The core partners travelled to Norway to visit Jegersberg, a recently-established project that helps ex-substance misusers get their life back by providing mentoring, accommodation and meaningful work.
Between the 8th and 10th of September, Jegersberg hosted Diagrama Foundation and the core partners of the EASE project – Basta and Elia – in Kristiansand (Norway) for a study visit. The purpose of the visit was to look at the Jegersberg project, a recently established organisation that provides accommodation and employment to ex-substance misusers as a way helping them be integrated back into society. The organisation was inspired when a few years ago members of the Kristiansand municipality, health workers and other professionals visited Basta, in Sweden, and saw how meaningful work and empowerment are effective tools for leaving substance misuse behind.
The project entailed a 2-day visit to the Jegersberg where the visitors were able to see the facilities; meet the members of the board; share a meal with the people who live and work there; and discuss ideas of how to carry out the transfer of innovation in the best possible way. The partners also visited other similar projects that are also just getting started, exchanged ideas of how to best set up a new innovative project, and noted what works and what does not.
Since Jegersberg has been in place for only a year and a half, the lessons learned of how to transfer a new idea to a different country are quite fresh in everyone’s minds. For this reason, the core partners really appreciated speaking to others who are going through the same process that they currently find themselves in, but who are just one step ahead of them. In exchange, the partners provided Jegersberg with valuable feedback as to the progress they have made so far.
This is a very clear example of the value of the EASE partnership where every member of the project has a very important role to play. This visit gave the core partners the confidence they need to ensure them that a transfer of innovation is possible. Furthermore, the visit gave the partners a chance to update each other on the developments in each country, and had the opportunity to get ready for the second year of the project.
For more information on the partners involved, please visit:
- Jegersberg: http://jegersberggaard.no
- Basta: http://english.basta.se
- Elia: http://www.elia06.org
