When the European refugee crisis happened in 2015, many of the refugees that came to Sweden entered by train. The train staff at SJ were often the first ones to meet the refugees. That is why SJ wanted to do something to help, and the initiative “Min Nya Vän” (My New Friend” started. Min Nya Vän created meeting places for newly arrived and established Swedes to meet with the belief that integration works best when people meet through a common interest. The aim of the project was to work for inclusion, broadening perspectives, reducing language barriers and breaking prejudices.
Since the start, Min Nya Vän has arranged events and meet ups for new arrivals and established Swedes at for example Dreamhack, Gothenburg Film Festival, Gothenburg Horse Show and Tjejmilen. A majority of the ambassadors have also been involved in the initiative, such as the famous photographer Jens Assur, actress Happy Jankell, the martial arts and television profile Musse Hasselvall, the artist Ulrik Munther and the youtube profile Yacine (YZN) Laghmari.
Håkanson United developed the concept and was responsible for project management, execution, activation, PR, content creation, digital and graphic design.
