentage of children 0–15 | 22.6 | (17.3) |
| Percentage of pensioners over 65 | 9.9 | (14.7) |
| Average income, KSEK (over 16) 2000 | 98.6 | (174.6) |
| Percentage of job applicants 18–64 | 8.5 | (4.1) |
| Percentage of people with higher education (20–64) 2001 | 20.8 | (38.9) |
| Percentage of gainfully employed (20–64) 2000 | 41.4 | (69.5) |
| Percentage on social security benefits | 38.1 | (9.5) |
| Social security benefits paid, SEK per inhabitant* | 9,107 | (2,128) |
| * Excl. introduction remuneration. | ||
Bergsjön currently has around 14,500 inhabitants. More than half of them were born abroad. Many of those who move to Bergsjön come via other municipalities in Sweden or direct from other countries, and they often need considerable support from society. The population continued to grow in 2002, but at a slower pace than before.
The Metropolitan Areas Initiative has made it possible to establish several programmes that aid the development of new methods for finding employment and training for residents of Bergsjön. The Cooperative Workshop and Job Centre are two examples.
One of the primary tasks of all change activities in Bergsjön is to stimulate and promote various forms of dialogue with the residents of the district. The government proposal that forms the basis for the Metropolitan Areas Initiative also stresses the importance of residents being actively involved in community work. This requires that, wherever possible, issues should be considered from a “bottom up” perspective and that active citizenship should be encouraged. Among other things this has led to a diverse range of associations and network building in Bergsjön. One example of the increased involvement of residents in the district is that electoral turnout for the City elections in 2002 rose from 51.7 to 54.6 per cent.
Under Agenda 21 the district administration has also arranged a couple of dialogue projects with residents, property owners and associations in the form of Future Workshops. At these workshops all the parties involved meet on neutral territory under the chairmanship of neutral “workshop leaders” in order to discuss and decide what they want to do to improve something. In the case of Bergsjön the subject of this cooperative dialogue was the future development of residential areas.
In autumn 2002 a new organization for cooperation was set up in Bergsjön. The organization is based on four councils: the council for employment and training, the council for social issues, the council for health and the council for a safe and pleasant Bergsjön. In addition to representatives of the district administration, the councils also include members from the Public Employment Service, the regional social insurance office, primary care services, the police force, the church and property owners.
The district administration actively works to promote health awareness in the work place. Part of this work involves fitness initiatives to prevent ill health. As result of these initiatives sick leave has fallen from 11 to 10 per cent in the past year. The introduction of the keep-fit programme to “Get Bergsjön Moving” in 2001 meant that more health initiatives were offered to employees of the administration and residents of Bergsjön in 2002 than in the past.
Despite investments in alternative open care services in the district the number of children and young people in institutional care rose in 2002. The number of institutional care placements for adults has however decreased. Foster home placements play an important part in the strategy to find alternatives to institutional care.
The district administration has tackled the housing situation in the district in a various ways. They include assigning housing secretaries to prevent homelessness by working closely with property owners, who then give early notification if tenants fail to pay their rent or are reported as being disruptive. Thanks to positive collaboration between housing secretaries, property owners and the debt enforcement agency, few cases now lead to eviction.
The number of pre-school children in Bergsjön has increased by 27 per cent, or 152 children, between 2000 and 2002. The increase in the number of children and permanent employees in pre-schools in Bergsjön is a consequence of the expansion programme begun in 2001. Despite this expansion programme there is still a long waiting list.
The number of children of statutory school age in Bergsjön has increased. The real effect of this increase, however, is that more children from Bergsjön attend pre-schools and schools outside the district. The number of children in Bergsjön’s own schools has remained virtually unchanged in recent years, although the number of pupils from other districts has fallen.
The number of residents of Bergsjön in special housing for the elderly is falling, despite the fact that the number of inhabitants aged 75 or over is increasing in Bergsjön. At year-end there were five people on the waiting list for homes for the elderly. Some of them had already been allocated places in special housing but were waiting for more suitable places. Care of the elderly services in Bergsjön intend to extend collaboration with the “Social Enterprise Centre” by offering premises and expertise. The aim is to create opportunities for social cooperatives, to integrate various immigrant groups and to provide activities for pensioners in Bergsjön.
Employing more men in City services is important from the viewpoint of equality. The number of men employed by the district administration has however risen from 18 to 19 per cent.
During the course of the year the district administration has started work on quality assuring the recruitment process. One important aspect of this work is to promote greater diversity and integration within the administration itself. The ethnic diversity plan for the district administration clearly highlights the importance of language skills and knowledge of other cultures in its activities in Bergsjön.
The administration is working to recruit career ambassadors in all its services. The task of the career ambassadors is to publicise the jobs they do at employment days and fairs, and in doing so play an active part in marketing the services of the district administration.
An investigation is currently being carried out at the Fjällbo Park dietary unit within the framework of the “Organic Meals” project. The purpose of the investigation is to carry out a preliminary study to identify obstacles and opportunities for increasing the proportion of organic produce used in catering. All staff at the dietary unit have taken part in a training course called “The sustainability puzzle”. Its aim is to improve the quality of school meals in several different ways. Further work has also begun at Sandeklevsskolan, where pupils, staff and parents will all contribute to work on the theme of food, the environment and health.
Bergsjön has four services that are provided for the whole of the City. One of them is at Bergsjöhöjd, a home for elderly homeless alcoholics, which takes up the largest part of the local government grant.
Another is the Introductory School, which aims to assist children and young people from recently arrived immigrant families. Its task is to give children their first contact with Swedish language and society, so that they will be better able to cope with normal school activities later on.
The third responsibility of the resource committee is Krami, a service run jointly by social services, the prison service and the Public Employment Service. Its main task is to improve opportunities for people who have served prison sentences to find employment.
Finally, the Agenda 21 office in Bergsjön has the task of coordinating Agenda 21 activities throughout Göteborg. The motivation of residents provides the starting point for environmental work under Agenda 21 Göteborg.
During 2002 major changes have taken place in the various districts as a result of Agenda 21. These include work with children and young people, democracy and participation, the physical environment, security and enjoyment, environmental certification, etc.