Our mission is to support teachers and their students in socioeconomically underprivileged primary schools by: Serving as a supporting resource for teachers professional development Inspiring children to discover their confidence, imagination and potential through the power of their writing Giving children access to engaged adults, beyond teachers and parents Spreading the experience and knowledge from our methodology, tried and tested by more then 7.000 teachers.

About Berättarministeriet

About Berättarministeriet

Berättarministeriet (Ministry of Storytelling), founded in 2011, is a non-profit, non-partisan foundation striving for a society where all children are confident with written expressions. Berättarministeriet offers support to teachers and students in Swedish primary schools located in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. This is done through competence building teacher support and free school programs that entice students, regardless of skill level, to conquer the written word.

Berättarministeriet strengthens the teachers’ role through practical help, tools and resources that support the work. The support for teachers’ is based on three parts: theory, collegial exchanges of experience and practical tools for the classroom.

The programs are carried out in the classroom with the help of teachers’ guides, student materials, artifacts, films, and letters sent to the class. All program material is available to the teacher on our teacher portal. Our school programs are interdisciplinary, and adheres to the Swedish national curriculum. Primary schools located in the geographical area around our education centers in Husby, and Hagsätra in Stockholm, Gamlestaden in Gothenburg, and in Malmö can choose to start by a visit to us.

Our vision

Our vision is a society where all children are confident with written expression and have the prerequisites to actively participate in society.

Our mission

Berättarministeriet’s mission is to support teachers and their students in socioeconomically underprivileged primary schools by:

Serving as a resource for teachers teaching and professional development.
Inspiring children to discover their confidence, imagination and potential through the power of their writing.
Giving children access to engaged adults, beyond teachers and parents.
Spreading the experience and knowledge from our methodology, tried and tested by more than 7,000 teachers.

Berättarministeriet in numbers

Continuous evaluations are carried out each semester, gathering feedback from participating teachers, which leads to necessary adaptations and improvements. Since its inception in 2011, over 7,000 teachers have participated in the development and evaluation of Berättarministeriet’s programs to ensure that we meet the complex needs of socioeconomically disadvantaged schools. All our school programs are continuously updated to be relevant and compatible with the national curriculum.

78,832 students have taken part in our school programs

7,105 educators have used our offer

9/10 teachers recommend us to a colleague

9/10 teachers believe that our method is a support in their teaching

Definition

Socio-economic index

Berättarministeriet uses the Swedish National Agency for Education’s definition of socioeconomic index, developed by Statistics Sweden (SCB), based on a model that describes students’ conditions depending on socioeconomic factors. These factors affect the likelihood that a student will be eligible for upper secondary school.

The model uses the following variables:
– The legal guardians’ level of education
– Year of immigration to Sweden
– Guardians’ income
– Gender
– Financial sopport and benefits
– If the student is registered at the same address as both guardians
– Number of siblings registered in the household
– Socioeconomic status of the residential area where the student is registered

Berättarministeriet's school map

Info and statistics based on socioeconomic index for all Sweden's compulsory schools

Many Swedish schools face difficulties in fulfilling the compensatory mission of an equal education of good quality for all children. An increasing number of children see their future being dictated by factors beyond their own control, such as the parents’ socioeconomic status. In schools with a high socio-economic index, the transition to upper secondary school is generally lower than that of the national average.

Berättarministeriet’s interactive school map, offers information and statistics based on the socioeconomic index for all of Sweden’s elementary schools. At the municipal level, the number of schools in the municipality, the proportion of schools with an index above 100 (which is the national average), the proportion of ineligible students for upper secondary school vocational programes (8 passing grades), the municipality’s highest index at school level and the average index for the entire municipality. The map is updated annually when the Swedish National Agency for Education, based on Statistics Sweden’s official statistics, publishes new data. The latest data is from 2023.

To the school map

Our vision

Our vision is a society where all children are confident with the written expression and have the prerequisites to actively participate in society.

Our mission

Our mission is to support teachers and their students in socioeconomically underprivileged primary schools by:

Serving as a supporting resource for teachers professional development
Inspiring children to discover their confidence, imagination and potential through the power of their writing
Giving children access to engaged adults, beyond teachers and parents
Spreading the experience and knowledge from our methodology, tried and tested by more then 7.000 teachers.

Why are we needed?

Housing segregation has negative consequences for children’s schooling and it’s a well-documented fact that segregation effects school’s opportunities to fulfill their compensatory mission. A growing number of children’s futures are dictated by inherited factors beyond their control, such as their parents’ socioeconomic status. In schools with a high socioeconomic index, the eligibility for upper secondary school is far lower than the national average. It creates a notions of powerlessness and alienation that erodes faith in a liberal democracy. Berättarministeriet’s mission is to reverse this development.

Volunteers are essential

It is crucial for a child’s self-esteem and self-confidence to meet engaged adults who are curious and believe in the child’s abilities. The more adults the better. The quality of Berättarministeriet’s array of programs is possible thanks to our volunteers. The volunteers’ most important task is to meet the children in the education centres and inspire them to enjoyable learning by being curious, responsive and engaged in the children’s stories.

Funding

Berättarministeriet is a non-profit, politically and religiously unassociated foundation. The activities are possible thanks to close collaboration between three sectors: private, public and non-profit.

The Publik funding derives from the Swedish National Agency for Education and the municipalities where the education centers are located. Partners, such as companies and foundations, contribute with financial support alongside with pro bono-partners who contribute with their time and expertise. Volunteers are furthermore an important part of the proven method and contribute their engagement and time during the student activities in the education centers.

History

Berättarministeriet was founded in 2011 by Dilsa Demirbag-Sten, Sven Hagströmer and Robert Weil. In collaboration with a number of other actors, the founders saw a worrying social development where a polarized public discourse and widening gaps in society began to seriously shake the foundations of liberal democracy. Berättarministeriet rests on the idea that the backbone of a developed democracy is a functioning and prosperous education system. The links between an equal school, the socioeconomic mobility in society and citizens’ faith in democracy as a social system are strong. Berättarministeriet is a targeted effort towards teachers and students in schools with a high socioeconomic index.